How To Make Early Mornings A Habit
As most of you already know Gwynn and I are both morning people…now. In fact it is my favorite time of day. We love getting up early and spending time together before work and before the kids are up. Each evening I look forward to the peaceful and quiet morning ahead.
Waking early is a habit, and like any habit it takes persistence and commitment to form. For us it took nearly 3 weeks before the bleary eyed zombie walk down the hall to the kitchen passed, but now that we’ve got the hang of it I know there’s no turning back. I understand that waking early is not for everyone but I do urge you to at least give it a try so you know what you’re missing (or not). When was the last time you saw the sunrise? If you think this is something you would like to try or have tried but the snooze button kept getting in the way then hopefully these tips will help you out.
How to make early mornings a habit
1. Baby steps. Start by waking up 15 to 30 minutes earlier than you do now. Stick with that for a week and see how you feel. If it’s all good then increase it by another 15 to 30 minutes. Continue this until you have reached a time that you are comfortable with. You are more likey to be successful if you make small adjustments to your sleep schedule as opposed to huge ones. I used to wake up at 6:30 every morning then we slowly adjusted first to 6:15, then 5:45 and finally 5:30. The small increments are easier to take as opposed to waking up an hour earlier all at once.
2. Go to bed earlier. I am usually in bed by 9:30/10:00 each night and get nearly 8 hours of sleep, which is a lot for some. Lately I’ve been going to bed a bit later 10:30/11:00 and it is certainly having an effect. I am pretty tired and it is a little more difficult to wake at 5:30. Determine how much sleep you need to function well throughout the day and work backwards. If you require only 6 hours of sleep to feel refreshed and you want to wake at 5 then try heading to bed at 11:00 and see how you go. If getting to sleep isn’t easy try simply listening to your body and go to bed when you are tired. By approaching sleep this way you may find that getting to sleep, staying asleep and waking at 5:00 isn’t an issue.
3. Get ready the night before. To help you on your way to becoming an early riser try getting things ready the night before. Set the coffee maker so it’s ready to go at a flip of the switch or set the timer so the aroma of fresh coffee has permeated your home by the time you wake up. Lay out your clothes so you can just throw them on, set out a book or a journal or gym clothes.
4. Decide what you are going to do with your newly acquired time. This can be tied in with point 3 by giving it some thought the night before. Are you going to meditate, journal, read or head to the gym? Are you going to talk and catch up with your partner, enjoy the quiet and stillness of the morning or listen to music? Whatever you decide to do with your time make sure you have it planned out and everything at your finger tips so you have something to look forward to when you wake up and you can hit the ground running.
5. Put your alarm out of reach. Pretty standard advice but put the alarm clock on the other side of the room so you have to physically get out of bed to shut it off. Alternatively, you can try what we do and that is to booby trap the side table that the alarm clock is on. “Someone” (no names mentioned 
) has a knack for turning off the alarm while he is still asleep so we used to sleep in a lot in the beginning because we didn’t hear it. Now there is a picture and a phone in front of the alarm so if “someone” blindly bats for the off button he is likely to knock all of this stuff over and make one heck of a racket. This has worked really well for us so far.
6. Sit up immediately. You don’t have to jump out of bed (unless your alarm clock is on the other side of the room) but you do need to sit up in bed as soon as you wake up. This helps fight off the urge to curl back up under the blankets and fall back asleep. This does require self-discipline but the more you do it the easier it gets. Once you sit up get dressed or throw on a house coat and leave the bedroom. Avoid talking yourself into going back to sleep be strong, particularly in the beginning.
7. Get a wake up buddy. I know I would have had a much harder time getting into this habit if I was on my own. It’s great if you can do it by yourself, but for me it would be just too tempting to roll over and go back to sleep. Motivate each other, give each other a gentle push to get up and get going. On tough days get their favorite morning beverage ready, hot coffee or tea can really help get someone moving. If it’s not your partner, try arranging something with a friend, give each other wake up calls or meet at the gym for a work out. It’s more difficult to not follow through when someone else is counting on you as well.
These are the steps that have helped us form the early riser habit. I would say it’s one of the best things we’ve ever done. Do you have any other tips or suggestions for making getting up early easier? Are you and early riser? Will you try it? Please share in the comments!
