Tips for Getting Up Earlier
I absolutely hate waking up in the mornings. I love my sleep so much that my alarm is never my friend. (LOL). I recently posted a photo on my Instagram story that got so many responses about how I get up so early.. For the past 4 months, I have been getting up at 4am during the week. I’m sure you’re thinking that I am absolutely insane because that sounds so early. I make my own schedule so initially when my friend Kerry wanted to start working out at 5am, I thought she was insane. My thought was, “Why in the world would I want to get up so early to hit the gym, when I could just go later in the day?”. I decided to observe my daily habits and see how I was using my time. The answer was…. well I wasn’t using my time wisely. I was consistently not getting done what I needed to do, or having to be up until midnight trying to finish projects.
I decided I was actually going to have to start getting up earlier to get ahead of the day.
The transition. First off, I use my phone as an alarm. I don’t use the regular alarm I use the bedtime feature which puts my phone on ‘do not disturb’ at 8:30pm. In theory I would still like to get 8-9 hour of sleep a night, but it also hasn’t been feasible for me in this season of my life so I am doing my best (that’s really all we can do, right?). The next thing I did was make this a gradual change. Previously, i was waking up whenever (8am ish usually), or setting my alarm early not committing which means I would hit snooze 15 times. I started with gradually making my alarm an hour earlier it started out. as 7:30, then 6:30, then 5:30, and eventually 4am…. well 4:05am to be specific because that’s when I physically get out of bed.
Now that you know how to make the transition, you need to know the tips.
Tips for Getting Up Earlier
Set your phone away from your bed -If you’re using your phone as an alarm, set it away from your bed. It helps to physically get up and have to turn it off. Like I said previously, I use bedtime feature on my IPhone as my alarm. Even if I’m not in bed by 8:30pm (I never am lol!) it helps me start disconnecting and thinking about sleeping.
Set yourself up for success- I find it helpful to have a commitment bright and early so that I don’t spend any time wasted. I work out at 5am which means I’m out of the door by 4:50am. I prep everything for the gym the night before. My water bottle is full and in the fridge. My workout clothes are in the bathroom ready for me to put them on. My heart rate monitor, towel, and mask are sitting on my counter by my keys so I can grab all of that as I am walking out the door. If I were going to the regular gym, I’d have my bag packed and by the door so then I could just get going.
Plan - Having a plan kind of goes along with setting yourself up for success, but you need to know your routine once you get up if you aren’t hitting the gym like I do. I do have a very strategic plan for the first 4 to 5 hours of my day that sets me up for success that I will take a deep dive in on another post.
It takes time- I don’t know about anyone else, but it takes me well over a month to get in a routine, and somedays I still mess it up. The same goes for waking up earlier. Give yourself a month or so to get used to waking up earlier. There are a lot of mental and physical hurdles that come with getting up before the sun. I personally, feel like I’m getting ahead, but I know other people who do not like being up before the sun.
Know why you want to get up early- You are so much more likely to commit to making a change, if you know why you’re doing something. My why is because I was falling behind everyday, and wasn’t going to do that anymore. Your why might be a 4.0 GPA, writing a book, pursuing that side hustle, or creating a business in your off hours.
Go to bed earlier- Sure, I would like 9 hours of sleep everyday, and don’t get it, but I can function well on 5-6 hours of sleep. If you absolutely have to have 8 hours of sleep then you need to go to bed early enough to get 8 hours, and still wake up early. Creating a sleep schedule/routine is not easy, but consistency is key.
Create a bangin’ playlist- Music inspires me and motivates me in ways that I can’t fully explain. I love to blast a good playlist early in the morning or something motivating. I know if helps me to feel inspired, motivated, or connected to push through those moments of being tired. Today, I even turned on Eric Thomas, a motivational speaker while I was getting ready for the gym because I felt like i needed an extra little push.
I hope, if you’re wanting to get up earlier, you found something you can take away and implement into your routine. Getting up early isn’t always easy, but being able to know I can get up early and be efficient is SO satisfying.
As always, thank you for you reading!
XO,
Madison
