Anyone that knows me well can tell you I have never really been a huge morning person. I am the epitome of a night owl - I love staying up late, I am productive late at night, and I hate getting up in the morning. The snooze button is seriously my best friend, which is not always a good thing. The thing I've come to realize though is that it isn't so much the fact that I hate mornings in and of themselves, but I just don't love the act of waking up early. For those of you that do, I totally envy you (teach me your ways!). The truth is once I am awake, with a cup of coffee in hand (because duh), I am totally happy, and I actually do like having what feels like a jumpstart on my day. Although I love to sleep in, I think I might love the feeling of having a productive morning more. It sets you up for the day better than sleeping in and then rushing out the door to start the day!
I decided a couple weeks ago that it was time to really nail down waking up in the morning, which required a few changes to my normal routine and habits. So far these few changes have really made quite the difference! Whether or not I will every truly be a 'morning person' is up for debate, however I am most certainly happy that waking up is now a little bit less of a struggle, and I have a morning routine now that I love!
For anyone else out there that struggles like I do, I thought I would share some of the tips that helped me out. Give them a try and hopefully you will be on your way to becoming more of a morning person!
1. Do NOT hit the snooze button. I repeat, do not do it. This was the hardest thing to do, but honestly the most important for really changing my sleeping habits. Because I am so bad about hitting the snooze button, the only way to do this was to move my alarm (phone) across my bedroom. For someone who has slept with their phone right next to them every night for years this was honestly kind of a strugle. Sadly I know. However, this was extremely beneficial because it not only forced me to get up, but I also felt way less groggy which was a huge plus. Moving my phone across the room also leads to me my next point...
2. Like most people I'm sure, I use my phone as my alarm, and also like most people, once I get into bed to go to sleep, I waste a solid fifteen minutes at least scrolling through instagram, facebook, snapchat, etc... It's so bad and so unnecessary. Not only does it waste time that could have been spent falling asleep or actually sleeping, but it also makes it harder for you to fall asleep. The light from the screen is stimulating to your brain, which is exactly what you don't want when you are trying to unwind and fall asleep. I decided instead of wasting time on my phone, if I'm not quite ready to fall asleep or particularly tired, I will try and read a chapter from whatever book I am currently reading. I don't get much free time during my day for pleasure reading, so I have been taking advantage of this time. To be honest, I almost never even get through a chapter because something about reading in bed at night just puts me right to sleep!
3. Get into bed at night earlier. It's really that simple. The eariler you go to bed at night the easier it is to get up in the morning. Now this was a bit difficult for the night owl in me, but once I started doing it and it became more routine, it was much easier. By forcing myself to go to bed earlier, I also came to realize that there really was no reason for me to stay up as late as I was. It never hurts to get an extra hour or two of sleep, and it really does make a difference in how you feel the next day.
4. Have something to look forward to. For me this is coffee, always coffee. I actually crave it and look forward to having it before I even go to sleep the night before (addicted). When I wake up in the morning and am really struggling to get out of bed, I just think of the cup of coffee I am about to have and that usually does the trick. Recently I have been making that cup of coffee and then taking it back into bed with me. This probably isn't for everyone, and if getting back into bed with your coffee will make you sleepy and likely to doze back to sleep then don't do it. However, I love it and it works for me. Depending on how much time I have, it is a nice half hour or hour that I spend waking up, drinking my coffee and enjoying the quiet moments of the morning before the day gets crazy. I will typically spend it reading my favorite blogs, checking emails, or even doing a bit of blogging myself. It has really made me appreciate mornings that much more!
Am I the only one who thinks cute pajamas make everything about bedtime and the mornings that much better!?
Shop my favorites here...
xo. G
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