The evening “TV” hours are the largest single block of time that most people can recover. The next easiest time, as you note, includes the AM hours, but sometimes that’s a tougher sell … especially when late-night TV is in the schedule.

Personally, I also like these morning hours as the day is still quiet and the distractions, few. I started on the early AM “shift” over 40 years ago and never looked back. When I moved into the family/work world, I was able to leave my “work” work at the door in the evenings and enjoy my family more. My early AM hours have often been filled with work, but it is focused and capped.

Reclaiming your life is critical to “success” and an early morning start is a great way to do that.

As you say, we all get the “standard issue” 24 hours in a day – some people clearly make more efficient use of that time. It is amazing how much can be achieved in a small amount of time. The trick is to find that time. Recovering it from the clutches of the tv is a good idea.

A couple of years ago I had a very busy time at work, and a young family at home. I had tremendous results through getting up an hour earlier than normal every day. It was uncomfortable at first, but I soon got into the routine. I had a whole hour to myself – no distractions from the family, tv, phone calls or anything. No excuses. My only 2 rules were:
1. Every day, 1 hour earlier than normal (mostly a 5.30am alarm call).
2. The extra time was not to be used for “work” work. – ie it had to be for me.

I’d thoroughly recommend this to anyone. Getting up earlier than normal is unlikely to kill you; the benefits are many. Try it!