Benefits of being an Early Riser

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How (and why) to be an Early Riser

They don’t say “The Early Bird Gets the Worm” for nothing.

My husband says this is his least favorite post to date. He truly hates the mornings. In our house, people who wake up before 11:00 AM on the weekends get high fives. No we don’t have kids. Yes sleeping in is just as glorious as you remember it.

 

But we do waste the day away by sleeping later. Saturday is the only day we get to catch some a lot of extra z’s, but that habit rolls over into the week. I find my self pressing snooze till the very last minute that I can (7:21 AM) before I get out of bed and rush through my morning routine so I can make it to work on time (almost on time).

I have long envied the morning people. The ones who show up to work and talk about the 10-mile run they completed earlier that morning, or the book they read as they were slowly sipping their coffee before watching the news and then getting into work early. All while I was sleeping/looking at my phone as a way to keep from getting out of bed.

I want to be a morning person. I want to be someone who can knock out several things on a to-do list before the rest of the world wakes up. But how does someone do that when they love their bed so much?

1. Get to sleep earlier. Makes so much sense doesn’t it? You can’t be a night owl and early bird. That would mean that you aren’t getting enough sleep (which is actually true for most Americans) and that isn’t healthy. So set a nightly goal for yourself and make yourself get in bed by that time. Shut off your phone, the TV and any other screen (yes your Apple Watch too) and get some sleep. You will thank yourself in the morning.
2. Give yourself morning inspiration. I set multiple alarms in the morning and each one has a goal tied to it. “Be early to work”, “Be Productive”, “Learn Spanish” (ya know, the usual). That way I am reminded of my reasons for waking up early right as the alarm goes off. It makes it much harder to press snooze.
3. Get ready the night before. If you want to work out in the mornings, set out your workout gear so it is the first thing you see. If you want to spend time with Jesus first thing in the morning, put your Bible on top of your alarm so you can’t ignore it. If you want to spend time with your kids, let them sleep in the same room with you. Just kidding. (But that does make it super obvious that I don’t have kids yet.) Whatever it is that you want to do, lay it out the night before and do so in a way that you can’t ignore it when you get up. Being prepared is half the battle. Win that part the night before.
4. Ease into it. You’d be expecting a lot to go from a 5-time snoozer to a bright-eyed 5 AM riser in one night. So plan to start waking yourself up 5 minutes earlier each day. That way your body will get used to the new routine and it won’t be such a jolt. Most of the time, if you try to make such a drastic change overnight, it won’t stick. This is a life change people!
5. Know your weaknesses. For me, my morning weakness is my phone. My alarm goes off and as soon as I can see straight, I am checking Twitter, then Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, ANYTHING to keep me from the reality of leaving my warm cozy bed. It is a HUGE time waster. So for me to conquer my morning phone addiction, I need to keep it in a place where I have to get out of bed to even look at it. Your weakness may be spending way too long deciding what to wear or what to have for breakfast. Whatever it is that keeps you from rising and grinding, figure it out and put a plan in place to help you overcome it at your sleepiest.

 

Habits are hard! They take time to lock into your routine. So give your self some grace and keep at it you early birds in training! I hear the mornings are the best times to do everything. But I’ll have to let you know right after… I… press…snooze…