Rise and Thrive: Maximizing Your Morning for Success

Are mornings a complete struggle for you? Do you hit that snooze button, eventually crawl out of bed, run around trying to get ready for the day, leave late for work and then realize you forgot something?

You feel like you’ve already lost the day, right? 

What if there was one change you could make to start your day off ahead of the game and feel like you’ve already won the day?

I’m going to share with you the one change I’ve made to my day that has done just that.

I started getting up 45 minutes earlier. 

I know, I know. You are probably thinking, “No way. I’m already exhausted. How am I supposed to get up 45 minutes earlier?” I hear you. Just hang in there with me.

Before we talk about the how, let’s talk about the why.

I made this change when I started a 6 month accelerated Integrative Functional Health Coaching program. When I looked at my calendar to block out course time, I realized that in order to get my coursework done, work on my business activities, and be available to pick up kids from school, do homework, make dinner, etc., I would lose my normal lunch hour when I took my daily walk. 

I have a goal to get in 10,000 steps every day. And when I lost that lunch hour, I wasn’t meeting that goal. I was not OK with this, so I thought about what I could do. The solution was to make more time in my day. I decided to get up 45 minutes earlier than I had been and get on the elliptical for 40-45 minutes. 

This means I’m getting between 5,000-6,000 steps before 6:00 AM on the weekdays. And it is awesome because I’ve already won the day. I know I will easily hit my step goal over the course of the rest of the day. I’ve already gotten my physical activity in so no matter how the day goes down, I’m good to go. 

Your goal may not be the same as mine. Your goal may be to have quiet time before you need to get kids up and moving. Your goal may be to get coffee going, lunches packed, and makeup on without feeling rushed or stressed. 

Whatever your goal is, waking up earlier creates time in your calendar. That time you create in the morning is invaluable because my guess is, you don’t create time at the end of the day. At the end of the day, your brain and body are done for. Creating that time in the morning means you aren’t finishing the day with thoughts of “what if…” or “if I’d only…” You can go to bed feeling accomplished because no matter what, you won the day early and took care of yourself.

So, how in the world do you get up early when you are already tired? 

Make the process so easy, you have no excuse not to do it. 

If you are hitting that snooze button, start by losing the snooze. Check out my blog post on sleep for more info on why the snooze button makes you more tired. Get up when your alarm goes off for a week or two, and you know you are ready to move on.

Next, start by setting your alarm for 5 minutes earlier. Just 5 minutes. Anyone can get up 5 minutes earlier, right? This may mean you want to turn off the light 5 minutes earlier the night before. 

Once you’ve established getting up 5 minutes earlier for at least a week, repeat this process by moving your alarm 5 minutes earlier again. Do this for a week successfully, and rinse and repeat.

See the pattern? 

You don’t need to suddenly start waking up 45 minutes earlier. You can do it gradually. You may not even need 45 minutes. Maybe you only need 20 minutes extra to feel like you are leaving the house with a win. Or maybe you need more. 

I eventually found that I needed an extra 10 minutes beyond the 45 to make the mornings work how I really wanted them to work for me. 

And that’s the key – create the time you need to make your mornings work for you so that you create that win and reduce your stress from the start.

Leave a comment and let me know what other tips you have for winning the day early or if you try this method and it works for you!