Do you struggle with waking up on time in the morning?
Would you rather stay snuggled in your nice warm nest of blankets and pillows than getting up and facing the world before it’s even light out yet?
Yeah, me too.
I hate waking up in the morning.
This week, however, I’ve gotten up at 5am every day (except today, ironically enough, but that was because it was a snow day and those don’t count).
How did I do it?
A variety of reasons, including earlier bedtimes, a set routine to go to directly after waking up, and an alarm that won’t shut off until I’m up and out of bed.
However, one of the biggest pieces has been employing some intentionality in the thoughts I choose to dwell on before I go to sleep.
I could spend time thinking about how tired I’m going to be the next morning, or how cold it’s going to be in my room, or how dark and sunless it’s going to be outside, or how much I already want to go back to sleep even though I haven’t even gone to sleep in the first place. That’s what I normally do.
However, I’ve started thinking (and even speaking) life into my day before I even go to sleep. Gratitude for the next day. Excitement about the quiet time I’ll have before 53 children wake up and start making loud noise. Energy because I know that the sleep I’ll be getting is the best way I could be spending my time between now and then.
Even if I feel reluctant to an extent, sometimes you’ve just got to fake it til you make it. I’ve spent years training my brain to hate mornings—it’s obviously going to take some time to retrain it to appreciate and enjoy mornings.
But just spending some time setting the mood for the next morning—choosing my attitude ahead of time—has been immensely helpful with actually getting up when that alarm goes off and not just hitting snooze for all of eternity.
If you have a hard time waking up in the morning, try going to bed on a really good note. Make your brain be excited for that cool morning air and quiet time and fresh start. Hopefully the rest of you will catch up by the time morning actually arrives.
(And if that doesn’t work, you could also try giving your mom an envelope full of money with the strict instructions to give the money to your sister if you fail to get up at the predetermined times each morning. Apparently money is a really great motivator as well.)