Rise and Shine!

I’ll admit: I approached *Rise and Shine!* with skepticism. As someone who’s tried (and abandoned) enough morning routines to fill a spreadsheet, I expected more of the same—just with a perkier narrator. But Derek Doepker’s delivery sold me. His tone is conversational but never saccharine, with a pacing that mirrors the book’s practical urgency. When he emphasizes Westwood’s ‘5-4-3-2-1’ rule for beating procrastination, you *feel* the countdown in your bones. That said, his cadence occasionally verges on *too* peppy during the habit-stacking sections—like a fitness instructor hyping up a warm-up drill. A smidge more variability in tone would’ve helped, but it’s a minor quibble in an otherwise polished performance. The content itself is where this audiobook truly shines. Westwood’s ‘anchor habit’ framework (tying new routines to existing ones, like brushing your teeth) is a game-changer for anyone who’s ever forgotten their own resolutions by Tuesday. I also appreciated her blunt takedown of ‘productivity porn’—the idea that waking up early is virtuous in itself. Her focus on *outcomes* (e.g., ‘What’s the one thing that would make today easier?’) over aesthetics (‘Does my journal match my aesthetic?’) feels revolutionary in a genre cluttered with Instagram-friendly advice. My only critique? The section on digital detoxing feels slightly dated in our post-pandemic, always-on reality. A deeper dive into *how* to boundary-set with devices—beyond ‘put your phone in another room’—would’ve elevated it. Still, for a sub-90-minute listen, the ROI is absurdly high. If you’ve ever scrolled through your phone at 6 a.m. thinking, *I should be doing something else*, this is your wake-up call—literally.