One of the biggest questions I get asked is, “How do you kill it in the morning?”. Let me start by saying that I have not always been a morning person. I used to be a wedding photographer and I vividly remember many nights, after getting the babies in bed, trying to burn the midnight oil. Shifting my habits and becoming a morning person has made ALL the difference in my life. A habit is just that–changing your patterns to make a difference in your life. To break or create a habit is something you have to decide to do and mentally stick to until it becomes part of your routine.
I do not wake up pumped and ready to go every morning. Some days I am tired when I first wake up and it is a struggle to peel back those sheets, but I do it anyway. Just doing it is what it is about. You might be exhausted and want to crawl back into bed for the first 15 minutes, but if you fight through, you will see the benefits of getting up early as well. Here are my 5 steps to winning at mornings!
Mentally knowing that you are waking up early the night before and being prepared for the next day before you go to sleep is half the battle. By doing this, you are not wasting time in the morning doing these things can be done ahead of time, you can spend your time when you are fresh doing the things that take brainpower! Time is our most valuable asset and I know that the more I can prepare the night before, the more I can get done in the morning. Water on the counter, coffee machine ready to turn “on”, kids lunches/snacks, your lunch/snack ready to go. So my first tip is just to prepare!
START your day with water! Yes, every morning my days starts with downing 16oz of H20 that is sitting on the counter at room temperature along with my STARTdetoxing Probiotics. Staying hydrated throughout the day is so important and I just feel like this is the smartest way to start your day
It is going to be hard. You will be tired and you will not want to leave those sheets, especially with colder mornings upon us. But just do it anyways. You will probably be tired for a week before you start adjusting to the earlier wake-up times…Don’t sacrifice sleep. Sleep is SOOOO important and we all need different amounts of sleep. I operate best with 8 hours but can make by with 7. If I get less than that it catches up to me!
Know what you are working on first thing in the morning. An earlier wakeup might be the time you need to get a workout in or quiet time just for you. For me typically 90% of the time I am writing content or working on numbers. I am most focused in the morning. If I have meetings or need to be at the office early I will hit the gym at 5:30 but I always know the night before what I will be doing, which goes back to preparing the night before.
I do post on my instastories typically in the morning, and it is tempting to want to go through and catch up with everyone, but I turn my music on and phone on airplane mode. I also don’t check email. Starting off by going through your phone and emails in the mornings can easily land you in a black hole of lost productivity time. Emails can wait until later in the day. I typically check emails at 9:30 when I get to the office, at lunch, and again before I leave the office. Instead, spend that time in the morning getting bigger tasks done!
Here is my typical schedule right now. It changes and I have to adjust it as my kids just went back to school.
4: 45: Wakeup, 16 oz. water first!
5:00 – 6: 40: Work + get stuff done, Almost 2 hours! (And dang it feels so good!)
6:40 – 7: 00: Kids’ morning routine, off to the bus, etc.
7:15 – 8: 15: Gym Time
8:30 – 9:15: Get ready
9: 30: Head to the office.
I know this can’t work for everyone, but this is what works best for me. If I have an earlier meeting I shift and hit the gym at 5:30, to be back home for kids by 6:40. You have to be flexible and setting yourself up for success by just getting up early and DOING IT is what you just have to do sometimes. It totally helps that I love what I do and am excited to work!
Let’s make it happen!
KD
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I love your routine and will definitely start trying the water, I’m not a good water drinker but I’ll try. My question or comment is suggestions for an irregular work schedule, I’m in retail and I get up at all different hours. It’s difficult to have a routine .
Thanks for the gentle reminder. I’ve been trying the earleir start, but fall off the wagon sometimes. I’m retired and work part-time (afternoons). I’m try to use my mornings for errands, doctor’s appointments, etc. I’m wanting to incorporate personal growth time and got back to school for a Masters in Counselling. Any suggestions on how to incorporate this in a 12:5 work day?