HEY-LO!!!!
Wow two posts a day, two days in a row. It feels like the good old days. I told you that my blogging was much quicker now! Thank you Eric, techie genius. ;)
I feel literally ah-may–ZING since I have started NOT multitasking and the Early Rising Challenge. I have an extra kick to my step. I can’t wait to see what I feel like in a few weeks if this has only been a few days. They say it takes 21 days to form a habit, so that is what I am shooting for.
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Some of you have been asking me how I am getting up early so I thought I would talk about it a bit tonight and tell you what has worked for me so far.
Here are some of my Early Rising Challenge tips:
- GET WARM: If your place is like mine, it is freezing when you wake up. The walk from the bedroom to the bathroom is the most painful thing I experience all day. COLD. I have found that it is much easier to get out of bed if my fluffy robe and slippers are beside the bed. As soon as I get up the robe and slippers go on and I instantly feel a bit (bit) better about getting up. I also have a small space heater in our bathroom that I immediately turn on when I get up. I look forward to the warmth and I stand beside it for a few minutes while I brush my teeth. These little rewards add up in the early morning!
- WAKE UP NATURALLY WHEN POSSIBLE: I don’t use an alarm clock. I have this strange internal clock that I can ‘set’ before bed and I magically awake for that time. I prefer not using an alarm clock because it means that I am more likely to wake up at the end of a sleep cycle– and not being jolted awake in the middle of one! This method is not for everyone of course (i.e., my hubby). If you can’t go without your alarm clock, I suggest putting it across the room so you have to get out of bed to turn it off.
- CAFFEINE: I will bulldoze anything in my path to get to the kettle in the morning to make my Japanese Sencha. It has just enough caffeine to wake me up and energize me. While I don’t suggest consuming massive quantities of caffeine, I think a little bit is nice!
- GET YOUR ENDORPHINS: If you are going to the trouble of getting up early you might as well cross off your workout while you are at it! I feel ‘ok’ after 15 mins. of rising, but I feel especially AMAZING after an early morning workout. I will be honest though, the first 10 minutes of my workout are often brutal and I feel like I have no energy, however after 10 minutes I magically wake-up and it goes pretty well. When I workout in the early morning I have half a Glo Bar or a Run bar to tide my hunger over until breakfast, which is usually 1-1.5 hours later (after workout and showering).
- REWARD YOUR SUCCESS- TWICE! I want a morning reward and a weekly reward for my hard work! My morning reward is having more time for a relaxing, delicious breakfast. I also spend a bit more time reading fun blogs or reading my book. For my weekly treat, I was thinking giving myself ‘permission’ to buy a special item at the grocery store that I typically don’t buy. Nothing motivates me more than good food! ha!!! ;)
- BE FLEXIBLE: A reader named Ariel gave me this great tip. She says to be flexible with the goal time that you set for your early morning. So for example, if Ariel’s goal time is 5am, she won’t be hard on herself if she gets up at 5:30 on some mornings. We have to take into account the fact that some days we will just need more sleep than others and that is OK! Be flexible with yourself and you will be less stressed and happier (this applies to all areas of life too!).
I was asked if I have a ‘goal time’ for the Early Rising Challenge.
The answer is YES.
You know me, I need goals to strive for in everything that I do. I find they are so motivating. My goal is 4:45-5am wake-up time, and a more realistic goal is probably 5:30am, given Eric’s sleep schedule and the fact that I do need to spend quality time with him in the evening! :) I can’t see myself going to bed much earlier than 10pm, but maybe that will change with the earlier mornings. Baby steps…
All in all it is only day two of the challenge and I am already feeling so much more productive and overall much happier. That is in part thanks to my NOT multitasking too! My life is feeling more simplified with each passing day and I am really excited to keep at it and see what benefits I get from it.
Would you like a chance to win a 2 pound bag of CHIA SEEDS from Chia Seeds Direct?
Just answer this simple question below:
- What time do you get up in the morning during the weekdays and WHY!
Contest open to Canadian and US residents only please. Runs until Friday Jan 15th at 8am.
BONNE CHANCE MES AMIES!
