This is not a post about how to be a morning person. I am slightly convinced you are born with it or never like mornings and see their beauty. I’ll give you one guess what an extroverted, hyper-productivity focused, 3W2 person like me is. I can also stay up late, but I would rather get up early to get something done than stay up late. (Mostly because I know I could fall asleep if I’m staying up late.) Anyway, I have learned there’s like me and two other people who love mornings so this is not my case for why a slow-start in the early morning to cuddle with your dog… oops! My bad. Back to the topic.
Even if you love the feeling of an early morning, it can still be a pain to actually wake up when that alarm goes off. Especially during the winter months. (Side note, I got an actual alarm clock as part of my work on self-discipline and be a consistent member of the 5 AM club.) Today I’m sharing how I help myself prepare for those early alarms and start the day off right!
Lay Out Your Clothes
I go back and forth on planning my outfits for the week. Sometimes it works perfectly, sometimes nothing really comes together. However, I almost always lay out my clothing for the next day. Eliminating that little bit of require decision making early in the day can really help you focus on things with more meaningful impact.
But Alissa, what if I don’t want to wear what I put out the night before? Sure, I’ve done that too. If I’m wearing pants and a top I’m only allowed to swap out one item. Dresses are a different story. But if there’s multiple items I simply limit my “choices” and find something I DO want to wear.
Clean In Your Sleep
I have such a love/hate relationship with my Roomba (named Andy for reasons you will soon see). I love it so much because I grew up in a home where we vacuumed pretty much every day. I hate it because it tries its best but gets stuck under random things and drives me INSANE! (I named him Andy after Andy on Parks and Rec for his helpful/not helpful nature.) Not to jinx it, but for the past few weeks Andy has been doing a GREAT job and not saying “Error, code 5” every 10 minutes. (I run this thing a lot, evidence here.)
The robot vacuum scares my dog (I admit the concept would probably scare me too.) so I try to reducer her stress by running it on the opposite floor of where she is. So at night I turn Andy on and let it run all night. I wake up to a cleaned floor and a charged Roomba to do the second floor!
Watch the Sunrise
Whenever the weather gods smile upon Chicago in the winter, I take a moment to watch the sunrise. The best part is cuddling with Eleanor and getting to soak in the dawn in silence. I’m not going to take a photo and post it on social media. I just like the sunrise and it’s a special little moment Eleanor and I have. There’s a specific silence that is in the early morning. It’s an energy. A calm. I highly recommend this to reset or start your day off right.
Prepare The First Sip of Whatever
I don’t like hot drinks. I don’t like coffee. (The photo above is the ONE exception – my friend Melissa’s boozy hot chocolate.) If you one of the millions who think I am weird, no hate to you. I just simply don’t like it. However, I do have a morning drink (cold, non-coffee) and I always make sure it’s grabbable and ready for me as soon as I wake up. When I had a partner who liked coffee, we always made sure the Keurig water was filled, even if only one cup had been used. Plus put that thing on a timer and you’re good.
Do the Worst Thing First
This concept is “eat the frog.” Don’t let that one thing you are dreading doing be the last item on your list. If you start with the worst, your day will only get better. It really has helped me get rid of some mental clutter by just diving in at 6 am instead of waiting until 6 pm. Whether this is personal or work, just do it.
Oh and I just want to make one thing clear, I may love mornings but I am NOT a morning workout person. I do so much better when I workout between 4-8 pm. I need that mental break from work to personal life. While I’m ready to do most things in the morning, a workout is not one of them.
Kelli
I am not a morning person (as you know), but one thing I find super helpful is to actually get up when the alarm goes off. I read an article about how playing the snooze game actually makes you more tired because you’re just confusing your body (or something like that). It’s true. Wake up with the alarm, get some caffeine going because I do enjoy coffee, and the day’s off to a good start.