How the 5AM Club Has Improved My Writing Routine ⏰✨
my thoughts on productivity, early rising, & ritual - welcome back to The Slush Pile!
If you’ve been here for a while, you’ll know that I often talk about how hard it is for me to find the time, will, and motivation to write. Between work, school, and caregiving, I’ve struggled to squeeze time into my schedule for reading and writing, which for me share a reciprocal relationship within the creative part of my life. But just in time for Issue 39 of The Slush Pile and thanks to my mom, I’ve found a technique that has really worked for me, made me love writing again, helped me be more productive, and kept me accountable to the work.
A few years ago, author Robin Sharma wrote this book called the 5AM Club about this groundbreaking, life-changing method for productivity and how it’s changed the lives of thousands of entrepreneurs and changemakers the world over. Honestly, when my mom first told me about it, I was instantly turned off because it sounded exactly like Capitalism 101. I wasn’t and still am not interested in engaging in practices that promise to make you the next billionaire. What did any of it have to do with me?
Neither my mom or I ended up reading the book but the concept is pretty simple. In order to be part of the 5AM Club, you have to wake up every day at 5am and do 20-minute blocks of exercise, reflection, and planning or study. What I like about the looseness of these activity descriptions is that they’re open to interpretation and adaptation to your personal skills, abilities, interests, and lifestyle. Like even though my mom and I were doing it together, we had different ways of approaching these blocks. While she read on her phone and filled out her food log/planner, I journaled and read a hardback book, and then we walked Buttons together for the exercise portion. We also played around with the order of the activities due to the cold winter weather and darkness in the mornings (which obviously made us not want to walk Buttons first) and eventually settled on reading, writing, and walking—essentially doing everything in reverse. For a week, we moved from doing it at 5AM to 6AM. We even experimented with the length of time of each activity ranging from 15 to 30 minutes. There are no rules, only experiments!
After several weeks of using this method, I have seen such a difference in my writing, not only in the way I’m writing at all but also in how much I’ve been able to re-engage with my work. Now, I can’t tell you exactly how much I’ve written because I honestly haven’t been keeping track. I’m a big believer that how much output you have or how much you create within any time frame isn’t reflective of your writing quality or your identity as a writer. Under a capitalist system, that’s never the goal of my work.
But writing every day, even for only 20 minutes, has completely changed my idea of how much I can get done within that time frame. Before, I only wanted to write if I had several hours to myself, which I obviously don’t have anymore. But weirdly, having a short time limit has helped me take advantage of what little time I have to put some words down on paper and thankfully, I love everything that I’ve been creating. I have a reliable creative outlet again. I’ve even had time to submit some pieces from these 5AM sessions to submission opportunities I’ve seen online! It’s really not about how much time you don’t have but what you’re able to get done in the time you do have.
Of course, this wouldn’t be written by me if I didn’t acknowledge the privilege that is assumed in being able to do the method. My mom and I both work from home (though I also have an in-person library job), we don’t have jobs that require us to get up even earlier than 5AM to prepare for the day, we’re not taking care of other relatives or children, and we have the luxury of taking our time. We also have each other to lean on and keep us motivated. Not to mention that we’re already morning people as it is. I feel that this method has mostly been associated with wealthy, white, older, middle and upper-class women who have maids and go to yoga, and if you look at the Amazon reviews for the book, I’m sure I’m not that far off.
But I hope you see me as proof that this isn’t impossible. Even if you can only do 10 minutes of each activity or split the activities throughout the day instead of doing them within an hour, your commitment to your writing—not to mention your well-being—is valid. Obviously, it might not work for everyone. But I know that for me, waking up at 5AM and delving into my work has completely changed my practice. I’m writing more, I’m reading more books, and Buttons has walked more in the last several weeks than in the past few months (from 3 times a week to every day). My day gets off to a better start than before and I couldn’t be more grateful to see what else comes.
notes from the writer’s desk ✍️
my favorite recently pub’d pieces:
Melissa Barrera’s Your Monster Emboldened Me to Embrace My Feminine Rage, Refinery29 Somos
updates:
I’m thrilled to share that my TEDx talk, “The Power of Stories in Representing Our World” is now LIVE on YouTube! It would mean the world to me if you could watch, like, comment, and share with your classrooms, group chats, and everyone you know. Thank you for your support! Watch the talk here.
I’m so excited to announce that my debut children’s book has officially moved into production!! The book will spotlight past and present queer heroes from Latin America and the U.S. and is forthcoming from Jessica Kingsley Publishers in September 2025. More info and details to come soon! In the meantime, please read this thread I wrote about the project.
resources:
Looking for book recommendations? Check out my Bookstagram and TikTok to keep up with what I’m reading and loving right now! On TikTok, you’ll also get more snippets of my everyday writing life and lifestyle/fashion content. See you there!
other stories i’m loving 📖
currently reading:
Rez Dogs by Joseph Bruchac
currently watching:
Como Agua Para Chocolate
currently listening to:
“Even (with Cat Burns)” by Rachel Chinouriri
all my love,
sofía xx