Are you reading this while you are still in bed? Yeah, I thought so. Hey, I get the squishy, soft mattress and grandma’s comfy quilt. I have all that too, however today I’m going to talk about how getting up early can make your day go from Meh to Amazing.
First, let me explain. I was once in your camp. Priding myself on sleeping until noon every day, I was the queen of sleeping in. When my children were small, I even made them wait until 9:00 on Christmas Morning. Yep, I was that kind of mom. Believe me I get it, but I do not think that I am unique in this habit.
As life got increasingly hectic, I realized that I needed to make a change because the time that I valued so much was passing me by. I realized that I was not enjoying the amazing life that I had because I was sleeping a substantial portion of it away.
Following is what I have experienced and learned as I transformed my mornings.
You Feel Better When You Wake Up Earlier
Notice I said earlier. To change this habit for good you need to do it correctly. You can try the “cold turkey” method, or you could ease into it gradually. Doing something drastically different never worked for me long term. I always have had to ease into something gradually for it to stick. But hey, you do you. According to this article by Well + Good getting up just an hour earlier can even contribute to less instances of depression or mood swings throughout the day.
Look Forward to the Sunshine and the Birds Singing
I keep my blinds open just a little so that the light will wake me naturally in the morning. When the sun rises and shines through my windows, I feel instantly happy. Since I have started doing this, I have noticed that the natural rhythm of my sleeping has changed with little effort on my part.
Also with the sun, I am more in tune to the birds chattering. I have some pretty chatty birds outside on some mornings and they just make me smile. Who doesn’t picture a cartoon character swinging away on his perch and chirping happily?
You Have More Time for the Amazing Person that You Are
Just think if you got up one extra hour in the day you would have seven additional hours in the week. If you got up two hours earlier, you would add fourteen additional hours. That is almost half of a work week. Do you have a hobby that you can never seem to find time for? Or maybe you love to read but are just exhausted at the end of the day and cannot squeeze in any additional minutes. Maybe you would love to take a class or learn a new language. You can do a lot with fourteen extra hours.
There Will be More Time to Exercise
Now I am in the camp that hates (hate is such a strong word, I know, but I do mean hate) exercise. Every single minute of it. However, it is now the third thing I do on weekday mornings. I get it over with and on with my day. As reported in Medical News Today even a small amount of exercise can have significant benefits. When you exercise early in your day you:
- start off the day by doing something that is good for you,
- get it over with, so you never have to worry about fitting it in later,
- are energized and able to dive into your to-dos and tasks with vigor.
Look Forward to Weighing In
Now, I know what you are thinking. You are thinking “that will just depress me right off the bat.” Yep, I used to be in that camp too. For much of my adult life, I have been dissatisfied with my body. When I started getting up earlier, eating tasty food, and exercising, I now look at the scale as a partner and not the evil menace that it once was. Does it make me mad sometimes? Heck yes, but that just gives me more drive to exercise. In a way, it has become my accountability buddy, keeping me accountable and helping me make wiser food choices throughout the day.
Your Breakfast Routine Will Be One of the Best Parts of Your Amazing Day
If you hurry through breakfast, you are missing one of the most centering activities that you can do for yourself. Since I have prioritized my breakfast routine it is one of my most favorite times of the day.
I love cereal, almost any kind. After exercising and taking my medication and vitamins I pour a serving of cereal, top it with whole milk, put the tea kettle on to boil, and get my favorite reading material or pull up a game on my phone.
One of the ways that I stay engaged with my family as they are out, is connecting with them through our shared love of games and we play every day through apps on our phones. I even play with my parents and siblings who are in various places around the globe.
Give yourself a minimum of 30 minutes (which you can totally do if you get up earlier) and I can tell you it is magical.
Put Medication and Vitamin Routine on Autopilot
Do you struggle when it comes to taking your medication? Do you ever forget to take it? Did you know that to derive the most benefit from any medication, you should take it at the same time each day?
If you include taking your medication and vitamins in your morning routine, you effectively put your medication on autopilot. Not only will you not forget to take it, but you might also be healthier. This has been a game changer for me. Since implementing this as part of my morning, I have never missed a dose.
If it is essential that you take your prescriptions throughout the day this article on the HealthyMEPA website gives some great suggestions on how to remember and never miss a dose during other times of the day.
You Will Want to Go to Bed Earlier
This will have multiple benefits. If you get up early you will be tired at night. You will want and need to go to bed.
I used to find myself sitting on the couch channel surfing because I was too lazy to get up and go to bed. Well, if you just get up and go to bed channel surfing may become a thing that you used to do.
Instead of wasting time channel surfing, you will be in bed getting the restorative sleep that you deserve. This will lead to more restful nights and a more willingness to get out of bed at a decent hour in the morning. Which in turn will transform those unproductive nightly channel surfing hours to productive daytime hours.
Wake up to Gratitude for an Amazing Day
How many of you out there wake up crabby, don’t want to get out of bed, don’t want to go to work, don’t want to face the people that you live with, etc., etc., etc.? How is that working out for you so far? Do you have joyful days? Probably not.
When you wake up and find things to be grateful for, your mood and attitude shifts almost immediately. These little gratitude moments can just take a few seconds or as long as you want depending on your thankfulness level. Your gratitude could be for things as simple as:
- a comfortable bed,
- sunshine shining in your windows,
- amazing folks that you live with.
This list can go on and on. Once you find one thing to be grateful for, others just magically pop into your head. Try it tomorrow morning. Find at least one thing to be thankful for and see how this one little step can transform your day to amazing.
You Want to Live Every Single Moment of Your Incredible Life
So, let’s recap. Here are the 10 Unique reasons to get up every day and how these will lead to amazing days.
- You will feel better – if you feel better, you will naturally be more productive throughout your day.
- Look forward to the sunshine and the birds singing – this should automatically put a smile on your face.
- You will have more time – as stated earlier if you wake up just one hour earlier you will add seven additional hours to your week. Think of all you can accomplish in seven hours.
- You have more time to take care of yourself – some examples are exercising, grooming or meditation.
- Look forward to weighing in – use the scale as your accountability friend.
- You will start your amazing day with a breakfast routine – find your favorite breakfast food, a comfortable chair and relax for at least 30 minutes.
- You will put your medication and vitamin routine on autopilot – never miss dose. Remember if you need to take your medication at other times of the day you can find ways to put that on autopilot as well.
- You will want to go to bed earlier – change unproductive nightly channel surfing into productive daytime hours.
- Wake up to thoughts of gratitude – find at least one thing that you are grateful for first thing in the morning and see how it changes your outlook.
- You want to enjoy every single day of your amazing life.
Your life is waiting. Get up and live it!
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