The Early Bird Gets the Worm…And Much More

What would you do if I could offer you an extra hour every day – fit in a workout, actually enjoy your breakfast, start a side business?

According to several studies, morning people tend to make more money, are more productive, healthier, leaner, live longer, and are happier and more satisfied with their lives. 

In fact, a Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine study even revealed that people getting sun exposure to bright natural light early – between 8 a.m. and noon – had a lower body mass index (leaner) than people whose light exposure occurs mostly in the late afternoon.

People tend to get more done in the morning because their willpower is refreshed. Willpower is finite, so when you approach the evening, your willpower is most likely completely spent. This is why many people end up not exercising if they don’t do it in the morning.

Early mornings are the best time to do top priority tasks because of this fresh supply of willpower. You’re most likely more optimistic and ready to tackle challenging tasks then. Morning hours are also typically within your control, before bombarded with daily work/life.

I love waking up early – it’s a nice time to gather my thoughts and get stuff done that I would typically put off, like exercising. I wake up at 4 a.m. on weekdays which is strangely easier for me than 5 a.m.

It’s possible to become a morning person if you aren’t one right now. It’s a matter of changing your mindset and developing new habits. Here are ten ways to make that change.

1. Set the tone. Your morning sets the tone for the rest of the day and you can control the thoughts that will set that tone. Begin the morning thinking on a positive and productive note. Instead of filling your head with the slew of bad news and gossip, feed yourself something motivational. Whether it’s a daily quote, a brief chapter of your favorite book, or some other encouraging source like my facebook page. 🙂

2. Write down what you could do or gain if you became a morning person, waking just one hour earlier. The night before, commit to accomplishing something the next morning. This will motivate you to resist rolling over and going back to sleep. This works for me.

When my alarm goes off, I think about how much better I will feel if I get up now and go to the gym. If I don’t get up, I end up missing the exercise and my day just isn’t the same. I am not as productive and I just don’t feel like I am running on all 8 cylinders.

3. Change the way you think about waking up early and make it a priority. This will change your behavior and get you committed to making the change. Think about how just an hour earlier could impact your life. You won’t have to rush to get ready, you’ll have time to do some meditation enjoy your breakfast and contemplate what you can accomplish that day. Remember, you can’t buy time.

4. Plan your sleep – Strive for at least 7-8 hours of sleep and use this to determine when you need to be in bed. If that amount of time isn’t possible, check out my complete sleep hacking guide for tricks and techniques to improve the sleep that you do get so you don’t need as much.

5. Prepare the night before – The night prior, do as much as you can to prepare for the next day– pick out your clothes, make your breakfast and lunch, set the coffee pot timer etc. This gets you committed to the morning.

6. Use an alarm if you have to but DO NOT HIT SNOOZE. Get out of bed as quick as possible. I sometimes have a difficult time getting out of bed, but once I’m out, I’m ready to go. Once you’re feet hit the floor (and stay on the floor), you’re past the hardest part.

7. Try a softer alarm (like this one) or an app that monitors the best time to wake you up. That’s right; there are alarms that will go off at your most wakeful point. You can also try these sleep hacks to improve your quality of sleep, making it easier to get up.

8. Make a perfect cup of coffee – I enjoy the coffee-making process – grinding the beans and extracting the flavor. And it just happens that coffee can be healthy and a great way to start your morning. Just the smell can wake you up. Making a perfect cup of tea is also a great option. Create some ritual that you look forward to and will “reward” you for getting up. I make something called evolved coffee.

9. Take a 2 minute freezing-cold shower. I do this every morning. Not only does this wake me up but also lowers the core body temperature, increasing metabolism.

10. Use a light box (like this one) – Set it up near you for about 10-15 minutes in the morning, while eating breakfast or reading the newspaper, to help recapture energy.

11. Turn it into a habit. This is the most important part. Try to be consistent for a week, then try for another 14 days. See how you feel after those 21 days. By then, it should have become a habit.

Enjoy the quite time with yourself.

TAKEAWAY: Change your view on waking up early.

7 DAY CHALLENGE: Go to bed one hour early tonight with a goal to get up one hour earlier the next morning.

QUESTION: What will you accomplish with your extra hour in the morning?

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Now, I want to learn from you – share your questions, thoughts and stories!