How to Become a Morning Person

It’s a very divided subject; you’re either a morning person or you’re not.  If you’re not, you shake your head in disbelief at those of us who wake up before the sun.  It can be a hard transition to make.  I’ve worked very hard at making my bedroom as comfy and cozy as possible to the point where it’s almost physically impossible to get out of bed in the morning… I mean, the pillows are so soft and my duvet is beyond suggly, not to mention my blackout curtains keep everything pitch black.  Why would I voluntarily get out of bed earlier than I needed to?

My current alarm goes off at 4:55am Monday to Friday.  A bit random, but that extra 5 minutes makes all the difference!  It took some getting used to but I actually love getting up early now.  Mondays and Tuesdays I have to commute to work so my mornings are still pretty rushed but Wednesdays to Fridays I work from home so my mornings are all my own (especially since my hubs is not a morning person so the first few hours I’m awake are all to myself).  On my work from home days, I get my workout in, make my morning smoothie and I’ve recently started to meditate all before my 9-5 job begins.

If you google tips from some of the most successful people, number one on their list is usually the fact that they wake up early and that’s not too surprising.  They say morning people are more productive, have more energy and a better sense of accomplishment.  It’s actually one of the main reasons I switched to morning workouts.  That feeling of already having accomplished something that early in the morning was almost euphoric.  I know that’s a bit dramatic but it was… and a little addicting.  I wanted to keep waking up early so I could keep feeling proud of myself before 7am!

Becoming a morning person isn’t all that difficult but it can be a huge transition and require a lot of change.  Here are some tips if you’re looking to make the switch to becoming a morning person:

1. Start slow – if you currently wake up around 7am but you want to wake up at 5am, that might not happen in one night.  The 2 hours of sleep you’ll lose will be significant and there’s likely no chance of you getting to bed earlier to make up for it.  I used 30 minute increments when I had to adjust to my new work schedule.  I set my alarm 30 minutes earlier each day until I was at my new wakeup time.  By doing that, it felt almost easier and allowed my body to slowly adjust to my new alarm.  It also meant that I was able to fall asleep a little earlier each night, which helped.
2. The snooze button is off limits – before I switched to a 4:55am wakeup time, I used to hit the snooze button at least twice before actually getting up for work.  I guess I liked the rush of the morning… I commute by public transit so even leaving the house one minute later than normal could mean missing my regular train.  A shout out goes to my hubs for very gently reminding me each night to just get up on my alarm and not hit the snooze button… I can only imagine how annoying that would’ve been for him.  Since setting my new alarm, I have not hit that snooze button once.  Hurray!  The hardest part is physically getting out of bed, and just the act of sitting up can seem like the biggest task in the world (especially if you’re bed is super cozy) but just do it.  Get up and you’ll be glad you did.
3. Prepare for your day the night before – you’ll want to make your mornings as easy as possible.  You don’t want to be running around in the morning trying to get everything ready for the day.  If I’m commuting to work, I make sure my clothes are picked out and ready to go the night before, my lunch is made and my work bag is ready by the door.  If I’m heading to the gym, my workout clothes are waiting for me at the end of my bed and my gym bag packed.  If you’re someone who needs that cup of coffee first thing in the morning, and your coffeemaker has the ability, schedule your brew for when your alarm goes off.  I mean, is there anything better than waking up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee?
4. Keep your weekends on a similar schedule – my Monday to Friday alarm goes off at 4:55am and my weekend alarm goes off at 7am (yes, I set a weekend alarm).  My weekend mornings are obviously less structured and strict but I still get up early and have time for myself before starting my day.  I also didn’t want to fall into a habit of waking up at 9am on the weekends and then have to get up at 4:55am Monday morning.  Even if my hubs and I are out late on a Friday or Saturday, I still get up at 7am.
5. You just gotta do it – there’s not sugar coating this.  If you want to wake up early, then get up early!  Set your alarm and get up!  No excuses!

If you’re hoping to start waking up a bit earlier, let me know if you found these helpful 🙂