I have never been a morning person. Ever.

My bed and I have always shared a deep love and I hate leaving it every morning. I hate my alarm and would set it for the latest time possible and hit snooze at least once every morning. I was typically running behind and never in a good mood. That morning person vibe just never made sense to me.

My husband on the other hand is up before the sun, without the help of an alarm. How is that possible? Is he even human? Sometimes I wonder…..

Having kids made the need for a routine more important, but I still didn’t get up earlier than I had to. You would think that Covid and working from home would have really thrown a routine out the window, but it did the opposite. Ok, at first I would just roll out of bed and get to work on the couch. But that lack of structure started to make me feel uneasy and stressed out. My husband suggested I start to work out in the mornings since I had been saying I wanted to for so long.

So, I slowly started to get up a little earlier. Still I didn’t have a set agenda for the mornings. It was all over the place and I didn’t stick to a set routine and would still feel rushed and flustered even though I didn’t have to leave the house. I sat down and thought about the things I do each morning and how long I typically spend on each thing. I came up with an actual routine to my morning. Obviously sometimes those things have to be adjusted based off the kids and whatever pops up. But for the most part I keep to my routine and guess what? I actually get up earlier now that I ever did when I was actually going into the office.

And it feels amazing! I don’t feel rushed. I feel more awake for the work day. I feel less stressed. And it is actually really refreshing to watch the sun come up outside my window as I am doing my morning yoga.

How I recommend becoming a morning person :

START SLOW

I didn’t start waking up 2 hours earlier right away. I slowly started to set my alarm earlier. Take your time and ease your way into it. Otherwise you are going to keep hitting snooze and give up. You need time to adjust and let your body get used to the new normal.

GO TO BED EARLY AND PUT AWAY THE PHONE

I used to stay up late, scroll through Facebook, IG and Pintrest. I would toss and turn all night. In the morning I would be dragging, even before I started getting up sooner. I started to put my phone away 2 hours prior to trying to go to sleep. I give myself time to relax. Not having the screen and light in my face helps me ease into sleep and doesn’t keep my up for hours. I started going to bed earlier as I started wake up earlier. You NEED sleep. Your body needs time to heal and recover from the day.

MAKE A ROUTINE

Making a routine helped me stay motived to get up earlier. I didn’t wake up and feel flustered and unsure of what to do when. Creating a routine allowed me to easily manage the morning. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t jump out of bed singing “the hills are alive with the sound of music”. I am still not Susy Sunshine in the morning. I like it to be quiet and having time to move at a slower pace. I like having the routine because it lets me move through the motions and not have to do heavy thinking first thing in the morning.

What my mornings look like:

5am :

Wake Up

Pre Workout Shake

Feed the dog and take her out

5:30am:

Peloton Cycling

6:15am:

Yoga

6:45am:

Shower and get ready

7:15am:

Breakfast for the kids

7:45am:

Morning Team Toucbase Call

8:00am:

Ready for the work day!