Have you ever wanted to wake up early, but haven’t been able to stick to a routine and give up extra sleep? I’m so excited to write this blog post today because waking up early (before everyone else in my house) has literally changed my life. Getting up early and having alone time first thing in the morning to do what I please not only has helped me tremendously with productivity, but my whole day just goes better when I start on this note.
A few months ago I read The Miracle Morning and it was definitely the catalyst and push I needed to commit to that early alarm everyday. I highly recommend it – it’s an easy read, very motivating, and the author has a pretty compelling story. While I don’t follow the Miracle Morning exactly – I’ve kind of adopted my own that works for me – this book was totally integral to me implementing an early morning routine in the first place.
Each morning, I set my alarm for 6:00 am. This usually gives me about a 1 1/2 to 2 hours before Hayden wakes up and our day gets underway. I use this time for many different things, depending on the day: do my makeup (game changer, the days I don’t put makeup on I swear I’m less productive/cheery), meditate (I love this app), sometimes exercise (typically riding my Peleton), and lastly getting tasks done on my list – this could be anything from knocking out some work to planning our meals / grocery list for the week. If you want to see my morning routine in action, check out this video I just did!
Okay, now onto my tips. Because getting out of bed before you *have* too ain’t easy. In fact, every morning my very first, still-half-asleep thought is “maybe I’ll just go back to sleep” .. but let me tell you I’ve never once regretted waking up early! Now for my tips:
Wake up early for something you actually like.
This is so important!! If you’re not excited about what you plan to do in your early morning hour(s), you won’t do it. At least not consistently. For example, tons of people wake up super early and workout right away. But for me, that’s not something I love to do. On occassion you may find me on my Peleton bike in the early AM, but typically I like to workout later in the morning once I’m really awake (and let’s be honest a little caffeinated). Know thyself; this is your time, fill it with things that will bring you satisfaction! This will motivate you to continue day after day.
Set your alarm clock out of reach.
This one is so simple, yet so powerful. Do you know how many times I actually got up when my alarm went off, when it was sitting right on my nightstand? Not many. I have mine across the room so I actually have to get up and out of bed in order to turn it off. By the time you are semi awake and across the room, it is WAY harder to crawl back into bed then if you never left it’s delicious cozy warmth in the first place. This also goes for snoozing too..this is a no no. Be firm on this one. I also love this alarm clock – it slowly wakes you up with light (mimicking a sunrise) before your alarm sounds. Game changer!
Drink a big glass of water.
Throwing back some water the moment you wake up is another way to pull you out of your sleepy state. It’s also just so beneficial to hydrate first thing int he morning (I swear I drink so much more water during the day when I start off hydrated first thing) so this one serves a dual purpose!
Wash your face + brush your teeth.
If the walking across the room and water chugging wasn’t enough to peel your eyes open, splashing some cool water on your face should do the trick! But seriously. Once I wash my face I feel like I go from “I’m sleepy but I’m here” to “okay I am ready to take on my day!” Works wonders. Plus a fresh, minty, clean mouth helps perk me up too.
Have a to-do list ready for the morning.
Knowing what you plan to accomplish in your early morning hour(s) is so key to actually getting up to accomplish said tasks. Even if you’re not a list maker..having a general idea what you plan on filling your time with is super important. There have been times when I had every intention to wake up early, alarm goes off, and I told myself I didn’t *really* have anything pressing to get done (sleepy Becca doesn’t always prioritize me-time) so I hopped right back into bed.
But even if there aren’t specific tasks I need to complete, the getting up and getting ready, sipping tea by myself, catching a glimpse of the beautiful sunrise over our farmhouse…are all good enough reasons to get myself up and moving. And maybe for you, your morning routine is the exact same everyday and you won’t really require this step. But if you plan on working in some work / life tasks then I highly recommend you get clear on them the night prior, before your head hits the pillow.
Get enough sleep!
This may seem like a no-brainer, but if you are going to be getting up an hour or so before you usually do, you should also be going to bed an hour or so before you usually do. Seems so simple..but yet it can be tough to get to bed earlier when you have an already established nighttime routine. But sleep is so important for overall health, so this is not one to skip out on. Setting an alarm or alert on your phone that prompts you to start heading up to bed can really help.
But also..sometimes you just aren’t able to get to bed early enough to get a solid night’s sleep. OR maybe you wake up in the middle of the night (or are woken up) and lose out on some precious zzz’s. What do you do? When this happens to me, I typically like to still get up, as I usually find it is still worth it. I like repeating the mantra “I’m getting the perfect amount of sleep that I need” as I drift off back to sleep – if this is the last thing your brain registers before falling asleep, it really can help getting up a little easier.
Be consistent.
If you are deciding you are going to implement a morning routine, go ahead and implement a morning routine. Haha, but seriously! Decide you’re going to do it, and really stick to it for a few weeks. This way, you can get into a groove and build that intrinsic motivation through really reaping the benefits of what your morning routine provides you. Remember, filling up your routine with things that bring you joy will really make cutting your slumber short more realistic. I remember having to wake up at 5:40am years ago (during my dietetic internship) to catch a train and commute into the city. It was torture. I mean just brutal and every night I was filled with dread and anxiety before going to sleep. But that’s because I was not thrilled about commuting into the city to work for free all day, lol. If you told my then self that my future self would wake up around the same time every day, and look forward to it, I would have thought you lost your mind!
Now one thing I do want to share before we part is while consistency is key, consistency does not = perfection. There will be days that you choose to sleep in instead of getting up for your me-time, and sometimes that will be the right decision! I think a lot of people throw in the towel if they miss a couple days, because they are pursuing perfection and not a realistic goal. That is not the point! The point is to do it consistently, as in majority of the days of the year. Imagine all of the magic that will take place across all of those early morning hours, or all of the magic that will not take place if you quit because you couldn’t hold yourself to an impossible standard. Which would you choose?
Do you practice a “miracle morning” or prefer to wake up early? If so, I would love to know what you choose to do with your me-time in the early AM!