How to Become a Morning Person
Photo taken by author
Your genes determine your "chronotype" -- if you're a morning or evening person -- but that doesn't mean it's impossible to change, it's just hard work. Some people are just naturally able to get up at the brightest and earliest hours of the morning. They may have taken a shower, eaten breakfast, exercised, and are working on their book by the time your eyelids begin to quiver and crack open. A survey conducted by The Guardian showed that many CEOs of successful businesses are up by 5am. While that's a bit extreme, I'd assume that you'd also like to tackle the day and be more efficient just like these alien species. With these strategies, I'm sure you can too.
As with any new habit you are trying to achieve, making it obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying is a surefire way to make sure that that new habit sticks (this methodology is adapted from James Clear's book, Atomic Habits).
Make it Obvious
Set yourself up for success using the environment around you. If you know that the snooze button on the alarm will just make you press it and lie in bed forever, then use a different alarm. Alarms you might consider using are Math Alarm or Smart Alarm on the iPhone which has you solve a math problem before you're able to turn it off, making your brain alert and prepared to start the day. Another option is to have a song you love or a playlist play. You can find out how to set that up on your phone (Android or iPhone) using this guide.
Make it Attractive
Let in the Light. Open your blinds or re-situate your bed to be next to a window. Light signals to the body that it may be time to wake up: stopping the production of melatonin.
Think about all of the things that are exciting about today. When you make up, recite three things that you're grateful about and three things you want to get done. If it's a day where something particularly exciting is happening, like Christmas or you're watching a play, thinking about this event the night before also might encourage you to get up earlier.
Set out you favorite mug or slippers the night before. When you wake up, you'll see those cozy slippers and remember that your mug and tea bag are waiting in the kitchen. Make waking up early something you look forward to and want to do.
The opposite of this rule is make it unattractive to keep sleeping. If you're really committed to establishing this habit, tell a sibling to pour water on your head if you sleep in or something equally unappealing. I'm sure you'll be leaping out!
Make it Easy
Draft a schedule. Make it almost like a promise or a contract to yourself. You can even put all the things you're going to accomplish in the Calendar app on your phone or make a To-Do list if you love crossing things off like I do. Wake up at the same time, eat breakfast at the same time, and have a shower at the same time each morning. If you want to workout in the morning, go to bed wearing your workout gear. Your brain will begin to associate mornings with the time that those things happen. Slowly but surely, you'll begin to start doing them without thinking.
Make it possible to go to bed at an appropriate time. Don't stay on your phone until 11pm if you know that that's going to stop you from getting up at your target hour in the morning. Don't leave your phone next to your bed if you know that that is going to encourage you to lie in bed scrolling through social media for another hour. Set yourself up for success by making it easy for yourself.
Make it Satisfying
Reward yourself at the end of the day for getting up early. Take a warm bubble bath or have a really nice breakfast (preferably protein-heavy to promote wakefulness). Put a little star next to all of the things you accomplished because you got up earlier. Tell your brain that this is something you want to do again.
The key to maintaining this new habit is to keep a schedule and stick to it. If you wakeup late one time, don’t think that everything you’ve done so far or will do in the future is ruined. Recognize that it happened and try your best to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Hopefully, sleeping in will soon look unappealing compared to all of the things you can get done when waking up early. Remembering to make it obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying is sure to score the worm every time.
