How I Became a Morning Person in 1 Month

Back in May, I blogged about my goal of becoming a morning person by the end of June. I really, really, really wanted to start getting up earlier and being more productive in the morning hours. I am pleased to announce that I did it. Yup. We’re in July and I’ve never gotten up so early so regularly (and so happily) ever! Woah, that was a lot to handle. Let me rephrase that: I get up early. Everyday. And I’m happy about it.

Here’s how I became a morning person in one month (by following these wake-up early guidelines I set for myself back in May):

1. I established a nighttime routine. Nothing rigid and strict, after all, it is summer! Just a general order and timeframe for hittin’ the hay. (I’m working on making a bit more rigid!) Most days, it goes something like this:

9:30pm Brush teeth and wash face, put on PJs
10:00pm Get in bed, read on my Kindle
11:00-11:30pm Zzzzz…

Of course there were days when I didn’t even brush my teeth until midnight, but for the most part I go to sleep between 11:00 and 11:30pm each night (sometimes even earlier!)

2. I established a morning routine. Not quite early enough to catch the sunrise, but still early for me. My original goal was to wake up daily around 8:30am naturally, without an alarm clock. I easily wake up then, and am currently in the process of pushing that time back even more to 8:00am (by the end of July). My ultimate goal is to wake up on my own around 7:30am each day (by the end of August). Anyway, my morning routine goes something like this:

7:30-8:30am Depending on how late I caught my Zzzs the night before, I wake up [naturally] at varying times. Typically my alarm is set to 8:00am; some days I’m already up and at ’em, others it’s snooze a few times. Hopefully making my bedtime routine more regular will help!
8:30am Brush teeth and get dressed
9:00am Breakfast and coffee

3. I went to bed and woke up around the same time each day. This I could improve upon. However, in my defense, my bedtime window is usually around one hour as is my wake-up window. This isn’t too bad considering my typical schedule has been turned upside down for the summer months.

4. I stopped pressing the snooze button. If ever I were to be convicted of anything, it would have been that I am was a serial snoozer. Snooze no more! It really just prolongs the inevitable. Instead of 15 alarms at five minute increments, I set one when I want to get up and another five minutes later, just in case I sleepily turn off the first and don’t get up. I also put the alarm clock across the room, forcing me to get out of bed.

So there you have it–I am a morning person. I get up most day merrily and excited to get goin’! This is a far cry from my previous feet-dragging out of bed only to be drowsy all day attitude. I have more energy, I’m more productive, and I’m just happier.

I will keep you posted on my morning person-ness. Anyone else breaking old habits?