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 wake up at 6:40 am every day in order to drive Amy (the girl I baby-sit/chaffeur in the mornings) to school. The fact that I NEED to get up on time or she’s late for school helps keep me accountable, and once I’m up and at ’em I rarely go back to sleep once I’m home.
SO excited about the Chia seed giveaway! Have been wanting to try some in literally forever and haven’t figured out where to buy them around me. So THANK YOU!
i wake up at 5:45 every weekday morning to try to fit in a quick workout, shower, finish getting lunches ready, and get out the door for my one hour commute to work!! ps- i’ve been researching chia seeds and i definitely have been wanting to buy some, just haven’t found them yet!!!!
I wake up anywhere from 9-3pm. No, seriously. It’s horrible. I really, really, really need to reform my sleep habits. Which is precisely why this challenge is so inspiring and motivating for me! You rock, Angela. I’m really inspired by your example to get to bed earlier and get up and at ’em earlier.
I get up between 6:00 and 6:03 am everyday :)
Why?
There’s lots of reasons:
1. I have a delicious egg/spinach quiche awaiting me as my pre-workout meal.
2. I can walk to the gym and leave *new* tracks in the fresh layer of snow.
3. I have my choice of weights/machines at the (small) gym.
4. I can get an *awesome* workout/shower/eat a hearty bowl of oatmeal and get back to campus for my 9:30 am class :)
Wow that a HUGE bag of chia seeds!!
My work schedule bounces around all the time, so my sleeping schedule bounces around as well! On average I’m up at around 7am-7:30am naturally. If I had a late night at work, I’ll sleep in till about 8:30am naturally. If work starts at 1pm, I set my alarm for 7am so I’m able to make it to the gym. I always try to get to bed before 11pm every night, which doesn’t really matter because I’m pretty tired by then anyways!
don’t judge–but I am a HUGE fan of the sleep in. 10 am is the perfect time to get up on a saturday. I’ll eat a quick breakfast and head out for our long run (we’re training for Around the Bay 30km). The come home, drink something warm and read the paper…
I have been waking up at about 7:15 because that’s when my man’s alarm clock goes off, blasting incredibly loud Spanish music to rouse him and leaving me in a bit of a fog, perhaps because of the sleep cycle interruption. I would love to go to bed earlier so I could wake up naturally but alas, the evenings are when we really get to hang out and the mornings get away from us so fast.
I wake up around 8 and do yoga, grab breakfast/review notes and then head to class.
I am a college student, so I need all the sleep I can get. I usually am in bed by 11pm or 12am, so I am usually up by 7 or 8 (early classes!)
Luckily, I haven’t had to pull any all-nighters and my sleep schedule is fairly regular!
If I’m working, I sometimes get up as early as 4:00, and if I’m at home, I strive for before 9, but sometimes it’s 11! I should be a little more regular I think!
5:42 on weekdays because i have morning practice for swimming!
I wake up 8 AM because I can’t seem to get into bed earlier than 12 AM. I’m used to running on a college schedule, and since being a recent graduate, I have yet to kick that sleeping pattern.
On side note, thanks for the chance to win these yummy chia seeds. They’re difficult to find in USA.
Good Evening!!
I get up at 630 in the morning on the weekdays – that’s when my hunny kisses me goodbye! We usually get some sweet snuggle time in there before he has to get up as well.
Before I met him my sleep schedule was much like yours, late nights etc. I’m now found in bed by 10 and feeling great and well rested by 630 and ready to tackle the day!
I wake up at 6:30-7:00. I don’t work until noon, so it works out well to have morning time, enough time to unwind, workout out and the head off to work/commute!
Yay chia seeds!! I usually wake up between 6:30 and 7am during weekdays. I’m trying to get up earlier because, like you, I would love to become an early riser. That is already an improvement over my previous wake up time. I get up that early to have time to get ready for work in the morning and hopefully have a few minutes for something else that’s rewarding for me.
I wake up at 5:45am on weekdays in order to get to work by 7:30am. I don’t really mind, since my hubby gets up at the same time.
I get up at 6:03 on weekdays (I have a strange thing about numbers ending in 5 or 0) so that I can get my workout done before work. I am really NOT a morning person, but it is a great way to start the rest of the day! Plus if I am really miserable I roll over and either skip the workout or go later in the day, and I always sleep in on Fridays as a reward! Good luck with the challenge :)
I’m up by 7 to do a quick workout, get some breakfast in me and rush off to 8:30 classes. This is the perfect time for me!:)
I wake up at 5:45, to take my daughter to school. We leave at 6:40, and then I’m home for a little bit before I have to leave again to take my boys to school- it’s pretty hectic.
I am up at 5:30am to get ready for work. I have a 37 mile commute one way to work, so getting up in the mornings is definitely not something I look forward to :)