3 tips for getting out of bed in the morning
THAT AWKWARD MOMENT WHEN… one half of you REALLY wants to wake up and DO ALL THE YOGA and the other half still REALLY wants to stay sleeping in bed….
Introducing “The Pirate Eye” and my top 3 tips for getting out of bed.
Being a night owl, “The Pirate Eye” is something I am well accustomed to. Because OBVIOUSLY I want to get out of bed and do the yoga (LIFE!!!), but also – I am just a total night owl and mornings are so not my jam. So half my face wants to DO THE THINGS and the other half wants to NOT DO ALL THE THINGS.
I’ve started a new round of Voyage to the Soul and one of the things we start with is creating a mini morning ritual. Of course the thought of getting out of bed 10 or 15 mins earlier can be deathly (especially to the non-morning types – aka me), so with this new round of Voyage to the Soul-ers, I’ve also decided to get up 15 mins earlier for my own morning rituals, and have been implementing a few different strategies that I wanted to share with you. Some of these come from The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. (one of the books on my recommended reading list).
- RECRUIT EXTERNAL HELP
If you are totally not a morning person and you have a “buddy” who is – recruit them to help wake you up. I’ve enlisted the help of my husband (morning LARK) to wake me up by, literally throwing the covers off me. It’s brutal, but it does work. If you don’t have a willing/morning-lark buddy, then find external help elsewhere. There are some fun apps that force you to literally scan the barcode of your toothpaste before they turn off. (I’ve tried this a few times – and it does get you out of bed for sure). Or make a date with a friend to meet for pre-work walk or gym session. Or put your alarm in a place that forces you to walk across the room to get it. (Also brutal, but effective). External accountability can go a long way to getting you into the habit of getting out of bed earlier. - DRINK A BIG GLASS OF WATER
This is a tip I picked up from the Miracle Morning – to have a large glass of water right next to your bed and drink the whole thing as soon as you wake up. Firstly, dehydration can often be mistaken for tiredness, so getting in some liquid first thing can physically help perk you up! Secondly, it’s something that you need to be quite present to do, but it’s not so taxing that you need to be one hundred percent ALERT – perfect wake up segue. And, well done – you’ve also got one of your “8-a -day” in the bag. Winning. - MAKE ONE THING IN YOUR MORNING WONDERFUL
Choose one tiny thing to implement into your morning routine that is just for you. It could be as simple as lighting a candle or smelling some oil or making a delicious cup of coffee or tea or 5 mins of reading your favourite book. When we build something into the morning routine that is deliciously for us, it makes it that much sweeter to help get us awake. If there is something you love to do like reading a magazine – then “reward” yourself by doing it if you wake up before you designated “have to” wake up time.
AND, last but not least – don’t get sucked into the social media vortex!
I’m not always the best at this but on the days where I start my day with ME (not 10 000 other people on instagram), my day just rolls out way more productively and effectively. (Switching my phone to airplane mode at night has been a game changer!)
If you’re a night owl – what are you best tips for getting yourself out of bed?
And if you’re a morning lark – TELL US YOUR SECRETS!!
JOIN US HERE!
Ohh I’ll have to try the water, good tip thanks. My big one was charging my phone on the other side of the room. That way I had to get out of bed to turn it off and once I was out of bed, that was the hard part done.
OOh that is a good tip. (again – brutal, but effective) haha
Good tips – I think I really need the brutality to get up, as I have this tendency to think “oh, I’ll just have a soft start to the day and read a couple of pages / check out a couple of blog posts / just have a quick scroll through Instagram” and then find myself still in bed half an hour later.
One thing I’ve found effective, though, is to move your body just a little as soon as you wake up: point and flex the toes, bend and straighten the knees, turn your head from side to side etc. It takes off a bit of the sleepiness!
Have a lovely weekend, Ché!
I like that! Also think some mini-movements help! I know exactly what you mean about the “soft start” turning into an hour of un-productivity! I have to say though – my internal alarm woke me up at 6:30am naturally this morning – which is TOTALLY not what I was going for on a Saturday haha!
Somehow it becomes habit. But then, you can’t get into bed so late at night !
Early to bed and early to rise……
plus water on the face usually does the trick!