Three things I've learned about the art of rising early

September 18, 2015

I’ve been an on again off again morning person for a while now. The process of waking up early for me seemed to go like this:

1. Pick a number that will make people cringe, and set your alarm for that time everyday.

2. Create a morning process that will pull you out of bed.

3.Repeat this process everyday.

There are two problems with that approach.

Most people have lives that constantly throw new things at them making it difficult to create a pattern.

You are more likely to create a pattern of failing like a failure when you don’t jump out of bed exactly on time. There isn’t room for consistency.

I was a person with a standard of living and rituals that included Netflix, late nights with friends almost every night, waking up 10 minutes before I needed to leave for work, and drinking coffee to do it all over again. There are a ton of amazing books out there to help you become a morning person and seize the day, but I want to talk about the three most powerful discoveries I have made for myself in the process. Remember why you want to be a morning person in the first place. When you come up with a solid reason for why you are waking up, you can start to build a morning habit that actually works for you.

The reason to try this: I need to invest in myself before my day begins. In this way I can elevate my mood and am better equipped for whatever the day has to throw at me.

The basic ritual: Wake up at least 2 hours before my first appointment of the day. Go to sleep in order to allow myself 7 hours of sleep every night.

The most crucial part to my success with this so far has been the night time ritual. Do yourself a favor and set a bed time, and isolate yourself from screens and people at a specific time. It’s way easier to be intentional at the end of the day, so set yourself up for success.

Here are three things to keep in mind if you’re like me and want to see your days become more positive.

Thing 1

It’s a fight against the body’s feeling.

Your body will tell you that you need to spend those hours sleeping because it isn’t what you are used to. If our physical feelings when we wake up are mostly determined by chemicals in our body we must recognize that we are not fighting to get out of bed, we are fighting the chemicals that want us to stay down.

Thing 2

The value of waking up isn’t in the number on your alarm clock.

The value is in the lifestyle you create for yourself. The name of the morning game is “positivity”. The value of your morning is up to you. The more enriching moments you create for yourself in the morning, the more “valuable” your morning can be. So be intentional and make a note the night before of the things that have the ability to make you feel happy.

Thing3

Accountability is a must.

Find someone or something that will be waiting for you. Periscope has been an awesome way to have people waiting to see me wake up, even if they are just random people checking in.  I’ve also had a few weeks go by when someone I knew liked the idea and wanted me to text them to wake up.

I’m on a journey to make it a habit. It will take me 66 days to form this habit. I look forward to sharing more about the process as I learn it.