As a child, I have never been an early riser. To be honest, I really loved my sleep. Stories from my childhood entailed snoring away at restaurants, my head dipping into food, or sleeping through the afternoons. It also included tantrums and melt-downs when I didn’t get my rest. I continued afternoon naps through my teen years, not that it helped me to grow taller. But all that changed when I learned that the most successful people in life woke up early. Which is why I wanted to share how I earn extra money with early morning jobs.

Early morning jobs are the best-kept money-making secret.

There are many reasons why I think early morning jobs are the secret to catapulting you to your financial goals. As I mentioned earlier, I am not naturally an early morning person. However, even though I could choose to take a late-night job, I decided that early morning ones are better. Why?

Getting up early in the morning is really a form of discipline for me. If I can make myself consistently do it, then I am training myself to conquer the difficult parts in life. This builds resilience, a trait that is necessary when the going gets tough.

Secondly, as long as I sleep enough hours, I know that my energy will be highest in the morning before my day job. I have had both early morning and late night jobs before. But when I add a day job to the equation, I am just too tired to really do night shifts anymore. So I use early day jobs to earn extra money, taking advantage of the time of day when I have high energy.

Lastly, I am motivated by checking things off my list. If feels good to start work at my day job having accomplished so much more than the average person. Early morning jobs give me that triumphant boost, which then inspires me to keep going with the rest of my day.

My 3 Noteworthy Early Morning Jobs

I have had 3 noteworthy early morning jobs that increased my savings. I LOVED all three of them, because they were jobs that I enjoyed. It is very important to choose jobs that you truly enjoy to earn extra income. Day jobs are hard enough. Usually, day jobs are our professions and careers. They aren’t always fun. However, if you choose an early morning job that you are passionate about, you may be surprised to get mind-blowing results. More importantly, you will stick with it for longer. I wanted to share with you my 3 early morning jobs in the hopes that it would give you an idea of the lifestyle entailed.

My first early morning job: Retail.

When I was going to college, I was paying for my own tuition. This led me to working three jobs at the same time, one of which was in the early mornings. My first early morning job was at a retail store when I was 18 years old. The position I held was Design Specialist. The job description included displaying incoming products. I also styled mannequins in the windows, changed out displays, and hung artwork. I maneuvered ladders on heels, and I moved shelving – all before the mall opened. My four-hour shift started at 6:00am.

I didn’t drink coffee back then, and I remember the bleary mornings when my alarm clock would rudely awake me at 5:30am. Dressing up was a challenge in the dark, especially since I was performing the task with half-shut eyes. I snuck out the door, into the freezing cold car parked in our driveway.

Once inside the store, I would get to work. In place of caffeine was adrenaline. I loved setting displays. Other than a guide book outlining the areas where new clothes would go, I had creative control. I worked solitarily, while other people unpacked products in the back. This was before airpods, where I was left drowning in my thoughts. It was physical work. The mannequins were taller than me and weighed half as much. The wall displays required use of tools and hardware. I learned how to balance on a ladder carrying fragile items and I learned how to stick a nail in the wall.

I left each early morning shift feeling accomplished, energized, and extremely happy. Sometimes, I would walk away with a bruised finger or two. Never anything worthy of dwelling. I had to rush on to get to class at the University.

(For the curious, this was on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I also worked at the retail store on weekends, fixing all that customers ruffled. After my early morning shift, I went to school, and then I tutored high-school students in the evenings. On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and every other Saturday, I worked as a dental assistant. If it was finals week, I would squeeze in emergency tutoring sessions somehow. This was life in my late teens through early twenties.)

My second early morning job: Baker

Fast forward to my thirties when I decided to become a baker. I really got into sourdough, and wanted to learn more about the craft. I asked to help out a local cottage bakery who was, at the time, operating from their garage. They were slinging the best bread and pastry in OC. In February 2022, I was hired by Rye Goods as their early morning baker. It was a dream job.

The early morning bakers make sure that bread and pastry are ready for the shops when doors open. Since most cafes and bakeries open at 7:00am, the early morning baker must start their shift at 2:00 a.m. At the time, we were living in the heart of downtown next to a club that closed at the same time I was waking up. They said I was crazy to take the job, but I was also crazy about bread. My romantic experience as an early morning baker is detailed in this post.

I eventually left the bread baker position to start my own bread bakery. I still had to wake early and throw bread babies into the ovens at an early hour. Local deliveries were at 7:00am sharp, and breads needed 35 minutes in the oven. By the time I clocked in for my shift at the dental office, people were eating Avocado toast on my bread. Unfortunately, I closed the bakery when the pandemic started.

My current early morning job: Blogger

Nowadays, my early morning job is this blog space. I wake up with the cat, make a cup of coffee, and proceed to write. Sometimes I send emails. Other times, I work on creative content. It isn’t a steady pay-check, but it’s a job of my choosing and making. That makes it worth it. It feels amazing to get something out there into the world before the world wakes.

I never expected to make money with blogging. But after sharing my student debt repayment story a few times, I started to gain an audience of my own. My work today entails sharing my experiences (such as these early morning jobs) in the hopes of helping others out there in similar situations. If you like to write, this job is a great option. Blogging lets me work from home, at my own pace, and on my own time. Since writing is also a hobby, it never feels like ‘work’. Although there are days where I have to do the non-writing business side of things, too.

Of course, this is just my story. Early morning jobs work for me, but I know other people who catapult their way to financial freedom by taking on night shifts. Either way, there are many solutions to increasing one’s income. Don’t be afraid to traverse unexplored avenues of increasing your savings. I believe that nothing is negligible. With determination and hard-work, anyone can achieve their financial goals.

Photo by Íris Juana on Unsplash