Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy,
and wise.
—Benjamin Franklin
For years, I wanted to wake up early. It seems almost all
successful people get going before sunrise, and I wanted
to be one of them. But when my morning alarm would go
off, all the good intentions in the world couldn’t pull me
out of bed.
I understood the benefits of waking up early. I made plans to wake up
early and write, just like the recent challenge in the 15 Habits series. But
that discipline was gone in the morning.
The groggy person hitting the snooze button wasn’t the same clear-
thinking person that had set the alarm the night before.
When I realized waking up early is a battle fought on two fronts,
everything changed We must prepare our bodies, but we must also trick
our sleepy minds.
Here are eight tips to help you win the fight and wake up early:
1. Take the first steps
The toughest part of the morning is simply getting out of bed. An alarm
across the room is an old trick, but I don’t want to wake up my wife in the
process. So I have my iPhone next to my bed with a soft alarm that I can
turn off quickly.
To keep myself from falling back asleep in the morning brain-fog, I have
another alarm across the room set for a few minutes later.
It’s extremely loud and will jolt my wife awake if I don’t walk across the
room and turn it off first. Even my foggy mind understands that, and the
fear of a startled and cranky wife drives me to take those first few steps
out of bed.
2. Cultivate a mental environment
Here are a few ideas to wake your brain up (and keep it alert all day
long):
Listen to podcasts related to waking up early.
Read about people who were early risers.
Remind yourself about the importance of writing every day.
Fill in the cracks of your day with inspiration on how and why to wake up
early.
You can rationalize a lot when your alarm goes off. But if you’ve
immersed yourself in this environment, even your hazy morning mind will
feel compelled to wake up.
3. Develop a “get to” attitude
Get excited about your day, and you’ll jump out of bed. Don’t drive
yourself with guilt about why you have to wake up early. Make waking up
early something you getto do.
Of course, the joy of creating can drive you. But don’t be afraid to
motivate yourself by doing something fun in the morning. Play some
games or indulge in some leisure reading.
Better yet, think of the benefits that others will receive from your
work. You can also keep track of your progress and reward yourself
when you reach a milestone.
4. Create some accountability
Recruit a friend to hold your feet to the fire. You can have weekly
meetings or even call or text each other when you wake up.
There are great online groups — such as the fellow artists here on this
community, the upcoming Tribe Writers community, or groups such as
the Hello Mornings Challenge for mothers on Facebook and Twitter.
5. Sleep well
The struggle isn’t all mental. There’s a strong physical component and
the amount — as well as the quality — of sleep you get is the most
important factor.
Although it’s obvious, make sure you go to bed at a reasonable time if
you want to wake up early. Also, pay attention to your diet and exercise.
General physical fitness greatly impacts your sleep habits and energy
levels.
6. Never snooze
Hitting your alarm’s snooze button doesn’t give you more of the restful
REM sleep. Your body and mind aren’t recuperating youíre just wasting
time.
Personally, I noticed that regularly hitting snooze made my thinking even
cloudier when the alarm went off. Your mind starts to ignore the alarm
bells.
7. Stick to your wake time
Wake up at the same time every day.
Your body becomes conditioned to this and regulates your sleep
patterns accordingly. You get more of that precious REM sleep and
when you have a regular wake time, your body actually begins the
process of waking up long before your alarm sounds.
8. Build momentum
After you wake up early, the challenge is to stay up. Maybe you’ll love to
relax and sip your coffee. But for me, getting too comfortable is
dangerous.
I used to start my mornings by reading the Bible and praying. It was a
fight to keep my eyes open. Now, the first thing I do is exercise. My heart
gets racing, and afterwards I can give what matters most my best focus
and attention.
Move through your routine quickly:
Have the coffee ready.
Set out your exercise clothes.
Keep a vigorous pace and you won’t feel as drowsy.
When I depended on discipline and willpower alone, I had limited
success waking up early. But I’m mastering my mornings now — all due
to a few simple tricks. I hope they help you, too.
Source Article :
1.https://goinswriter.com/
0 comments:
Post a Comment