February 27, 2021

How to become a morning person in 3 easy steps

Learn how to become a morning person in no time with this easy system! I promise, you are going to change. your. life. once you learn how to get a great start to your day.

While those around me consider me a morning person, I truly do not think I am. I do not enjoy getting up early almost everyday and definitely do not like when my alarm goes off.

But, people still consider me a morning person. This is because I have developed habits and systems that allow me to get through my mornings easily and come off as being put together. I don’t like the mornings, but I make them work because I have no other option.

Becoming a morning person does not have to seem like some life-altering change that you have to make.

If you just set up a few healthy morning habits, you will see HUGE differences not only in the morning, but throughout the day as well.

This post is all about how to become a morning person!

One mistake that so many people make when they try to become a morning person is only focusing on the morning.

Instead, I like to look at it in 3 different steps, or 3 different stages of the morning.

The first is the night before, the second is waking up, and the third is the actual morning. In each stage, you have to focus on different things.

Only when you put them all together will you finally see the morning results you are looking for!

Step 1 of becoming a morning person: the night before

Stop using your Phone!

Okay, I can almost guarantee you have heard this before. But seriously, if you have heard it before and have heard it so many times, why haven’t you listened yet. I know, I know, how are you supposed to just not go on your phone at night?!

For me, I find it is a lot easier to limit the time on my phone than eliminate it altogether. The best, and most practical way I limit my screen time is to simply replace it with something else.

Obviously, you are not just going to stare at a wall before going to sleep. Instead, try to pick a non-screen related activity to do before bed.

Personally, I like to read before going to sleep. I can say with 100% certainty that doing this makes a huge difference in how well I sleep.

On long weekends or breaks when I am reading less, I notice that I always take a lot longer to fall asleep. If you want to start reading before bed, check out The 50 Books I Read Since the Pandemic Began. I have some great suggestions in this article about my favorite books from the past year that would be perfect for nighttime reading!

If reading isn’t your thing, you can try meditating or doing yoga before bed. These are great ways to relax your mind before going to sleep, but don’t require a screen.

One more thing I want to add with this tip. I am not saying you should never go on a screen before bed. I love watching movies before going to sleep just as much as anyone else. In my life, I try to read before bed any time I have to wake up early the next day.

Go to sleep at a normal hour

This might seem obvious to you, but I am going to mention it anyway. It is a lot easier to wake up when you go to sleep at a normal time. As tempting as it may be to scroll on your phone all through the night, go to sleep. You will thank yourself in the morning.

Step 2 of becoming a morning person: waking up

Put your alarm across the room

Let’s be real here: resisting the urge to snooze is hard. While I would consider myself a morning person, I don’t actually like getting up early in the morning.

For a while, I would oversleep simply because my phone was right next to me and I would involuntarily turn off my alarm. Obviously, this created some problems for me. So, I changed things up and moved my phone onto my desk at night.

When I tell you this was one of the best changes I have made this year, I am not exaggerating. In the past 3 months, I have only clicked the snooze button ONCE. That’s it.

All because I just had to get out of bed and walk over to my desk to turn off my alarm. I had tried this technique a bunch of times before and this is my first time sticking with it.

I am challenging you to try this for just a week or two. If it works (which it most likely will!), stick with it! You can get so much more sleep and feel so much more awake if you don’t click that snooze button a million times.

Another added bonus I noticed when I did this was that I stayed off my phone at night. I always read for about 30-60 minutes before I go to sleep. But, I developed an annoying habit of going on my phone again after I finished reading.

However, with my phone on the other side of the room, I actually went to bed when I wanted to and was not distracted by my phone.

Switch up the sound of your alarm

If you use a physical clock as your alarm, this tip may not apply to you. But, if you use your phone as an alarm, listen up because this one’s for you!

One of my favorite things I have done recently is switch up the sound of my alarm. About once a month, I change the alarm tone to something new. Recently, I have been using the beginning of songs as my alarm.

Obviously, I only listen to the first 10-20 seconds of the song, but I still like to do this. I find it a lot easier to wake up to a song than I do to wake up to a blaring siren or annoying beeping noise.

If you want to try out a new alarm tone, test out a different sound/song each morning and see which is your favorite. You can also use a different alarm tone each morning and repeat them on a weekly basis (Monday is song A, Tuesday is song B, etc). Try things out and see what you like best!

Step 3 of becoming a morning person: the morning

At this stage of the game, you are up, but probably still half asleep.

Drink a lot of water

I love drinking water in the morning to wake myself up. Not only am I drinking water (which I need to do during the day anyway), but I am waking myself up in the process.

If you want to start doing this in the morning, make it as easy as possible for yourself. Instead of making yourself go to the kitchen, find a glass, and fill it up, have a cup of water all ready for you. Fill it up the night before and leave it right next to your alarm so you are good to go in the morning.

Do everything in the same order every morning

While you may have some tasks to do in the morning that are specific to that day, for the most part, you are always doing the same things every morning: go to the bathroom, brush your teeth, wash your face, get dressed, etc.

You are already doing all of this, so all I am suggesting now is that you do it all in the same order every morning.

After some time, you will develop habits and will be able to do it in your sleep (or that half-asleep stage you are in in the morning!).

I am able to go on auto-pilot every morning because I have been doing the same things in the same order for so long. Doing this is so helpful, especially on those mornings that you are extra tired.

This post was all about how to become a morning person!