The story behind my 5am wake up time

Magic Hour isn't just for superhumans ☕️ ✨ 💊

Hi there,

Writing from my home office on Saturday, April 5 at 5:22am :). My close friends and fam know this, but for the past year I have been waking up around 5am and I call it my “Magic Hour.”

Below is a clip from a recent interview explaining what my days look like with three little kids and two businesses:

Vulnerable share and the back story behind my early wake up routine:

In October of 2023, seven months after having my third baby, I went on Prozac and Wellbutrin for postpartum depression. When I was depressed, the thought of getting out of bed even at 7:00am seemed impossible. I would force myself up, help get the kids ready (aka barely help, mostly just stand there and stare at Glenn doing it all), and then as soon as they went off to school I would climb back into bed.

After a few months of taking the meds, I started popping out of bed early. It felt natural and the little bit of peace and quiet all to myself would become a part of my healing journey. Sometimes I would just drink coffee and online shop. Sometimes I would scroll social media. Regardless of what I did with that “magic hour,” it helped me feel like myself again.

I remember going to happy hour in Miami with my sister, Liz, and friend, Lerner, and telling them about my 5am magic hour and they were in shock. I remember Lerner going “Dude, give me whatever you’re taking” and wanting to know the exact dosage and pics of my pill bottles for prescription details. (Spoiler alert: the meds weren’t what created this magic hour).

Later on, in Fall of 2024, I started going off the meds with the help of my doctor. It was HARD. I wasn’t prepared for the rollercoaster of emotions that comes with weaning off of these types of meds.

While I am almost completely off the meds now, the magic hour still persists. I really hope it stays for the long term because I have learned to love it.

Getting up and having some time before the world wakes up is the most peaceful thing ever. I make my collagen latte and then do whatever my heart desires. Nowadays, I usually take care of personal things (like calendaring, amazon orders, kids activities, etc.), get through some work emails, or I just relax and read newsletters or look at social. I would say the majority of time I online shop/browse and save items on The Real Real 🙃.

Plenty of people wake up at 5am. Why am I sharing this?

I know there is a stigma of these elite superhumans who are members of the 5am club: Kim K who wakes up at 5:30am before her two hour 6am workout, Michelle Obama — 4:30am, Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney — 4:00am, and the list goes on. But at the end of the day, I think we could all benefit from a magic hour. Elite superhuman or not.

Bob Iger says his morning time is for “sanity and vanity purposes” and gave this explanation:

"That morning time for me is rejuvenating actually. First of all it's meditative, it's quiet, the stimulation that exists in my life when it's still dark out and no one else is up is toned down. So I get a chance to be alone with my thoughts.”

You can hear Bob’s exact routine in the two minute clip above. Link to watch the full Bob Iger interview here.

I’m sharing this because I hope it motivates some of you to enjoy some peace and quiet and maybe wake up a little earlier than usual to see if it’s something you enjoy. Since I’m not rolling straight into an intense workout, there isn’t the dread that previously would come along with waking up early.

Busy is not the same as being productive

The slowness of my magic hour is something I crave. Lately I have found myself in multiple conversations about “busyness” and people saying they are “so busy” without spending time on things that make true meaningful progress.

“Inevitably we find ourselves tackling too many things at the same time, spreading our focus so thin that nothing gets the attention it deserves. This is commonly referred to as “being busy.” Being busy, however, is not the same thing as being productive.” — Ryder Carroll

When people ask how I have the time, I say I focus on the things that need to get done and help propel things forward ~ I am not busy, I am productive.

Feel free to reply to this email with any questions or comment below. I love hearing from you all.

Xx,

Rach