Be an Early Bird: How to Get Up Early and Feel Great
If you’re like most people, you hit the snooze button several times before you finally get up. Then, getting to work on time means everything has to go perfectly. If you require an extra minute to find your shoes or your car won’t start, you’ll probably be late. The entire morning is stressful from the moment your feet hit the floor.
With a little extra time in the morning, your whole day will be better. Have you ever noticed that if you have a good morning, the rest of the day is usually pretty good, too?
Follow this process to change your morning and have a great day:
- The easiest way is to change your wake-up time gradually. Our bodies become very accustomed to getting up at the same time every day. Every 3 days, set your alarm another 15 minutes earlier. That schedule might seem a little slow, but it works. If you try to get up an hour earlier immediately, the odds of maintaining that schedule are pretty bleak.
- Follow these three steps each morning to actually get up. Maybe you made it several days and you’re now getting up 45 minutes earlier. That’s awesome! But you might find that you’re starting to hit snooze again and wasting the extra time you’ve created.
- Step #1: Get really excited the night before. Before getting into bed each night, think of one thing to do when you get up that really appeals to you. Maybe there’s something you’d like to read or maybe you’d like to take a walk each morning.
- Step #2: Put your alarm on the other side of the room. When the alarm is buzzing, it’s much harder to sleep. You also can’t hit the snooze button without getting up. If you ignore the alarm, your partner and children will probably let you know about it in no uncertain terms.
- Step #3: Jump out of bed immediately and go to the bathroom. Wash your face and brush your teeth. You’ll be much less likely to return to bed after hitting the bathroom and starting your routine.
- The key is to take control of your thoughts. If you think to yourself, “I’m getting up now,” you’ll be surprised to find yourself really getting up. If you think, “Just 5 more minutes,” you know what will happen.
- Have a plan for what you’re going to do when you get up. Avoid wasting time by flopping in front of the TV or getting online. There are many more productive options.
- Everyone is dehydrated first thing in the morning, so get a nice, tall glass of water. You’ll feel so much better after rehydrating.
- If you exercise, even for 10 minutes, it will help you wake up and feel better.
- Have a cup of tea or coffee before you leave for work. You can even take it to go!
- Go to bed earlier. It only makes sense that if you’re getting up earlier, you need to either go to bed earlier or take a nap each day. Try to get at least 7 hours of sleep each night.
That’s it! It might take a few weeks before it’s second nature, but you can definitely do it. You’ll find that the extra time in the morning really reduces your stress. You’ll also find it’s easier to get up because you’re getting up to do something that you enjoy.