How to Become a Morning Person and Actually Enjoy It

You’re either a morning person or you’re not.  If you are a morning person, you have it easy!  If you’re not a morning person (hi, that’s me!), chances are you have no choice but to put on your happy face and be one anyway, or at least that’s what your alarm and work schedule says!

I personally have never been a morning person until recently.  You wouldn’t find me willingly waking up at 5 a.m., but  you would’ve found me hitting the snooze button about 5 times every morning.  Some things never change.. or do they!?  Let’s talk about change!  Being self employed and working from home will change you.  It takes discipline and lots of self control.  Could I wait until noon to start my day?  Absolutely, but that would be a terrible decision.  I may be my own boss and make my own rules, but they have to be smart rules.  Because of this, I’ve trained myself to become a morning person over the years.  Rather than force myself out of bed in the morning because I have to, I now choose to get up because I’m excited to.  I’ve found that starting the day with a positive attitude rather than being all like “do I reaaalllyyyy have to get up yet!?” goes a long way.

Theres no right or wrong way to start the day, but if you’re not the type that would classify themselves as a morning person, you may find these tips on how to become a morning person helpful!  And guess what!?  You just might actually enjoy it!

HOW TO BECOME A MORNING PERSON AND ACTUALLY ENJOY IT:

Make a to-do list

One thing that helped me become a morning person was creating a daily to-do list each night before bed.  Knowing what needs to be done each day, especially when you’re busy, will make you less likely to hit the snooze button and procrastinate.  A daily to-do list also helps with productivity.  You can jump right into your workload as soon as you start the day without wasting time trying to figure out what needs to be done.

Give yourself a bedtime

If you’re sleep deprived, there’s no wonder why you’re hitting the snooze button!  If you get enough sleep every night, you’ll wake up feeling refreshed and ready to start the day.  Setting a bedtime is crucial for this.  Unplugging from bright electronics an hour before your bedtime will help you fall asleep, so keep this in mind when you don’t feel tired enough to fall asleep yet.  Another trick I’ve learned is to get in bed early enough to allow time for flipping through my phone without cutting into the amount of sleep I’ll get.  If I want 9 hours of sleep and I have to wake up at 7am, this means I’m getting in bed by 9pm with the plan to fall asleep by 10pm.
Don’t hit snooze

Easier said than done, right!?  Keep the alarm across the room if you have to!  Sometimes I feel like hitting the snooze button is a mental thing and has a lot to do with being stubborn.  “You can’t tell me what to do, stupid clock!”  Hitting snooze will only make getting up a dreaded task and you won’t start the day off on as much of a positive note.  Being excited to tackle the day is much more motivating!

Reward yourself

Get up earlier than you need to, then reward yourself for it with something you enjoy.  This could mean you have time to spare to watch tv, go for a walk, read, or eat a nice breakfast!  For me, it’s the food than wins me over every time!  You mean I can eat donuts if I get out of bed!?  Sold!  Sometimes you just need what gets you going in the morning!  Maybe yoga is what gets you going in the morning, or maybe it’s a large cup of coffee and a donut, or maybe even pizza.  Whatever it is, you do you! RaceTrac knows what’s up when it comes to this, which is why I’m excited to announce I’ve partnered with them!  They know we want more than just traditional breakfast items in the morning.  Whether you’re ending a late shift or heading out to battle the traffic to start your day, RaceTrac has a wide variety of food and beverages choices to help get your morning going.

Exercise early

We’ve all heard the saying that working out in the morning gives you energy.  Well scientifically it’s true!  When you work out, your body temperature rises and your adrenaline starts flowing.  This gives you an instant boost of energy and combats that sluggish feeling a lot of us face in the morning.

Are you a morning person?  If not, have you ever tried to become a morning person?  What gets you going in the morning?

Many thanks to RaceTrac for sponsoring this post!