Summer officially began last Wednesday, and with that comes brighter evenings, and brighter mornings…
So you’d think waking up earlier would feel easier, right?
It’s no longer dark when your alarm clock goes off so it doesn’t feel like you should still be asleep…
It’s no longer unbearably cold making it a battle to throw the duvet off and get up…
So getting out of bed on a morning, should feel easier… But not exactly.
In an ideal world as soon as the alarm goes off, you’d jump out of bed, into the shower, and be ready to start your day without worrying about rushing out the door.
But it’s not always that simple (not if you’re not used to it, and not if you don’t have a routine).
Last week I told you all about the simple changes I made to my night time routine, to help make waking up earlier, easier.
And because getting to sleep earlier is just half the battle, this week I wanted to tackle how to wake up earlier!…
…So you feel refreshed and ready for the day, able to get MORE done, without cursing at the alarm clock.
Here’s some simple changes I made…
Tips To Wake Up Earlier:
First and foremost, don’t rely on yourself.
I get that might sound strange, after all only you can make changes, but remember how last week I said we’ll justify anything to ourselves to get ourselves out of doing something? Well, you know those mornings where you wonder why you snoozed without even waking up, or you kept hitting ‘snooze’ on your alarm to get ‘another 10 minutes’…?
If you’re not used to waking up early, your body will struggle to do so.
So we need to be clever, and make simple changes, to set us up to succeed.
One of the first things I did, and still do to this day is this – I put my phone alarm on my chest of draws across from my bed.
Why? Because I found when I could reach my alarm clock while still lying in bed, the chance of me hitting snooze was HIGH. There’s no question about it, in fact I would hit snooze every time.
Put your alarm clock across the room, make it loud and choose an annoying sound, so your only option is to get out of bed to turn it off… Then whatever you do, don’t get back into bed!
My next tip – wake yourself up!
We all know the toughest part about waking up earlier than normal is that ‘fogginess’ we all experience first thing. The kind that makes you want to sleep, sleep and have more sleep!
So the first thing I do (after walking across the room to turn my alarm off), is I splash my face with cold water, then go through a basic stretching routine.
If stretching isn’t for you, another great idea is to use the time you have in the morning to go for a brisk walk for 10 minutes.
Getting your body moving is one of the most simplest ways to wake yourself up and get yourself ready for the day.
When I don’t do it, I definitely feel slower, and take longer to do everything I need to do.
Now let’s talk about coffee, a lot of people say it’s bad for you, but only if you drink too much – here’s how to turn caffeine into your friend…
If you find yourself using coffee to stay awake later, to help you get through that afternoon ‘slog’, and you down a cup every hour of the day while you’re at your desk… Switch to using it as part of your morning routine instead.
Have a cup of it in the morning after drinking a glass of water, and use caffeine to give you focus. Be careful not to drink too much that it doesn’t do the job it’s meant to do – to keep you alert!
I usually stop drinking it by midday.
And my last tip for you – build a morning routine around something you look forward to doing.
I used to enjoy my late nights watching TV series while laying in bed, but now, I truly look forward to my quiet mornings, waking up to a quiet house and going through my morning routine without the kids running around me – because once they’re up, that’s it!
Here’s A Morning Routine That Works For Me:
- Wake up early between 5:30 and 6:00 am
- Drink an entire glass of fresh water with lemon (I always make sure there’s a big jug of it ready in the fridge)
- Splash my face with cold water to wake me up
- Spend 5 minutes stretching my entire body
- Maybe go for a walk, run, or workout in the gym
- Grab a hot coffee, and read
Then I’m set up for the rest of the day!
There’s something special about being awake early and knowing that you are improving the quality of your life, able to get MORE done, and as a result, have more time to do what you enjoy – instead of being in a rush everyday like most of us are!
Whatever becomes a part of your morning routine, the key is to be consistent so it becomes a habit you do without thinking.
You’ll feel happier and more energetic. You’ll get through your to-do list a lot quicker. You’ll have more time to spend with family and friends. And you’ll feel more motivated to get up and go.
And the best part? You’ll achieve all of this just by making small changes to the first couple of hours to your day.
So there you have it, that’s my routine – what’s yours?
And if you’ve transitioned from a night-owl, to an early bird, what was your favourite change you made?
Here’s to waking up earlier, and getting more done!
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P.S. If you’ve got back pain that makes it hard to get out of bed on a morning – a bad back that’s flared up, has come on out of the blue, or if you’ve been suffering for a while that it’s just become a normal part of your daily life – that doesn’t have to be the case.
Here’s a free tips guide that you can start using as soon as today, to help ease your back pain quick, visit here to download it: http://www.paulgoughphysio.com/back-pain
You might know Paul as an expert Columnist who writes weekly health articles for TWO of the North East's biggest daily Newspapers, The Northern Echo And The Hartlepool Mail, he is a regular Speaker at Industry Seminars around the globe and a Radio Personality, often heard on the BBC. Paul has been an expert guest on dozens of Radio shows and regularly interviewed in newspapers, magazines and trade journals all over the world, including the Guardian.
Paul’s background included working extensively in the Premier League with a Top Professional Football Team, and since quitting his job in Professional Football in 2007, his Physio Practice has become the fastest growing in the UK and biggest in the North East. So successful, that companies like BUPA, ASDA, The Vela Group And Coast & Country, repeatedly retain his Physio company's services to keep healthy their own staff and workforce. Paul Gough Physio Rooms is now a large multi-physio, multi clinic speciality practice in Darlington, Durham, Guisborough and Hartlepool.
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