To know me is to know that I do not get along well with mornings. I’ve come to appreciate upperclassman status in that I have the freedom to sculpt my schedule around needing a couple extra hours in the a.m. On the occasion that I get up with the normal student population at 8 a.m., I can assure you that I wear my leggings and T-shirts with pride as I hide my tired face from passers by.
We’ve all heard the saying, “The early bird gets the worm,” but I’ve always been convinced that it applies more to “real” adults-not students. But, in the name of my adulthood and for the sake of maximizing my time in each day, I became a morning person for a week. I studied the standard tips (that I now consider myths) from real morning people, and compiled a list of things I’ve learned that make mornings do-able (though definitely not easy). This post certainly won’t make you a morning person, but it will give you some food for thought that may make those necessary early days somewhat less painful.
Work on you, not your fitness
Some people think that early mornings are a great chance to start a workout routine. You’re already waking up early, why not add in a workout with that extra time?
While kick-starting your day with a workout sounds like a great way to kill two birds with one stone, if you’re not already in love with working out and doing so regularly, this is probably not the routine for you.
Personally, I don’t really look forward to going to the gym, and I definitely don’t look forward to going in the early hours of the morning.
Waking up early doesn’t require a rigorous fitness plan. If you’re looking to add some hours to your day, don’t be too ambitious.
Start the process with something you look forward to, not something you dread. Go to Starbucks, listen to music on the couch, have some personal time, read a book. Starting the day with something pleasant will actually make you more prepared to take on the day with positivity and drive. And then you’ll be motivated to start that workout later on in the day-and you’ll have the time to do so.
It’s not a choice
We’ve all done it. When that alarm starts yelling, I start brainstorming reasons to go back to sleep. Some days, I convince myself that I deserve the extra sleep. Some days, I decide that looks don’t matter and that I’ll just throw on a hat instead of doing my hair. Some days (the worst days), I decide that I don’t really need to go to class. The reasons keep coming, and those habits are hard to break.
I found that it was easier to wake up on days when I HAD to. Whether I had homework that needed to be finished or a meeting to go to, the reasons to wake up outweighed the reasons not to.
Every day could be like that if you are in the mindset that you have to get up. Don’t give yourself a choice, but wake up knowing that this is the only option. It may not be great, but at least it’ll get you out of bed.
Plan ahead
When you jumpstart your day in the morning, it’s easy to assume that you’re losing hours of much needed sleep. And, this is the case if you don’t plan accordingly. It’s important to understand that cutting out sleep in the name of getting up and being productive will counteract itself if you don’t tack on those lost hours to the night before. Translation: go to bed an hour or two earlier, so you can wake up an hour or two earlier. It’s simple logic that just makes sense, but in my experience, it’s hard to do without a plan. Until you’ve created a habitual routine, carefully plan out your day so that you’re all set to turn in for the night at a reasonable hour.
Train for your morning marathon
Whether you’re waking up with intentions of creating a lasting habit, or just want to test it out for a week, starting small is the way to go. It’ doesn’t make sense to go from walking a mile to running a marathon overnight. So, why would you put your body into that same shock by making such a huge routine change in just one day? Train for your morning marathons by slowly increasing the amount of time you have in the morning. First, add 20 or 30 minutes to your routine. Then, try an hour. See how that goes, and then continue to add minutes slowly and steadily. You’ll be surprised at how quickly your body will adapt and how much you’ll enjoy your new time in the morning-even if it’s just a one-time thing.