Rise and Shine Sleepy Head!
Monday through Friday, alarm goes off: you’re pushing snooze over and over again and you finally drag yourself out of bed because now you’re going to be late. You have to rush through every phase of getting ready for the day. Drive like a maniac with a travel cup of caffeine putting your lipstick in the car, to hopefully be on time.
OR
Monday through Friday, alarm goes off: you wake up, get up and put on the workout clothes you laid out the night before, get your workout in, shower, get ready, have a leisurely breakfast and head out the door in a good state of mind, not forgetting anything and calm.
I don’t know about you, but the latter sounds like the scenario I would prefer. Just thinking about the first one makes my heart beat a little faster. When I was in high school and college I was the person in the first story. Now, I am the calm person who has time in the morning before work to relax, fully wake up and enjoy some life before I clock in. I love my morning time and everyone that knows me knows that it’s one of my favorite parts of my day. It was a slow process to get here but now that I am, I don’t see myself ever going back.
Not all of it has to do with just waking up in the morning and actually rolling yourself out of the bed. Although that part can be super hard!
The Prep
Not all things have to be done in the morning. Think about it this way, by doing as much as you can the night before you can shave tons of time out of your routine in the morning. Then, all you have to do is grab it and go or just tuck it away when you’re done. Gaining you more sleep and giving you less panic.
Things you can start doing before you even set an earlier alarm:
-Make lunches
-Prep your breakfast
-Prep coffee or tea as much as possible
-Fill water bottles and put them in the fridge
-Set out supplements or medicines
-Lay out workout gear, including any equipment needed
-Lay out clothes, undergarments included
-Put your towel next to the shower or somewhere you walk right by on the way
-Shoes by the door with the socks you need
-Purse/wallet and keys next to the door
*Bonus tip! Playing music or podcasts on your phone in the morning makes it pretty hard to walk out the door without it because it’s making noise*
Go Slow
Getting to the point where I can get up at 4:00 am did not happen overnight. I was not naturally a morning person. I used to be able to sleep in until 1:00 in the afternoon and stay up until 3:00 in the morning like it was no big deal. When I stared in the working world, I realized I needed to flip my schedule to get the most out of my time.
What I did was simple: Every week I would set my alarm clock back 15 minutes.
That’s it. Just 15 minutes a week. 15 minutes is practically no time at all while you’re awake. It was an easy number to adjust to and giving myself a week to get used to it felt like a good amount of time for the next jump. But maybe you will need more than 1 week and maybe for you it’s 5 minutes. Find a rate that works for you. Either way, eventually you will get to your AM alarm goals.
Actually Get Up
This sounds like a no brainer, but it just might be the hardest part! The snooze button was my favorite enemy. I knew that the more I pushed it the more I would have to rush and the more stressed out I would be. I would be late, always telling myself that tomorrow was going to be different. So I would set my alarm for an unattainable early time thinking, “Yes, tomorrow will be the morning of my dreams”. Spoiler alert, it wasn’t! Sound anything like your story? The alarm would go off and then that snooze button would strike again.
Start doing whatever it takes to get you up. Some of my favorite tricks:
-Drink a medium sized glass of water before bed. Not too much though, or you’ll wake up in the middle of the night
-Sit up when the alarm goes off and tell yourself, “I’m up! I’m up! I’m up!”
-Turn on a light
-Let in sunlight
-Put your alarm across the room
-Have a buddy that is expecting a good morning snap or text to hold you accountable
-Plan something for the morning or day that you’re looking forward to
Let me know in the comments:
What are the morning plans and routines you will start when you’re getting up earlier?
