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 depends if im working or not, but between 6:30 and 7:30 usually. This was harder when my husband was not getting up with me, but he has lately started working out in the am instead of the pm so i am so happy!
I like to get up early on sundays and have a long run while the kids are sleeping.
I wake up 2 days a week at 4:30 to go to the gym before work, because I have to go to class after work, then go home and get ready for the next day. On the days I do not have school in the evenings, I get up at 6:45 and am out the door at 7:20, and I go to the gym at 6 pm. It helps if I only get up that early a couple of days a week (at most 3) because then the other days feel like I am getting to sleep in!
Take this morning for example: woke up at 5.33 (went to bed at 11:15), from a dream, so not real naturally, was tired, went back to bed till 745. Usually somewhere in the 7a time frame, but my alarm goes off at 530. Need to wake up earlier! I love it when I do – I get so much more accomplished! Thanks for the encouragement and for the chance to win some chia seeds – I’ve been wanting some!
During the week I get up at 515a, inorder to get a head start on my day.
I have been trying to get up earlier this week too! What a coincidence ;) I used to get up with just enough time to get ready, make a GM and get out the door which was about 6:50 but now I’m shooting for 6:15 on non-workout mornings and 5 on workout mornings. I’ve been doing pretty good this week! It’s nice to have the extra time in the morning since I work an 8 – 5 job and so much of my time is spent out of the house and working “for the man”. Having that extra 30 minutes makes me feel like I’m enjoying a little more of my life and not just sleeping it away.
I’m up at 5:30 every morning to get in a workout before work. I totally switched up my schedule a few months ago so I could socialize more after work. Was hard to get use to at first, but now it’s pretty much second nature!
I get up at 6ish most days, as I prefer to exercise in the morning and have leave for school around 8 on weekdays. I find my mind is a lot clearer during the day if I get my morning “me time” in. I hear you on the getting to bed early though! Difficult, but so worth it.
It usually varies. Having a nursing baby and a 2 1/2 year old I just never know what I’m gonna get, hehe. I got into the habit of sleeping in too late if the kids stay asleep and then I would feel like I lost part of my day to sleep. I know sometimes I need the extra sleep but it usually just makes me feel like crap if I stay in bed. Your challenge came at the PERFECT time for me, and the past 2 days have been amazing for me as well. I would like my average wake time to be 6:00 (I so wish I had that internal clock!) and earlier than that in the summer so I can go for runs when it is cooler out. (I live in the Phx area…so yeah. haha!
You rock!
Usually up between 4:30-5am, workout by 5:30 am, to work by 7:30-8am! In bed by 8:30-9pm!
I usually wake up at 6:30, to go to the gym! If i don’t do it then, i never will!
I SHOULD get up at 7:30 so that I can be at work on time, but I usually get up at 8:00! (After sleeping with my alarm on for half an hour!)
Mmm chia seeds. Do want.
I wake up at 7:55AM or so every morning. Except on my days off. Then I sleep in. ;)
My day differs if I’m working or not. If its a work day, I wake up at 530am, fix breakfast and COFFEE. And then head to the hospital for my 12 hour shift. If its a day off, I wake up at 730am, get breakfast, and then either go to the gym or go to yoga. I do enjoy coffee and watching the martha stewart show when I have the time :)
I have that perfectly preset “internal clock” too but I’m too paranoid to not set my alarm (though I’m ALWAYS up before it goes off.) I’m up at 6:15 every morning to get my Jillian (30 day shred/last chance workout) on!
5:30….though I might hit snooze until 6. Hubby comes home late and so to spend time with him, I stay up way too late to get up this early. However, we work a compressed work week, meaning long days mon-thurs and have fridays off! I catch up on sleep then.
I wake up at 5:50 am because I start work at 7:30 am in Mississauga and drive there from Toronto.
I get up at 6:00. It’s enough time to shower, get ready for the day and eat breakfast!
I wake up at 4:35am during the week to get to the YMCA and in the door by 4:55am. I have to leave by 6 to get home and get ready for school and get my 2 kids off to school. Just a lifestyle! Love it!
Jenn
I get up in the morning by 5:15 to get my brood on the way to school and me to work in time. I have been getting up at 8am on weekends since I began my dedication to live a healthy and active lifestyle. Each Sat/Sunday I get up to workout and the gym and on Sundays I walk 7-9 miles and it really starts my week on the right foot ;)