Going Early to Shul
It is cited in Shulchon Aruch that it is advisable for a person to attempt being among the first ten people to arrive in shul. The schar, reward, for doing so is great—it equals that of all those who arrive afterwards. If a person cannot be among the first ten, he still should at least try to be among the first group to arrive. If it’s not possible for him to do so for Shacharis, he should make an effort to do so for Mincha or Maariv. It is recommended that one should retire for the night at a reasonable time in order to be refreshed and alert in the morning for the important avodah of davening—even if the reason for staying up late would be to learn additional Torah. A person should wake up early enough to have sufficient time to prepare himself for davening. Poskim say at least a half-hour should elapse from the time one wakes up in the morning until he actually begins to daven.