Finding ways to wake up earlier is one of the key steps I’m trying to take to be more productive and have more time for me in 2020. When I wake up earlier I feel like I have an extra edge on the world. If it’s still quiet around me, no distractions, it’s almost like I’m getting a head start. For some reason I don’t feel this way if I stay up late. And you probably don’t either. To help us all get ahead, I’m showing you how I’m training myself to wake up earlier to be more productive.

Ways to Wake Up Earlier

READ A BOOK BEFORE BED INSTEAD OF SCROLLING ON YOUR PHONE

Obviously you should go to bed earlier to wake up earlier. But even when you have the best of intentions, you can end up falling asleep way after you’ve gone to bed. It’s all too easy to scroll on your phone in bed aimlessly before falling asleep. I personally fall victim to going down a black hole of YouTube video viewing and next thing I know 90 minutes have passed.  But I’m for sure making an effort to avoid this completely and dive into a book instead. I enjoy reading, but let’s be real, I don’t spend as much time turning the pages of a book as I do watching IG stories on watching videos so I’m more likely to fall asleep faster. Tone down your screen time at night too and you’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to fall asleep. 

 

HAVE A CONSISTENT MORNING ROUTINE

Some of the most successful people in the world have a morning routine and they are militant about it. It teaches you discipline and gives you time to get into the right headspace for the day. A lot of people rely on working out, taking a shower, having a cup of coffee, and getting dressed as the time they have for themselves in a day. Do whatever works best for you, but start a routine and stick to it! 

 

STARTING SMALL? GET UP JUST ONE MINUTE EARLIER EACH DAY

No new-mom pun intended, but, baby steps! This awesome tip from Fast Company is a great way to trick your body into waking up earlier. Who wants to wake up 45 minutes earlier than normal? No one. But one minute earlier? In a month, you’ll have started waking up 15 minutes earlier without even trying.  

 

WAKE UP WITH A PURPOSE

One of the easiest ways to hit the ground running when you wake up in the morning is to have a real reason to wake up in the first place. It will also help you fall asleep, knowing that there’s something that needs taken care of in the morning. Sometimes stress can mimic the feeling of feeling compelled to wake up, but by planning out some to-do lists, you can avoid this and feel motivated instead. This is going to teach you self discipline and give you an extra drive each day. This can only feel rewarding and relaxing at night when you’ve accomplished your goals, giving you a chance to relax with some me time at the end of the day. 

 

MAKE YOUR BED IN THE MORNING

A couple things to unpack here. If you don’t make your bed, you’ll want to just get back in it. That’s just a fact. You’ll also feel like your morning has ended and the day has begun. You’ll feel accomplished and organized having both cleaned up a little and accomplished a task all before you’re out of your pajamas. 

 

PLUG YOUR PHONE IN ACROSS THE ROOM

Another classic training method, putting your phone (AKA alarm clock) across the room will help you to get up and out of bed to turn off your alarm. Not only will it be harder to get back to sleep after you’ve gotten up, you’ll have broken your REM cycle and the sleep wouldn’t be good anyway – so in all seriousness you actually SHOULDN’T go back to sleep. This can be a hard change to implement but it also helps with the nighttime phone scrolling so its definitely a win-win to try this one!

Do you have any tips on ways to wake up earlier? Let me know in a comment below!