Lately I have been getting up early in the morning instead of sleeping in and I have definitely noticed a positive difference in how I feel throughout the day. I have been heading to the library every day at 7 in the morning and it’s been nice so far. I grab my coffee and get to work. It’s really peaceful everywhere I go because not many people are up at 7 in the morning. There are a few kids walking here and there because of classes, but they look like they don’t want to be anywhere but in bed.
I notice that I get a lot more done in the mornings than I do during the day because there are a lot less distractions. During the day you sometimes have loud people talking and more going on to break your concentration. In the morning no one is talking or moving around because they are too tired to do anything. It is just so quiet in the morning I can think straight completely through whatever I am trying to accomplish. For me waking up early equals success.
My roommates have been asking me how to wake up early so that they can hit the library and get things done before they head off to class. I gave them some tips on how to wake up early and then some of my friends started to ask me. Instead of telling all these people the same thing over and over again I’ve decided to write about how to wake up early so they and other people can follow what I do and become early risers.
One of the best ways to get up early in the morning is to have a reason to get up.
Most people have a reason to get up and that is work or school. I used to get up at 6:30 every day that I had school because I was forced to. Now that I am in college, my reason is to get some work done before I really start my day and go to class. Before you go to bed tonight think of why you want to get up early tomorrow. This is your reason and make sure you follow through with it. There is no point in coming up with a reason if you aren’t going to do anything about it. Make sure you get what you want to do done in the morning otherwise you are losing valuable sleep for absolutely nothing. Not following through is a huge motivational killer.
When setting an alarm put it far enough out of reach so that you need to get up in order to turn it off.
Make sure you don’t just hit snooze either. Going back to sleep for another ten minutes leads you to nothing except a waste of 10 minutes. This is one of the best things I was taught when learning how to wake up early because once you are up, you are more likely to stay up, and once you are, go take a shower. The water on your body will wake you up even more. If you really want to wake up in the morning put the water on ice cold and let it hit you in the face. After a while you are able to wake up without the sound of an alarm. Of course, you should still set it in case.
Try getting enough sleep at night.
If you find yourself falling asleep during class or work a lot, it might not be because it is as boring as standing in line at the DMV. You may need to go to bed earlier at night or take a nap during the day. If you take the road of napping try not to take it any later than four. Studies show it will mess with your body’s internal clock and you won’t be able to fall asleep at night. Going to sleep earlier at night can be pretty easy. Think about what you do at night. Probably just sit there and watch TV, right? Are you willing to make the sacrifice to get some more sleep? If you are truly passionate about getting up early you will have no problem not watching The Ghost Whisperer at 11 at night and getting to bed.
Make yourself comfortable when you are sleeping.
Sometimes you will still feel tired even after getting your 8 hours of sleep. This may be because you aren’t sleeping very well at night. Is your mattress not even suitable for Fred Flintstone? You may want to invest in better mattresses and pillows so that you are comfortable and sleep through the night. If you find that your wife is waking you up at night because she is taking up the majority of the bed, just push her off. Just kidding, that may land you a nice spot on the couch with the dog. Find better ways to make yourself sleep better at night.
If you are skeptical try it for a week. Everyday get up at 7 in the morning. No it won’t kill you to try it for a week, but look back at the week you just had. If you have noticed increased performance, keep it up after the initial week. I noticed that I got an article written before my 9 o’clock class every day, so yeah, I’m going to keep getting up early. Just try it; you never know how it will end up.