Simply put, there are only a few of us who can naturally hop out of bed first thing in the morning and be ready to start their day. For the rest of us, the thought of waking up any earlier than necessary sounds absolutely terrible. With a little hard work, effort, and determination, you too can wake up early and not feel miserable!
These morning hacks are guaranteed to help you start your day off the best way possible!
This is always easier said than done! Between our inability to shut off our minds and fall asleep, or our night owl tendencies, falling asleep at a realistic and feasible time can be extremely difficult. If you are determined to be successful at becoming a morning person, set small goals, and make them realistic. If you went to bed at 11:30 p.m. last night, go to bed at 11:15 p.m. the following evening. Continue in this pattern until you reach your dream bedtime goal! Ideally, you should be getting seven to nine hours of sleep a night, so take your wakeup time into consideration when working towards your new bedtime!
If you are not used to waking up early in the morning, do not try to set your alarm at an unrealistic time. Instead of setting your alarm for five in the morning when you have a nine a.m. class, try waking up at seven or seven-thirty and work toward waking up earlier if that is a goal you have! As a college student or young professional, make sure you factor in all of the tasks you need to accomplish before walking out the door to ensure you have plenty of time to get everything done. Do not forget to factor in the time it takes to walk or head to class and work as well!
Setting a dozen alarms to wake you up in the morning will do more harm than good. Allowing yourself to rely on the fact that if you hit snooze, or turn off the first few alarms trains your brain to not want to be alert and awake as soon as you hear the first alarm. If you are adjusting to waking up to an alarm clock for the first time, set two alarms: one for the intended wake up time, and the second in case you need a few more minutes of sleep. Make an effort to wake up and get out of bed after the first alarm to ensure you are building good habits!
If you are someone who takes too long or always questions your outfit of the day, this is one of those morning hacks that will give you some extra time! Take the time to pick out your clothes the night before to take a task off your morning to-do list. This is such a time saver, especially when you are in a hurry!
Everyone has their own opinion when it comes to choosing between morning or evening showers. No matter which side of the argument you stand, if you tend to drag your feet in the morning, try to shower at night! Or if you need to shower to wake up, wash your hair at night to cut your shower time down significantly! These morning hacks will ensure you can get ready for your day faster than usual and get your day started off on the right foot.
For decades experts have said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and there are many reasons to back that up! Whether that means you take the time to cook, sit and enjoy a meal or eat a granola bar while you get ready, make sure you take time out of your morning routine to take care of your body. Starting the day off with some food will ensure you set your day up for success!
Unless you have reasons for cutting out caffeine due to health issues, or any other reasons, try to give yourself some caffeine if you can! Some people genuinely cannot function without caffeine, so depriving those individuals is only setting them up for failure. Make a morning ritual of drinking your coffee while you get ready or while you prepare breakfast. Or if you really want to motivate yourself to leave early, plan to make a coffee run before your first destination of the day! No matter what time of person you are in the morning, everyone will take the time to sit or stand in line for their favorite morning pick-me-up.
Whether you carry a purse, backpack, briefcase, or some other type of bag, try to have everything already inside the night before! The last thing you want to think about as you try to scramble out the door is if you remembered to pack your wallet or other essentials. Give yourself the peace of mind knowing that you are ready-to-go when you walk out of your house with your bag!
This applies to breakfast, lunch, or both! If you want to give yourself as much time as possible in the mornings, go ahead and prep your food the night before. By doing this, you allow for small bits of relaxing time first thing in the morning. Instead of rushing around trying to make food, enjoy that bowl of overnight oats while watching the news or catching up on what your friends are up to on social media. Meal prepping is one of those morning hacks that gives you some personal time without sacrificing your ability to leave on time!
You should certainly experiment with this every morning and throughout the day to see which motivates you the most! If you are someone who can truly just listen to television shows or films, listen to that favorite show you are always re-watching as you get ready for your day. However, if TV distracts you, curate a playlist that makes you happy, or will guarantee you start the day with a great mentality! Some prefer podcasts, and chances are that you will make it through at least one by the time you are heading out the door. These morning hacks ensure you start your day off the best way possible!
This applies to the time you spend getting ready for your day as well as the time you should be potentially leaving for work, class etc. and the time you have to leave by. Ideally, you want to leave as close to the earliest time as you can to ensure you arrive early or on time! If you are not a morning person naturally, you will most likely have a hard time motivating yourself to get ready and leave as quickly as you might initially want. Keep these ranges and morning hacks in mind so that if you are having an off day, you know when the latest is that you can leave!
This can be something as simple as fixing a fancy cup of coffee for yourself at home or grabbing a smoothie on your way to work! Make sure you set aside some time during the morning to sit for a few minutes and relax. One of the great things about getting an early start to the day is the peace and quiet right before your life gets crazy! Take advantage of these moments as a reward for getting out of bed early.
If you are not used to waking up to an alarm or waking up any earlier than necessary to start your day, do not get too upset if you are slow-moving. Remember that even baby steps are significant progress! Even if it means waking up ten minutes or an hour and a half earlier than you usually do, that is still amazing! Keep these morning hacks in mind as you work your way to becoming a morning person.
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