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.
[Source]
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 am extremely inspired by this challenge of yours. I find it it super hard to get up earlier than 8 during the week, but unlike you, I go to bed around 9:30/10. I am getting way too much sleep and I can’t break it! HELP! I would love to get the gym in before work, and getting up at 6 vs. 8 would be great if only I could just get my butt out of bed :(
Chia seed giveaway – they are super $$$, so I’d love to win!
XOXO
I get up around 7, drink tea, and then head to the gym for a yoga or pilates class. I love having the morning to drink tea, wake up slowly, and read blogs!
I wake up at 5:30 in order to make it to the gym (a 15 minute walk away) by 6:30. I only started getting up to exercise BEFORE work about a month ago but I’m LOVING it.
I struggle to get up at 7 during the week. I am not a morning person! Even if I go to bed before 10, I still hit snooze in the morning (like 3 times!). I think that my body requires at least 9 hours of sleep to be fully functioning!
Alarm goes off at 5:30 M – F and I can barely drag myself out of bed. Saturday and Sunday, no alarm and I spring out of bed at 5:30…so jealous of those capable of sleeping in.
I rise at 6am with my baby! He loves that morning sunshine!
I am up at 5am and then out the door and head to the gym @ 5:15 ( its about a 20 min drive to my gym). After my workout I shower at the gym and then head into work. On the weekends I sleep in a little until 6 or 6:30 whenever my body wakes me:)
I try to get up about 8am on days I have class because I like to get every last minute of sleep I can before my 9:05 class. ha!!
My alarm is set for 6:15 every morning but my body clock wakes me up at 6:00. I have to be out the door by 7:00. ICK
I think I did that wrong when I selected “Add your comment” at the top. Oooops.
I wake up around 8:30 :-\ my goal wake up time is 6:30. I would love to be able to have those extra couple of hours in the morning to workout, enjoy some coffee or tea and relax all before I get up now!
I used to wake up at 5:30am but I realized that I just couldn’t get to bed early enough for that to be healthy. So now I’m waking up at 6:30am and going into work a little bit later. I feel so much happier and healthier now.
I get up between 5 and 6, 6 lately, to get to work by 8. I SHOULD get up and work out but I am fairly successful at working out in the evening after work! (I like to relieve stress from the day.) I try to get 8 hrs of sleep but I am usually still tired, I hate that it’s dark when I get up AND get home from work!
I can’t believe you can “set” an internal alarm – I am so jealous!!
my alarm usually goes off around 7, and i am to be out of bed by 7.20, but it’s been creeping up to 7.35 these past few weeks.
if i work out in the morning, i get up at either 6 or 6.30, depending on what’s planned [and alarm is set 20 minutes before that]. of course, i have not been able to get up early to work out before work in months, so i’ve stopped even trying to until there is more light in the morning.
I get up at 5:30 right now but am planning to push it back to 5am soon. I like to get in a workout, some meditation, and a leisurely breakfast before I “start” my day. It helps me give more of myself to others and helps keep me level headed throughout the day. Plus, I just love knowing I’ve gotten all that done so early. I find it really frees up my day and I get so much more done.
I get up at 5:45 on the weekdays with lots and lots of help from my alarm. I have work at 8:00 in Baton Rouge, which is about a 30 minute drive plus a 10 minute walk. I don’t mind it TOO much though, I’m very much a morning person. :-)
Yes to seeds!
Through the week, I am up at 5:30 in order to leave at 6:15 for work. (at my desk my 7am in my unwritten rule)…
I’m up at 6:00 every morning…weekends are another thing though. I only get up that early for work. I don’t work until 8 but I hate to feel rushed in the mornings and I love to sit down and have a bit of peace while I eat my breakfast. I’d love to be able to wake up naturally early in the morning but it just doesn’t happen for me.
I like to set my alarm at least 15 minutes before the time I know I need to get up because I take awhile to get out of bed. I give myself a little bit of time to wake up before getting out of bed. My house is always cold when I wake up so I set my slippers and a hoodie along side my bed. After all of that I turn up the heat in the house. Over-all I just like to keep in mind that I need to get up and in order to be nice and warm I have to get up to make it happen.
I’m up at 4:50 to be at work at 6am. I choose to work this early because I like to get off at 3pm and still have an afternoon to enjoy.