Ever wondered what it’s like to be a morning person? You’ll have more energy, you’ll get more stuff done, you’ll be happier, more positive and so so so much more!
Ok now the important stuff… the how to stuff. How the heck do you get up early and become a morning person especially if you’re the snooze for 20 minutes every morning kinda person.
How to Get up Early and Be a Morning Person.
The funny thing… to get up early and become a morning person means doing most of the ‘work’ the night before. These are the exact things we’ve done and now we are morning people #boom!
Decide you’re going to sleep good and wake up feeling good. Oh oh. We’re straight into the woo woo. Oh well, this actually works. When your head hits the pillow, make the decision that you’re going to have the BEST sleep ever and wake up energised and excited for the day ahead. Say it out loud, whisper it, say it in your head, write it down. Whatever works for you just make the decision that you are going to sleep GOOD and wake up feeling GOOD.
Set your alarm and put it out of reach. Really the healthiest way to wake up is without an alarm and most mornings we both find ourselves waking up before our alarms go off BUT this takes time. Start with this. Set your alarm, make it a soothing tone and make sure it’s far far away from your bedside. This covers off our #1 tip to never EVER hit that snooze button. Placing your alarm far away forces you to wake up and GET UP. We know sometimes the hardest thing is the actual getting out of bed thing, especially if it’s cold (bed is just so snuggly and cuddly and warm).
Practice gratitude in the morning. Gratitude is the game changer. The act of talking/thinking/writing about all the good in your life instantly puts you in a better mood. A mood that makes you want to get up, be happy and have an amazing day. A daily morning gratitude practice will help you become that joyful morning person. If you need a little help getting started, checkout this gratitude lesson that changed our lives!
Go to bed earlier. We’re not saying you have to go to bed at 7:30pm (unless you want to), just go to bed when you’re actually tired. It could be 10pm! Don’t stay up to watch 1 more episode of your current Netflix series when you’re dead tired (guilty!). We’ve heard that 8 hours is the perfect sleep time, 7.5 hours, 6 hours, 5, 9, 10! You get the picture. Find YOUR perfect sleep time, find your sleep rhythm, get enough sleep and feel better.
Eat a healthy real food diet. You feel better when you eat better. You sleep better when you eat better. You will wake up easier and better when you eat better. Healthy, real food, less processed crap, less sugar, more veggies, more good quality meats and more healthy fats!
Go to bed organised. Ever gone to bed super tired and then you just can’t fall asleep because your head is spinning? Thinking about your day or the day ahead? Thinking about the stuff you forgot to do or you need to do? Go to bed organised, write down your to-do list, or record a voice memo just before bed time. You can fall asleep knowing you won’t forget anything. Trust us, you’ll fall asleep way quicker.
Bed is for bed time. This one is hard. Who else hops into bed and gets straight on their phone for one last quick scroll? Guilty again! The bed is best used for sleep and of course time spent with your lover. Also on this point, sex is good for your health… (that’s another article) and less phone time in bed will most probably (definitely) improve your sex life. Less viral Facebook video watching = more cuddle/fun/sexy times also = better sleep (read about how your mobile blue light is funking up your sleep).
Do something you love to do in the morning. The best way to get up early is to bring in a motivator. WHY are you getting up early? More family time. More time for exercise. More time for healthy smoothie creation. More time for ACTIVITIES! We suggest you do something you love as soon as you wake up. That’s your motivator. For example, do you love reading? Set 15 minutes to read a chapter of your book each morning. Or if you love pilates (we do!) book in a class in the a.m. If you love the morning walk to your fave cafe for delish coffee, do that! If you love to draw set time aside for that. If you love to sit and drink tea, set time for that. You get it yeh? Make the first thing you do in the morning something you LOVE.
Create a morning ritual. Not only will a morning ritual help you get up earlier and happier, a morning ritual has the capacity to change your whole life. Listen to this podcast episode: The 6 Minute Ritual that will Change your Life. A morning ritual can include as much or as little as you want. An example could be wake up > 5 minute meditation > journal > exercise > breakfast. The ritual becomes a habit, it becomes easier each day, eventually it will be part of your life and you’ll wonder what you did without it!
Theme your day. We really love this idea and it sets you up for a productive and flowing day and week. Our friend Jimmy Rose from Content Snare shared about this, it’s a real productivity hack!
Maybe the best thing about getting up early… the sunrise. Make THAT part of your morning ritual. There’s something special about catching the sunrise.
If you’re tempted to become a morning person let us know! Try out some of our suggestions for the next week and report back!
If you’re a morning person we’d love to hear your tips. Add them in the comments section!
Always merrymaking,
Emma + Carla
Feature image and clock image via Unsplash.