See also:
10 Tips For A Successful Meditation
Grab the Reins and Enjoy Your Life
Gratitude Journal: 30 Days To Happiness
How to Become an Early Riser - Steve Pavlina
How I Became an Early Riser - Zen Habits
Photo courtesy of: Per Ola Wiberg (Powi)
19 Responses to “How To Make Early Mornings A Habit”
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Getting up in the morning is VERY hard for me. Every day, I want to stay in my warm bed with my little dog and just sleep till noon. I actually do a lot of the things you suggested (which all work really well), but I really need to work on sitting up immediately. I think that one would really do the trick (and it’s probably the hardest one to do!).
Positively Present’s last blog post..i (want to) brake for happiness
Sherri,
I so love the morning. I will typically wake up as soon as I can, because they’re always something I’m looking forward to. Still, going to bed early is important. Also, I find that not eating late reduces the amount of hours required for sleep. Unfortunately my schedule does not always allow this.
Thanks for the post.
Michael’s last blog post..Your Feedback Please
I’m awful at getting up early, but my wife is an early morning person. I think your idea of doing it in small increments makes sense. I’m going on vacation next week, but maybe when I come back I’ll give it a try.
Roger – A Content Life’s last blog post..30 Days of Mindful Eating – Day 30
@ Positively Present – I do find it helpful to just get up and get going as soon as you wake up. It eliminates my tendency to talk myself into just 5 more minutes.
@ Michael – It’s great that waking early is the reward itself. So much easier to do when you enjoy it!
@ Roger – Sounds like you have a wake up buddy just waiting to kick you into gear
Starting out small makes it a lot less painful.
Hi Sherri,
I have always been an early morning person so I know the joys of it. I love to wake-up and hear the birds chirping outside the window. Now that it is Spring time, the birds start real early and it is such a beautiful sound. Anyway…I have friends who have trouble getting up so I will pass this on to them!
Nadia-Happy Lotus’s last blog post..Tag…You’re It!
@ Nadia – Well done! I very much look forward to spring and summer here. We sit outside on the deck and drink our coffee before Gwynn heads off to work. It’s just lovely!
This is something I want to work on. I have never been a morning person, but the situation was made worse when I got in the habit of sleeping in and nursing after my first child was born. She is now 7 and my youngest is 3…I am out of excuses. I get up around 7:15 now. I will be reluctantly using your tips!
http://motivatedmama.net/
Ali’s last blog post..Owning Yourself Part 1: Time Management
@ Ali – Welcome and good for you! I’m glad you’re going to give it a shot. 7:15 is a great place to start. Next week give waking up at 7 a shot, before you know it you’ll be up bouncing around the house before 6 am
Thanks for your comment!
Thanks Sherri – these are all good suggestions! To sit up immediately, I would add the “flip” – pull the covers off of yourself, then on back angled off bed put legs up in air, then bring legs down, which gives you momentum and you can easily sit up. That and morning and evening routines you look forward to.
My final two cents: Sleep is important for your well-being! Make sure you get lots of sleep on a consistent basis – see Sherri’s point 2.
@ Anthony – I’m glad you liked it! I love your suggestion of flipping yourself out of bed that’s great. Gets you up and out of bed with enthusiasm
Thanks for that!
I just discovered your site and this is the post that called to me. Just started getting up earlier this week. I never skimp on having enough time to do the hair, clothes and makeup before I’m off to work. Even when I do hit the snooze, I manage to put myself together in just the nick of time. Now, I’m creating the space to primp my spirit before I start the day. It feels good not to go to work with a groggy soul.
Lori | Spiritual Tidbits´s last blog ..A Committee of One
I sort of started this a couple of weeks back, but Christmas/New Year have me back to waking late. However, I’ve just done a blog post on it and intend to get back into the habit.
One thing I’ve found good is to open a window as soon as I’m out of bed and breathe in the fresh air. It really helps to wake me.
Thanks for the tips.
~Rose
Rose´s last blog ..Focus Habit
My husband and I tried this a few years ago – it was quite odd being awake at sunrise. Beautiful and wonderful (especially mid-summer in Arizona), but it didn’t last. Now that my 18 month old is sleeping in my bed, I can’t get up earlier than he does without waking him. Not only that, but my husband tends to go to bed at 3 or 4 am EVERY night, without fail (no matter what he says about getting to bed early).
Oh, how I would love to see the sun rise again. Still working on getting my kid to bed before 10pm. Someday! Thanks for the inspiration.