I’m a sucker for books about productivity and creativity and making time for meaningful pursuits and all that jazz, but this one just didn’t do it for me.
Brown’s main idea is that by getting up an hour earlier every day (for her, that’s 5 am – shudder) one can use that time to pursue a personal goal. That’s it. That’s the 4% fix. Go to bed an hour earlier so you can get up an hour earlier and do that thing you want to do before the day fills up with all the things you have to do.
This is perfectly reasonable (if not exactly revolutionary) advice, but there’s a weird insistence here on getting up at 5, as though extreme early birds are the only people who ever accomplish goals.
When I write my book on making time for meaningful pursuits (which’ll be never, apparently, since I am NOT voluntarily getting up at 5) I’ll also emphasize the importance of reserving an hour a day, but reserving it whenever it fits in with one’s own circadian rhythms and daily schedule. The only difference between taking an hour at 5 am or taking it later in the morning (or mid-afternoon or late in the evening) is that later risers don’t get to brag about how early they get up.