I've never been a morning person. It was always a struggle for me to get up early unless I absolutely had to or if I was leaving early for a trip or something exciting.
For the past two and a half years now, I've been waking up at 4:45 AM (most days), and even though I consider 4:45 - 7:00 AM some of my most productive hours of the day, I still don't consider myself a morning person. I don't just spring out of bed, I have to be intentional about getting up early, and thus, have adopted the following hacks that I think you'll find useful if you're a snoozer like me:
#1
Put your alarm on the opposite side of the bedroom as your bed. This means you can't simply roll over, grab your phone, and thumb around until it shuts up. It forces you to get out of bed and walk across the room to shut it off, a monumental first step to "getting up."
#2
Brush your teeth immediately after silencing your alarm. The act of doing so will help wake you up. Avoid the temptation of creeping back into bed and head for the bathroom sink!
#3
Earn the right to have a cup of coffee. Before you B-line for the Kuerig, drink at least 20oz of cold water. This will also help wake you up, but more importantly it will start your day off with nutrients instead of caffeine, and do more for your energy level then you'd think.
That's it! You're awake now, and get to enjoy potentially hours more of your day!
TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE MORNING HACKS AND WHAT YOU USE YOUR MORNINGS FOR!
I start the coffee pot, let the dogs out and then look at emails that may have come through the night before. I then watch the dogs eat as i fine tune the day ahead. Then it is "MY TIME". The next hour to two is spent exercising. This helps with clearing my mind and recharging my body for the day ahead.
I also heard recently about an alarm clock that wakes you up with light, supposed to help you fight the good fight of the early wake.
My tip would be to pick a time, start somewhere you can manage, and DO NOT USE SNOOZE AT ALL. Just get up. Then start backing that up 10 minutes each day or week. Hitting snooze is causing just as much harm as anything.
I use my early morning hours to read my bible and journal before my kids wake up. It definitely starts my day off on the right foot if I can get up at least an hour early and spend some time to myself. I love sleeping in but getting up early has been a total game changer in my productivity AND mental health.