See you tomorrow AM for Pumpkin Pie Baked Breakfast Cake.
I’m off to do Whittle My Middle 2 with Eric, then make some din dins. Ta-ta!
I get up at 6:00 most mornings so that I have time to do a strength training routine and make myself a nice breakfast. I used to get up at 5:00, but no matter when I went to bed I woke up exhausted every morning! That’s just not worth it.
I have to be at school by 7am every weekday, which I HATE. I am very much a night owl and a grouchy morning person. I can’t wait until I graduate and can work the evening shift.
In the meantime, I try to maximize my sleep time. I am one of those people that needs her 8 hours, but can’t seem to get to sleep before 930 or 10. I set the alarm for 5:30 and push the snooze twice, drag myself out of bed for very minimal primping: teeth brushing, face washing, hair taming. I get to wear scrubs so that cuts dressing time WAY down. I always eat breakfast, which takes up the bulk of my morning (15 min), and I run out the door (usually late) with a to-go cup of coffee.
Weekends I don’t set the alarm and usually wake up at 830 or 9. It’s wonderful.
I’ve been curious about chia seeds but am a pretty poor college student so novelty items like that are few and far between. Having celiac disease, I’m also interested in/ excited about your gluten free glo bar…
I get up at 6:30 to 7 on the weekdays, because I usually have classes from 10:30 on, so I need at least 3 hours of home time before brain killing!
I get up at 7:01… hahah the extra 1 minute really makes a difference, I have to be at clinic by 8… I know I push it, but it works!
7:00 – 7:45 weekdays and weekends. My goal is 6:30 to have time to to my workout before going to work because sometimes I’m not at home before 9:30pm.
I wake up around 7:30. I’m working on my MA and that time is just right to fit in a shower, green monster and my morning news/emails before class starts.
I’ve always been a morning person! I’ve never “pulled an all-nighter,” I am useless after midnight. If I have a really heavy workload I just get up earlier and earlier. In university this is sort of a drawback to my social life lol! Glad to see that once I get out of academia my love of early mornings will be appreciated:)
5:50–thats when the husband’s alarm goes off and I can’t ever get back to sleep!
Since I’ve been on Christmas break from school, I’ve been aiming for getting up between 7:00-7:30..it gives me enough time to eat, drink coffee, catch up on some blogs, and digest before going to workout mid-morning. When school starts I’ll aim more for 6:30-7 just because I like that extra time in the morning to study or do homework :)
lately its been 11am haha mostly because im not working and i havent been feeling good lately. Darn lifelong sicknesses…
The time I wake up depends on when my classes start. On T/R I am up bright and early at 6:30 but M/W/F I am able to sleep in until 10. I would love to start waking up earlier on T/R because I get so much more accomplished then, but just need to start going to sleep earlier first!
It depends what I have going on that day since I’m currently unemployed. I try to make sure I’m up by 8/9 a.m.
I wake from 5:30-6:00 with the internal clock too, but the alarm is set for 5:45, just in case. I would like to wake at 5:00 to workout, but I have not been continuously successful with that yet. So my routine is to workout at night… unless I am stuck at work for 11-12 hours a day like this week. :( Which makes me want to join you in this challenge!
5:00-5:30, I have to work out in the morning, or it won’t get done! I also am a complete morning person and am able to get much more work done before lunch than any other time. I just get too distracted in the afternoon/evening. :)
I like to sleep in. But now that I am teaching again I usually get up at 5am
I wake up around 7 (which is really late for some people). On days when I have class in the afternoon, I wake up at about 630am. I am NOT a morning person, which is why I stroll into work at like 830
I love chia seeds! I get up at 6:30 for work.
I get up around 7 every weekday, and try to sleep in no later than 8 on weekends. Otherwise Monday AMs are miserable!
my little boy gets me up and early on the weekdays AND weekends… on the dot 7AM! But I love it, the hours go by fast and it makes our day together longer. :)
I wake up between 7 and 7:30. I wouldn’t mind waking up earlier, though. Morning is my favorite time of day!
Wow, people get up early! I feel so lame now for admitting I wake up at 7:45… its the latest possible time for me to be at 9:00am class :)