Part of my morning routine calls for getting up an hour earlier that I used to…so that I have time to get all of the things done that contribute to me being more successful…and not rushing around all morning and falling behind.
I’ve never considered myself a morning person and I’ve always loved to sleep in. But now that I’m getting quality sleep I’m finding that it’s easier to get up in the mornings…most of the time. The following are some tips that I use daily to get myself up and out of bed at a reasonable hour…even if I might not want to.
disclaimer…I don’t have babies that don’t sleep through the night or other things that might make it unreasonable to get up early…I often simply don’t want to (sleep is amazing, but attacking your dreams is so much more rewarding). These are the things that I have found that help me outsmart myself.
5 TIPS TO GET UP AN HOUR EARLIER
Give yourself a reason. I often used to dread getting out of bed because I knew that as soon as I did I would have a house full of people needing me for this or that. Once I realized that getting up before everyone else gave me time to ease into the day (not everyone hops out of bed singing You Are My Sunshine) then I understood the value of getting myself up when I might rather stay curled up in bed. And I for sure regret it on the days I let the snooze button get the best of me.
Create a bedtime and morning routine that you love. Getting enough sleep is KEY to getting your butt out of bed in the morning. And having a set routine for yourself that you love only makes that process a bit easier. Figure out what it is that you need and want to do and do it. Read the posts on Creating a Morning Routine for Self Care and Creating a Bedtime Routine for Self Care on the blog and print out the planning PDFs.
When you’re falling asleep at night don’t play the “if I fall asleep NOW I’ll get x hours of sleep” game. It’s horrible for getting you to actually fall asleep and shouldn’t play into what time you get up in the morning.
Get up at the same time every day. Weekends too. If you didn’t get very much sleep the night before, don’t give yourself the “out” of allowing you to sleep in the next morning. However tempting this might be, it makes it brutal to fall asleep the next night and so the cycle begins.
Plain and simple. Just do it. It’s really not that hard in the grand scheme of things.
COMMON ROADBLOCKS FOR GETTING UP ON TIME
That snooze button - just don’t touch it. Put your alarm clock on the opposite side of the room if you have to so that you ensure that you actually get up when your alarm goes off.
Not getting enough sleep - see mentions of your bedtime and morning routines above. I promise that these really help.
Freezing cold room vs cozy warm bed. I’m pretty sure that warm bed is amazing, but you need to develop an easy system to beat the “it’s too cold to get out of bed” excuse.
Not having something to look forward to in the morning. Work on creating that Morning Routine. It makes a difference.
Your partner or roommates or children like to sleep in and you don’t want to wake them is a great excuse to catch a few more z’s. But that is all it is. If you need to be loud - get out of the house. Otherwise create a quiet peaceful morning routine that gets you jumping out of bed and attacking your goals and dreams!
What do you do to get up on time? Are you someone who hits snooze or do you wake before your alarm clock even sounds? What tips and tricks have you employed in your life if you’ve never been a morning person before but are trying to make yourself one? Do you see the benefits of getting up an hour earlier?
xo,
c