The 4 a.m. baker isn’t superhuman. She’s probably asleep by nine. Early mornings get paid for the night before.

Early mornings are not willpower; they get arranged the night before. The baker at four is not made of different material, she simply went to bed at nine, and the invisible half of her discipline is the half that made the morning possible. Trying to add early hours without subtracting late ones is the usual mistake. Something has to be given up for the hour to exist at all.

If you want earlier mornings, move your evening first and keep it moved for a week. Decide what you are giving up. Expect it to feel like a loss before it feels like a gain.