Early Riser Interview
with Dragos Roua from DragosRoua.com

Today I want to share another great early riser interview with all of you! I have been talking to the fantastic blogger Dragos Roua, author of DragosRoua.com

"[Being an early riser] helped me to wake up early on pretty much everything: relationships, business opportunities, you name it. It helped me see things before they happened, in a way."

Dragos, can you start by telling me about your normal morning routine?

I use various apps or motivators during my morning routine. For a while, I used a morning phrase, I even wrote a blog post about it ( http://www.dragosroua.com/the-morning-phrase/).

The goal was to create a "theme' for that day. But, once the habit was "locked in", I didn't use a morning phrase anymore. Now, the first thing I do in the morning is to check my messages (yes, I keep my phone near my bed, and sometimes even in bed, when I'm using some sleep monitoring app, which is something I found pretty useful too).

Then, I do my personal hygiene - I never interact in the morning, I just get in touch with my messages - and to 15 minutes of yoga. Depending on the day of the week, I also go for a run in the park. Sometimes I run around 5km, sometimes I run 10-12 km. I started to run a couple of years ago and it's one of the best habits I incorporated into my life recently.

So how come you are an early riser?

I find it quieter and more productive in the morning. It's like I'm getting more in touch with what matters.

During my life I had various reasons to wake up early, from the time when I was a soldier - they kinda imposed that on you - up to the days when I was working as a journalist and I had to be in a certain place at a very early hour.

So, it wasn't a "click" at a certain time in my life, I think I've been an early riser for as long as I remember.

Tell me, what do you see as the main benefits of being an early riser?

First, there's more time. It really is. Second, you get a healthier perspective on life. And third, it will give you more energy and lucidity.

In the interest of balance, do you see any negative sides from rising early?

If you have a medical condition which requires extra sleep, obviously, don't do it. Also, if, for some reason (a serendipituous encounter, a major breakthrough in your life that kept you awake until 4AM) then, by all means, don't push it. Give your body enough sleep and rest.

How did you develop this habit of waking up early?

Like I already told you at question number one, I think it was with me all of my life. It's not much of a habit, more of a way of living.

How do you manage to keep your energy level high throughout the entire day?

Focus. I also use my own productivity framework (which, again, is more like a life management framework) called Assess, Decide, Do (http://assess-decide-do.com). Basically, I try to be as much as I can in flow, by following a certain pattern (which I find to be the "natural" pattern) in all my actions:

1. First assess what it is all about
2. Then decide if I'm gonna follow through
3. Only then, in the end, actually do it

But I think you can find more info at that website.

Finally, what impact would you say early rising has had on your life in general?

It definitely gave me more energy, more self-esteem and more time. It's kinda difficult to catch in one paragraph all the benefits, but, to summarize, I'd say that, at a metaphorical level, it helped me to wake up early on pretty much everything: relationships, business opportunities, you name it. It helped me see things before they happened, in a way.

Want to become an early riser just like Dragos?

Then I strongly suggest you to check out this fantastic book that explains it all how to become an advanced early riser. This is so far my personal favorite on the topic (since I haven't written one myself yet...) and many of the thoughts on this site originate from this book. It's written by well-known personal development blogger Steven Aitchison so you'll be sure to get pure quality.

I just want to say thank you Dragos for sharing your thoughts in this early riser interview! You have provided us with some great insights into your life as a personal development blogger and author. You have also given us some very useful information about the power of waking up early.

Early Riser > Early Risers Interviews > Early Riser Interview with Dragos Roua from DragosRoua.com

Thanks for reading! By Matthew M. McEwan

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