How to become a morning person
I used to wake up every morning exhausted, press snooze about 12 times, have 3 separate alarms set, open my work emails, stress TF out, eventually drag myself out of bed, boil water & grind coffee beans, lay back down until the water was done boiling. Finally, I would shower and head into the office. Sound familiar?
As you can assume, this “routine” set me up for a pretty shitty day. I noticed when I let my mornings happen to me vs. me setting the tone, I allowed the rest of my day happen to me, too. I could even make a case that this eventually led to my life happening to me.
At the time, I was training for a half marathon and was having a hard time getting all of my training runs in after work. Something seemed to always come up: a work meeting went late, I ate too much peanut butter at 4pm and my stomach hurt, I was tired, a friend invited me to dinner, etc. Finally I thought, “hm ok, this isn’t working. Let’s try running before work.” Truly revolutionary, I know.
So, I basically added a run into the mix every morning and kept everything else the same. I started noticing by choosing to do one thing for me every morning, I felt really proud of myself throughout the entire day. Yet, I was still exhausted all the time.
I went into full-on research and interview mode — asking everyone and searching the deepest of holes on the internet to find as much info as I could on how to enjoy my mornings. Then, I tested pretty much everything until I found a routine that stuck for ME. Because I love you all, I will share these tips.
What worked for me:
Go to bed 15 minutes earlier than you typically do. Consistently go to bed at this time for at least one week, or until you feel like you can “level up” your grandma status. Then, shave another 15 minutes off the next week. And so on…
Turn your phone on airplane mode at your newly assigned bedtime. Do NOT take it off airplane mode until you’ve done at least 1 intentional thing. My daily ones are: drink warm water with lemon, make my french press, and when I’m a really good girl -- journaling.
DO NOT CHECK WORK EMAIL UNTIL YOU’RE AT WORK. This still stands for me while I work from my house. I promise, even if you think you’ll just quickly peruse your inbox while you sip your coffee — that is when your work day starts. Your mind is no longer resting and is consumed by work thoughts. The beautiful thing of waking up earlier is that you literally were SLEEPING at this hour last week, so there is zero expectation that you should be working at this hour.
Never touch your snooze button again. I know what you’re thinking, “but what if I go back to sleep and miss my morning meeting?” Yep, you’re going to and I promise you’ll never make that mistake again. Alarm goes off → get out of bed. I also have my alarm play through my Sonos speakers and I choose a different song every night depending on my mood. It’s a bit extra, I know. But man, waking up to a sweet song is pretty rad.
Take in a bit of nature. I know we can’t all sit outside for an hour every morning, but try and at least sit near an open window or take a minute to look outside.
Get excited for the day. Wait wait, before you roll your eyes (probably too late), hear me out! If you have something to look forward to in the day, getting out of bed is so much easier. When I’m feeling like a vision of perfection, I think of what I’m looking forward to the next day when I’m laying down the night before. Bonus: share this with a friend, your dog, your partner, or if you’re like me — the 2 cute stuffed animals that you should have gotten rid of 25 years ago (hint, the upcoming November challenge would REALLY support you here).
Wake up at the same time every day (yes, even on weekends). I don’t know what’s better than being up at 5am on a Saturday morning and having 5 hours of uninterrupted time before I get so much as a text message.
What I’ve found is that by simply doing #1, I was able to move my wake up time earlier and earlier. This unlocked a whole new world for me. I was able to dream, be creative, get long runs in — all before most people were hitting snooze for the first of 15 times. It’s pretty magical.
Some other tips I’ve tried and for one reason or another, didn’t stick for me!
Keep your phone out of the bedroom. I tried this for about 2 weeks and eventually slipped back into my old tricks. Be a better person than me and do this!
Eat breakfast right away. Honestly, this has just never been something I enjoy — ask my mom what it looked like in middle school with my face asleep in a bowl of oatmeal every morning before school. I also enjoy working out on an empty tummy, so no room for that before I get moving!
Buy a smart alarm. The super cool kinda that slowly wake you up. TBH I just never got around to buying one. Do it and let me know if I should!
Set a bedtime alarm. The rebel in me would shut off the alarm and basically say, “yeah, right”, so this never stuck for yours truly. I know it’s crucial for many people in the early days, though!
Remember, this is what worked for me. Play with one tip for a week and see what you notice! Although, I will say the ultimate best tip is to get enough sleep.
Read below for a related challenge for November! I have a feeling we could all use a little support around this.
Good Morning,
CC
