On the second day of February, I wake up with an ambitious thought, NO not to change the world but to change something in me — a life hack like no other I’d attempted before.

The concept was straightforward: Rise and shine at 4:30 a.m. for 21 straight workdays. Sure, I had some practice under my belt with early mornings (hitting the 6 a.m. mark on the daily), but this was a leap further into the dawn. A self-imposed trial by alarm clock to push my boundaries, learn more about my grit, and maybe change a few hearts and minds along the way about the societal norms we live by.

Saturdays and Sundays were off-limits — my routines shift gears on these days, sometimes blending into work, but often they’re peppered with late nights out. So, to maintain a balanced life I mostly skipped on these days. The aim was to adopt a habit, not wage war on my well-being. Besides, the endgame had always been