The Perks of Being A(n Extreme) Morning Person

There's being a morning person, and then there's being a morning person. For the past couple of weeks, I've been making an effort to wake up at 5 a.m. every morning. Not because I have to (when I have to, it's so much less enjoyable), but because I want to. And I wouldn't have stuck to it as long (and be planning to stick to it permanently) if there weren't some perks to being such an early riser, and today - on what is ironically my lie-in day, for Sunday is a day of rest - I thought I'd share with you the perks of being an extreme morning person:

• You've already completed half your to-do list by the time most people are just waking up. Cue feelings of hyper-productivity, elevated motivation and just a touch of thinly-veiled self-satisfied smugness. 

• It's a daily strength workout for your willpower. If you can get up at five a.m. on the daily simply because you chose to, then you can probably do anything.

• Breakfast. You have more than enough time for it, meaning you can get all creative and savour it without having to grab and go (or just skip it all together). 

• If you're an introvert, then you're always guaranteed to have some time yourself to replenish your solitude reserve, so that when it does come to socialising later in the day it won't feel intrusive or way too much because it's been too long since you had some Alone Time. In fact, since you've been up since five doing your thang, seeing people actually feels quite nice.

• People think you're insane - in that genius-like, determined, brilliant kind of way. 

• It's a great time to get on with your creative endeavours. It feels like the rest of the world is still asleep, the sunshine is slowly filtering in and growing brighter, the smell of coffee fills the entire room and progressively perks you up, and as you get settled in you feel more inspired than you've ever been.  

• Sunday lie-ins feel absolutely glorious. And since a lie-in means getting up at 8 or 9, you've still got the whole day ahead of you. 

• You have more time to procrastinate. I can watch four episodes of Pretty Little Liars, and it's still only 9 a.m. Yeah, that's right - productive procrastination is possible.

• You have more time for everything. All the things you didn't have time for before suddenly just become a question of scheduling. Carpe Diem, right? 

What about you? Are you a morning person or a night owl?