I have never had a close relationship with morning and I’m sure it has been that way since birth.
I never understood why people would want to get out the bed before 11am. If I didn’t’t HAVE TO BE anywhere, I wouldn’t get up early.
Don’t you want to get your day started early? No thank you, I’m good between my sheets and being out numbered by my pillows. I like love sleep.
Since I have been doing this adulting thing that involves responsibilities, I have had to switch up I handle the morning.
It is still not my favorite time of the day but I have learned how to connect with it better.
There is no secret to accomplishing more in a day than simply getting up early.
My days now consist of me getting up before 6am as in closer to 5am. It’s a struggle but I’ve seen but positive results from it and that keeps me going.
These are tips that you can start doing and it is how I found myself to getting more accomplished.
Sufficient Sleep
I can’t roll with the motto ‘you can sleep when you are dead’. Waking up tired will only cause me to think about how tired I am and I can’t give my best to anything put in front of me.
I need seven hours of sleep, #facts. Going to bed 1 hour or even 30 minutes later, I will instantly feel it when I wake up in the morning. I don’t deviate from my 9:30 pm bedtime because I know 5 am is going to come faster than I know.
If I am getting up early to allow time in the day to get things done, there is no reason I should be up in the middle of the night.
Not being a morning person doesn’t mean that you can’t wake up early.
How much sleep does your body and brain require? Test it out and see. Record your bedtimes for a week or two and see what time makes you feel more refreshed in the morning.
Prepare the Night Before
The majority of us fall short with this step. To feel accomplished at the start of our day we have to set ourselves up for it.
If there is anything that you can do the night before, get it done. We wake up early in the morning running around and unorganized because we are making decisions that could’ve been made the night before.
I take 30-45 minutes to prepare myself for the next day. Decisions that you think are made in minutes in the morning really add up when you have a list of things to do. Prep as many things as you can before you go to bed.
*gym outfit
*work apparel
Trying to decide on shoes, jewelry, and if you want to switch out your handbag takes longer than you think.
*breakfast
Have your coffee, tea, smoothie prepared as much as you can.
Cutting your greens and fruits for your smoothie the night before is a plus.
* Phone/laptop/ipad on the charger?
*Where are your keys? Does your car have gas? Metro/bus pass have money on it?
Avoid having to make these extra stops in the morning. They only take away from the things you want to do in the morning.
When you prepare the night before you will be on autopilot on the morning.
Making real – time decisions early in the morning is not what you want to do.
Place Your Alarm Out of Reach
Yes, out of reach and not within reach. You want your alarm to be where you can still hear it but you have to get out of bed to turn it off. I have learned placing my alarm near me causes me to use the snooze button, which can turn into another 15/20 minutes of being in the bed.
When you get up to turn your alarm off don’t get back in the bed, stay up.
I place my phone on the opposite side of my nightstand so I am forced to sit up in order to reach it. There is no reason to have it close by me at night, I’m sleep.
Do What You Want
In the morning I get to do whatever it is I WANT to do and you should also.
Giving myself the time to ensure I have a positive and productive day is one of the best things I can do for myself.
These are a few suggestions.
*Cardio
*Strength Training
*Yoga
*Reading
*Writing
*Listening
*Motivation / Self Affirmation resources
*Meditation
*Prayer
Pick a couple of activities that give you a balance. You can spend 15-20 minutes on each and you will be amazed at how you feel afterwards.
To accomplish this remember to take note in how long it takes you to get dressed, have breakfast, and your commute to work. Allowing yourself 45 mins – 1 hour in the morning of what you want to do is amazing.
I’ve found some mornings I get a little too comfortable and forget that I have to go to work.
What are some things that you find yourself doing to have productive days?
Please share as we are always looking for ways to better ourselves.
What do you think?