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!
It’s so funny you’re asking this now… I’ve been having such a hard time getting up recently! I just started my first full-time job, and it’s been quite an adjustment for me. I try to get up around 6:30 so I have time to have a relaxing breakfast (in bed!) before going to work.
Waking up @ 4:45 means I have enough time to exercise and my commute is less busy. Both drastically reduce my stress level!
Ahhhh sleep! I work the night shift 11pm to 7am. On my nights off I wake up to the pitter patter of my 3 year old’s little feet anywhere between 6 and 7am.
430-6. I work out at 530 (usually 3 days a week) and then I may have hw to do at 6. I basically get up whatever my goals for the day dictates.
I get up at 5 to excercise:) I’ve always been a morning person and love going to bed early.
Wonderful tips, Angela:D
I wake up at 4:45 during the work week. I set my schedule to be at work by 6:30. And in order to wake up, make coffee and a green monster or fresh juice from the juicer, then get ready, I need to wake up supah early. Problem is, I usually don’t fall asleep until around 10:30! Ack!
around 6:30 because my boyfriend gets up for culinary school… although i don’t usually have to be up that early, i like to get up with him and start my day!
I wake up by 6 am each weekday morning so I can spend a few minutes with my High School son before he leaves for school. Then I excersize for 1 hour before I wake up my Elementary School age daughter. It makes me feel so productive to excersize first thing AND it makes me feel close to my children when I connect with them before their day begins!!!!
I get up just before 5am and go to the gym. Twice a week I lift weights, once a week I do a yoga class, and twice a week I take a Spinning class – one of which I teach. Then I shower and get to work by 7am. I get up so early because it’s guilt free time to work out – the kids and hubby are sleeping, so I’m not taking time from the family. It’s just time for me!
Wow, everyone gets up sooo early! I get up around 6:30 so that I have enough time to eat a good breakfast and have a nice hot shower before heading off to work. If I had my choice, I’d sleep till 7:30 – that seems to be when my body would like to wake up.
If I’m good, I get up at 5:30 when my music turns on. If I’m feeling lazy, I hit snooze (too many times) until about 6 or 6:30… I’m not as bad during the warm months – I tend to rise a lot easier when it’s getting light! So summertime, when my alarm goes off at 5:30, I’m up.
My in-out time at work is flexible, but when I can get in by 7 or 7:30, I feel much more productive and I can get out by 3:30 if I want! Leaves the whole afternoon open for me :o)
Oh my gosh your morning is JUST like mine! I used to be a post-work 5pm workout girl but that meant (espec in winter) that it I didn’t always happen (not motivated). I decided to get at my treadmill in the AM. I changed and started by getting up at 5:30am instead of 6-6:15. I’m shooting for 5:00am because I like to wake slowly and drink tea. Plus it takes awhile for me to make my green monster and big lunch salad that I take to work. Like you, its tough to wake up some mornings b/c I don’t always get to bed early enough and right now I naturally rise around 6-6:30.
Anyway, I’m sooo loving your extra blogs! I hope I win the Chia seeds! They’re great in green monsters and SOOO good for you :) Cheers!
I wake up at 4:30 – this gives me enough time to work out, shower, make breakfast for my husband, make myself breakfast and lunch, make coffee or tea and head out the door by 7:15! I love getting up early and am usually up by 6 on weekend days too.
I like to be up by 5:30a. I make my husbands lunch, then I typically get on the treadmill. I love endorphins.
I am typically up between 5:30 and 6 to shower and get ready for work (I have to be in at 7) but I would like to get up a little earlier and do a morning workout. I am going to try an early rising challenge next week, I saved the article that inspired you and plan to read it today!
6:00 my dear! i have to be at work at 7, but only live 1.5 miles away. granted, i sometimes hit the snooze button till 6:30. i’ve got to try to make myself get up on the first alarm!!!!!!
I usually get up around 6:00 so that I have a few minutes before the toddler gets up.
Right now I wake up at 6 to get ready for work and leave home at 7:15. I don’t have time to workout in the morning because my gym opens only at 6 and there’s no way I could be ready to hit the road at 7h15 if I start working out only at 6h.
In the summer however, I work out outside so I wake up at 5h, do some weights, go for a run, then get ready for work. I love waking up and having the time to go for a run! I feel like I already accomplish something and it’s not even 6!
I set my alarm for 6:35 am, but as of lately I sometimes don’t get out of bed until 6:45-7:10am! This means being habitually late to work. Luckily, I have a flexible job so that it just means the later I go in, the later I have to stay that day. Your early rising challenge has also challenged me to get out of this habit. I never used to be this way, I’d wake up before my alarm sometimes, or jump right out of bed when it went off the first time, but since moving in with my boyfriend, our schedules differ and I found myself staying up later with him. SO I totally hear you there! Seems like you can survive off of less sleep than me though, because when I stay up late with the man and only get 6 hours of sleep I am hurting the next day (hence hitting the snooze button more often than I should!)
5 am 2 days a week to swim and 6 or 7 the other 3 to run!