Few things in life are better than sleeping in. However, there are also few things that make us more productive than waking up early in the morning. This is something I discovered after having a series of days where I woke up early over winter break.
I’ve recently been able to establish a morning routine because I’ve been waking up early at the exact same time every day, but this newfound routine didn’t start because of me. Instead, over break, my little sister forced me to wake up early every morning, which I hated at the time, but after about three days had passed, I was able to wake myself up before she did.
While I absolutely hated waking up early for the first few days — and those days were the worst — it paid off, because once I returned to dorm living, I was able to have the longest streak of waking up on my own before 7 a.m.
The most essential thing to put into practice when you’re trying to wake up early in the morning is not only the routine, but also choosing a routine that actually makes things easier for you. Since I’m a night owl, this meant creating a routine that helped my mind wake up in the morning. How was I able to do this? I employed the power of exercise.
Every morning, I immediately went on a 30-minute hike. I chose hiking because I’m not a true fan of exercise, and I needed some external motivation (seeing nature as a reward for hiking up a mountain) to motivate me to get up and moving. I received instantaneous positive results from hiking, and enjoyed the serenity that came with being in the middle of nature during the early morning. So, hiking became something that I started to look forward to every morning when I woke up.
Similar to waking up, the first few days of forcing myself to go hiking were the hardest. But think of this discomfort like breaking in a pair of heels: once the shoe has molded to your foot and you’re over the mild discomfort, that beautiful pair of heels won’t only be perfectly tailored to your feet, but you’ll also begin to reach for them every day. Likewise, your morning routine will be difficult to break into at first, but once you’ve gotten past establishing your routine, it becomes easier to avoid breaking your streak.
For those of you convinced you’ll never be able to become morning people, some other helpful tips for making your morning routine as painless as possible are making sure to stay hydrated and using sensory activities to wake yourself up.
One of the things I did to wake myself up when I was first establishing my routine was to immediately play my favorite song after I turned off my alarm. The music helped me avoid falling back asleep, and also made me happy to listen to my favorite song first thing in the morning. As soon as the five minutes of listening time were over, I’d climb down from my bed and drink a full cup of warm water. This helped me wake up because the sensation of the warm water sliding into my stomach helped me ground myself in my body.
Trying these sorts of sensory activities, paired with working out early in the morning, and getting your blood flowing, are sure to get you waking up earlier, even if you’re a night owl like me.