Early Riser
The older we get the more we feel like hours and whole days are just slipping out of our grasp. If you’re feeling this way, dispair not – there is a way to get more out of your day.
Are you ready for it?
GET OUT OF BED!
Early mornings have become my newest and bestest friends this year. Waking up earlier and getting some key things done have made such a difference in my life. In summer time it means more daylight and I do love daylight. It energises and inspire me, and it makes me more productive. Early mornings keep me from feeling rushed, frazzled and anxious.
I’ll be honest with you, I’m more of a roll out of bed 20mins before I have to leave the house, run to the train station while brushing my teeth kind of person. I have times when getting up at 5.30am, going for a run, having a killer breakfast and doing some reading in the morning are the norm and I have times when the snooze button on my alarm gets abused for an hour before I make a move.
Being a morning person has so many advantages, but it’s not always easy to a achieve. I’ve tried a lot of tips and tricks to help pull myself out of bed, but I find the best place to start is battling your own mindset first. Start with these questions:
- What do you want to achieve with your early mornings? More exercise, more time to write or create? More quiet time?
- What are some of the ways you or others will benefit from these activities.
- How important is it to you to be an early riser?
- What are the biggest obstacles to waking up earlier and how can you overcome these?
Once you’re convinced and passionate about it, you can begin. Here are some of the tips that work for me:
1. Go to bed earlier. (This is complicated stuff I know, but try to keep up.)
2. Practice a night time ritual that helps you to relax and sleep well. – Start by switching off the TV at 9.30pm. Shower, brush your teeth, moisturise and read until you get sleepy enough to turn off the lights.
3. Set your body alarm clock. – Someone, some where, at some point said that you can tell yourself to wake up at a certain time and that you’ll just wake up naturally. I can’t give you an explanation that makes sense as to why this works, but it works for me.
4. Get out of bed immediately. – Throw the covers off and get moving. The longer you think about it, the warmer and more cozy your bed will feel and soon you’ll feel sleep tickling you under the chin and lulling back to dreamland.
5. Use the Sleep cycle app on iPhone. – Do it. Nuff said.
6. Create a morning ritual. - Wake up at the same time everyday. I find 5am is a good time to avoid rushing and still get things done. Start with a cup of Chamomile tea or a big glass of water. Take 10 minutes to read something encouraging and good for the soul. If you can’t fit exercise and creative work into one day, alternate these activities in your mornings. If you can practice a routine, it’ll make things run more and more smoothly every day.
Why not try waking up early every day next week. Start with a restful weekend, have an early night on Sunday, then hit go on Monday. You’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish and how good it feels.
Anyone else have good tips for rising early in the morning?