The wake-up alarm on your phone rings. You sleepily hit snooze. Once, twice, thrice. Eventually, it takes the incessant shrieking of the doorbell to finally rouse you from your slumber. Sounds familiar?
Several years ago, thanks to my work schedule, I set foot into an early morning routine that has since stuck, despite all the chaos in my life. We all know how promising an early morning routine is. Today I’ll let you in on a little secret, to turn that routine into a part of your lifestyle, with absolute ease.
The first step to starting an early morning routine is a desire for one! Here are some of the promises an early morning has to offer:
- Much like other clubs, exclusivity makes the ‘early morning club’ all the more interesting. Very few people manage to wake up early. This gives you some much-needed time and space before chaos takes charge.
- Early mornings are beautiful, no matter where you live. The fresh air through your window is like magic: take two deep breaths and tell yourself how wonderful the day ahead is going to be!
- The earlier the better: When you wake up at 4 am, there are few distractions; anything you intend to do gets done faster and better. You can accomplish most of the day’s tasks even before the world around you wakes up.
Sold on the idea of beating the Sun every morning? Here are a few tips to make it happen:
- Stay well rested: Sleep early the night before, hit the sack by 9pm—and with no screen time for an hour leading up to that. Switch off your phone.
- Begin well: Set an alarm that you’d like to wake up to; preferably not those jarring beep sounds! Wake up at the very first alarm—remember: ‘snooze and you lose out!’
- Wake up like it’s your last day: Imagine you have just this one day to live, and a lot to accomplish. Summon all your energy to get up and get going.
- Let your gadgets sleep a bit longer: Do not turn on your gadgets for the first hour of your morning. Let them rest a little longer; they too have a strenuous day ahead.
- Meditate: For a few minutes after you wake up. This will set you up with all the positivity and energy you need to tackle your day ahead.
- Team up: Get your partner/roomies excited about early-morning routines. Having company to wake up early in the first few weeks could be great motivation!
- Do what you want: There are a lot of books, articles and motivational talks out there about making lists, reading, exercising and other strategies to start a power-packed day. They are all great ideas, but do whatever seems right to you and enables you to start your day on a pleasant note.
As you sprint into 2020—a new decade, a new beginning—start your days earlier to make this year even more productive and fulfilling than your last. And don’t forget to hit the sack early as well!