Becoming a Morning Person Could Be the Most Important Thing You Do
I dreaded mornings. I dreaded alarm clocks and the inevitable 3 snoozes. I dreaded having to get out of my impossibly comfy bed. I dreaded starting the day before 11 am.
I was the purest definition of “NOT a morning person”. You can see how this could inconvenience a work day.
Even though, notoriously I always felt terrible. My energy was always in the negative, I felt unproductive and distracted. Clearly, I was not one of those “more productive at night” individuals. So I want to preface this but saying, this is what I truly needed and it works for me. If you love your schedule and it works for you, then stick with that. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
But if you find that you always feel terrible when you get out of bed, like you can never get enough sleep even when you’ve beenin bed since noon, then this might be exactly what you need, too.
Does most of your day revolve around daydreams of sleeping or laying down because you’re just so exhausted?
Do you find you stay glued to your phone until late hours of the night, making it impossible to get up earlier?
Fast forward to now, if I’m still in bed at 8 am, it feels like noon. I don’t need an alarm clock (like, at all). I unequivocally have more energy than I used to.
It is actually wild how much waking up earlier has positively affected my life, especially my productivity.
At the start of this year, I could not imagine the life I am living now. I was living in Scotland with a beautiful family and had the luxury of picking the start time of my work day. Naturally, I chose the latest acceptable option.
My entire adolescent and adult life revolved around a love for sleeping in and a never-ending dread of waking up early.
Looking back, I think the majority of my life decisions, big and small, revolved around my desired sleep schedule. Also upon reflection, I’ve realized that it was almost always to my detriment.
I eventually left Scotland for another job- working on an expedition-style cruising vessel for two months straight, no days off. The job demanded almost the exact opposite of my desired lifestyle- as far as sleep goes. The days started dreadfully early and ended terribly late, making it impossible to get any more than eight hours sleep
So, naturally I thought this was the perfect time to start writing first thing every day. This meant my potential eight hours didn’t exist anymore, either.
Before you lose faith and think this is about to be the most miserable two months of my life, I am happy to say they might have been the two best.
Forcing myself to wake up a half hour earlier every morning meant I got to see every single sunrise. Over the Pacific and the Costa Rican coastline. From the ocean.
It was the purest form of classical conditioning I had ever felt and it really did work. I started looking forward to the mornings and my alone time with my coffee, my pen, my wildly “too fancy for its intended use” notebook and the skyline. It became my literal happy place.
They say it takes 21 days to form a habit, thanks for Maxwell Maltz, and I did this for almost 60 days straight.
Since then, my days have just stayed that way. I am no longer on the boat but it seems I’ve completely rewired my circadian rythm. Now, almost 6 months later, I wake up with the sun every day.
I haven’t needed an alarm to get up in almost six months now.
Not only that, but I also have practically zero midday slump. My energy levels stay constant prtty much all day and its crazy how true that is.
My number one complaint for a LONG time was my lack of energy throughout the day. Now, what was once the norm is not the outlier.
I also found myself feeling my most productive in the morning. I would start with my journaling and typically an idea would come to me and since I had the space and quiet time, I could usually see it through.
I didnt have the clutter of everyday life getting in my way- I could just focus on writing and my own needs without interruption.
Now I know this all must sound wildly unrealistic, but really it’s just another testament that dedication and drive really do make your life better. I may have had to get up for early for work, but I insisted to myself that I get up even earlier. And yes, I was on a boat in an exotic locale, but the sun rises and sets visible pretty much anywhere.
Your excuses are keeping you from possibly changing your entire life for the better.
I made a choice when things were harder than usual and I stuck with it, even when it was unpleasant.
Find it in yourself to make the tough choice, the one that goes directly against what your body tells you in the morning. You are conditioned to think you need more sleep than you do, even though all evidence in your day to day life says otherwise.
Do yourself the favor and try, I want this radically better life for everyone!
