If you’re anything like the majority of people out there, you absolutely dread when the morning rolls around. The alarm clock beeps, waking you out of a sound sleep and you sit there on the edge of the bed for a few minutes, just trying to gather your thoughts.
The next step in the process is to grab your cell phone, and the brightness of the screen will likely burn your eyes. You check all of your notifications, convincing yourself that you are only doing it to wake up. 10 minutes goes by and you feel halfway between being asleep and awake. It’s a horrible way to live your mornings.
That was a routine for me up until five years ago. It was then when I learned how to become an early riser.
Like many night owls, I would wake up when I absolutely had to but it was definitely challenging. Most of the time I would go to work without being fully awake and I felt like a zombie all day.
After I made the conscious decision to wake up earlier, I was amazed with what the morning could offer. The early morning hours were a gift to me, because I spent time doing things that I wanted to do. This not only included being productive for the coming day, it also meant I was spending more time with the people I love.
I was always a night owl, so I knew I needed to formulate a plan to avoid mistakes that would put me back into that same routine again. I decided to learn about how other people wake up early so I could follow those routines.
And you know what? It worked! Here is why it worked for
me.
I always start my morning with a cup of coffee. Caffeine does have
the ability to wake you up, but that is not why I do it. It is the
habit and the preparation that really gets me going. It takes me
almost 15 minutes to make coffee and have a good cup in the
morning. Considering this is the lowest willpower time of the day
for me, it keeps me occupied. I stay out in the kitchen, rather
than on the edge of the bed and enjoy coffee while I wake up.
Light is also of vital importance when you’re trying to wake up in the morning. When you wake up on a sunny day, it is much easier than when you wake up on a gloomy day. After waking up, I’d start turning on the lights in my apartment and I even watch the sunrise, even if it’s an hour or more after I wake up.
Typically, I have some kind of goal to get me up in the morning. It is invariably work, but I also enjoy doing chores around the house, just to stay productive.
Getting Ready the Night before
More than likely, you don’t get enough sleep. I typically need 7 to 8 hours of sleep so when I wake up at 5:45 AM, I go to bed at 10 PM.
Your diet can go a long way to helping you sleep much better. Avoiding alcohol and caffeinated food/beverages is a big part of my evenings now.
Adjusting your environment can also help you to get the sleep you need. Lower the lights, close the curtains and make sure that you give your body and mind time to relax. Put away the cell phone at least 60 minutes before you go to bed.
Waking up early is not always easy but once you learn how to love the mornings, you will not want to miss them. By 9:30, I’ve already done a lot of productive work, a few chores and had a great breakfast with coffee.
Via: Bright Side
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