Years ago, when my oldest son was young, mornings in our house were a challenge and often frustrating.

I would wake him up and tell him to get ready for school. Then I would go get myself ready.

The problem was that by the time I finished getting ready, he had somehow found his way right back into bed.

If you’re a parent, you probably know exactly what I’m talking about.

One day, while talking with my sister, Zippy, I was explaining my frustration.

She listened for a moment and then asked:

“Why don’t you just get up earlier, get yourself ready first, and then wake him up so you can monitor his progress?”

Honestly, I hated the idea.

It meant giving up twenty minutes of that sweet morning sleep.

But eventually, I decided to try it.

To my surprise, it worked.

Because I was ready first, I could focus on helping him stay on task. The mornings became less stressful, and we got out the door on time.

Problem solved.

Or so I thought.

Years later, I found myself in a different season of life.

I was running multiple businesses, raising a family, serving in my community, and pursuing a PhD.

Like many people, I often found myself saying:

“I don’t have enough time.”

Then one day, while talking with my sister again and explaining how stretched I felt, she went right back to the same advice she had given me years earlier.

“Why don’t you just get up earlier?”

I still hated the idea.

But this time, it wasn’t about helping my son get ready for school.

It was about helping myself get ahead of everything I was trying to accomplish.

So I developed a system.

I went to bed at the same time each night and woke up at 4:00 a.m. every morning.

Those early hours became my time to exercise, study, write papers, complete discussion posts, and work on my dissertation before the demands of the day took over.

Along the way, my friend John introduced me to The 5 AM Club, and I later read Atomic Habits and Eat That Frog!. While each book taught different lessons, they all pointed to the same truth:

Small disciplines, practiced consistently, create extraordinary results over time.

It took me longer than I planned to complete my PhD. I failed courses along the way. There were moments of frustration, self-doubt, and exhaustion.

There were times when quitting would have been easier.

But I kept going.

Looking back, I don’t think my PhD was earned during my dissertation defense.

I think it was earned on ordinary Tuesdays at 4:00 a.m., when nobody was watching and I chose to do the work anyway.

Today, when someone tells me they don’t have enough time, I think back to those conversations with my sister.

For years, I thought I needed more time.

What I really needed was a better system. What needs better system in your life?

Dr. Anthony Ndungu, PhD. MBA, RN
Entrepreneur | Leader | Growth Advocate
CEO, http://www.kansashomehealth.com|www.medicashift.com|www.meadowlarkcarehomes.com
“We make lives better.”