5 Tips To Make Waking Up Early More Manageable

Let me first start by saying that I have NEVER felt like I was a "morning person". I used to hate waking up for school and was the type to set 17 alarms, only to snooze all of them until I was running late. I felt like I could never wake myself up in the mornings. It wasn't until recent that I started being able to wake up early (like 4:30 am early) and actually get myself out of bed (it took A LOT of trial and error). While it's still not easy waking up this early, it does get easier. Here are my tips for making those early wake up calls more manageable:

1. SLEEP MATTERS. Both quantity and quality. If you find that you are always struggling to wake up in the morning or stay awake throughout the day, you may want to look at your sleeping habits. Are you getting the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep every night? If you are and you still feel groggy, look at your sleep quality. Try to limit electronic use right before bed, light, and noises (like the television). If you suspect poor sleep quality may be caused by something deeper, it may be worth seeing a sleep specialist for help.

2. HAVE A PLAN. What are you hoping to accomplish by waking up earlier? Whether it be an early morning workout, getting things done around the house, or working on a project for work, have a plan of exactly what you are going to do. I've fallen victim to the "I was going to go to the gym, but I don't even know what to workout today... whatever, I'll just go back to bed then." Creating a set plan will help prevent indecisiveness from talking you back into bed.

3. LAY OUT YOUR CLOTHES THE NIGHT BEFORE. This is more specifically for those trying to conquer early morning workouts. Set your clothes out the night before so you can just wake up and change without having to take the extra time finding something to wear. You will be able to wake up and go much more efficiently.

4. CHARGE YOUR PHONE AWAY FROM YOUR BED. This is probably the one thing that has helped me the most when it comes to waking up early. I charge my phone in my bathroom so that when my alarm goes off I have to get up out of bed just to turn it off. If I wanted to fall back asleep, I'd have to make a more conscious decision to walk back to the bed to do so (and this does still happen from time to time, but it is FAR less often than before).

5. THE 2 MINUTE RULE. Once your alarm goes off and you feel like going back to bed, stay up for at least 2 minutes. I still struggle every single morning my alarm goes off at 4:30, my first reaction is usually "Nope. Not today. Not doing this. I'm too tired." but after about 2 minutes, I'm able to wake up a bit more and it's not so bad. Fight that initial reaction of defiance and remind yourself how much better you will feel once you accomplish that task that you are waking up for.

Most everybody feels like there is just not enough time in the day, and as the day goes on, more and more things come up that can derail your plans or productivity. By waking up an extra hour or two early you'll have uninterrupted time to accomplish the things you seem to always run out of time for or put off.

Are you a morning bird, or a night owl? And what are some things that you do for the mornings that you have to wake up early?