Becoming a morning person can feel like an impossible task. Waking up to the sound of a blaring alarm isn’t a great feeling, and leaving the cozy comfort of a warm bed not overly appealing. But how you start your day will have a huge impact on how the rest of it goes. Believe it or not, you can actually become a morning person overnight by adding simple habits into your routine.
Making the most out of every day is something I’m passionate about, and my blog is filled with ways to do that. Living every day as the best version of yourself and cultivating a life you love filled with things that make you excited to get out of bed in the morning is ultimately the best way to become a morning person. But changing everything doesn’t happen instantly.
So, in the mean time, here are some surefire ways to transform the way you wake up. It’s time to stop living for sleep and start sleeping to live — life is short, precious, and too beautiful to waste a single second of.
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How to Become a Morning Person Overnight
Pick out your outfit for the morning the night before
The last thing you’ll want to do when you wake up in the morning is walk into a cluttered closet and spend 20 minutes trying to put together an outfit. Morning brain is rarely quick and decisive, so you’ll be wasting your time and probably feeling rushed and resentful. Picking out your outfit the night before gives you a few extra minutes to run on autopilot, giving you more time to wake up and a less stressful start to your day.
Bonus tip: create a capsule wardrobe – a smaller set of clothes that you can cycle between. Fewer options means more time and less stress!
Get an alarm clock
Rather than setting an alarm on your phone, buy an actual alarm clock. Put it out of reach, so in order to turn it off, you have to actually get out of bed. This part won’t be fun — but you will feel better once you’re up and moving.
I have and love a vintage-looking alarm clock that I got dirt-cheap at Walmart. Thrift stores are usually gold for adorable and cheap ones, but if you need something fast, this Amazon clock looks similar and is super affordable.
Don’t lay in bed
On a related note, it’s all too easy to grab your phone and spent 20 minutes laying in bed, scrolling Instagram. This is one of the worst things you can do. Not only is your phone designed to be time consuming and addictive, it gives you an excuse not to move. By the time you actually do get up, you’ll be running to make it out the door. Getting up gets your mind awake and thinking about the day, rather than how unhappy you are to be awake.
Additionally, we all know that social media can be a toxic place. While I’m still a fan of using it in healthy ways, it’s DEFINITELY not the best thing for your brain first thing in the morning.
Start your day off on the right note
Rather than moping around or just rushing to get things done, take time every morning — be it 5 minutes or 30 — to start your day off right. If you don’t already practice gratitude journaling, this is a great and EASY way to get yourself in a positive mindset. Take a few moments each morning to write down five things that you’re thankful for. Grounding and focussing you on the good things in your life, gratitude journaling reminds you what you have to wake up for every morning.
I usually start my mornings with some time in the Bible, prayer, and journaling, but everyone’s routine is up to them. Try a few different rhythms and see what works for you!
Have a cup of coffee
This is only *mildly* exaggerated, but coffee is one of the best things to ever happen to me. I drink it black, and almost always have a cup next to me while I’m working. Coffee gives you a huge energy boost as you’re waking up, and actually improves your mood as well. “Happy juice” is an understatement. If getting up and going is a challenge for you, I cannot stress what a difference this will make. When it becomes habit, it’s actually a powerful motivator. Leaving your bed in the mornings for the purpose of school or work is a difficult thing to do. But if you’re leaving your bed for a hot cup of heaven… that’s a different story.
Practice the “4 minute rule”
I recently discovered this concept called the “4 Minute Rule”, and fell in love. The principle is simple, but beautiful. Basically, anytime you enter a new space, be it walking into work, a blind date, hanging out with your friends, or waking up in the morning — actively choose to spend the first four minutes being the best version of yourself.
Easy, right? For four minutes, you can keep the snarky comments to yourself. You can ask your coworker how their weekend went. You can get out from under the covers and hop in the shower without complaining. The more you strive to be the best version of yourself, the closer you become to being that person all of the time, and the more your attitude starts to shift permanently.
Change your target for the day
Raise your hand if you’ve ever woken up and instantly thought: “only __ more hours until I can get back in bed!”
I’m with you. Though I hate to admit it, I’ve lived too much of my life that way. But let me tell you, living life for the end of the day is not necessary, worth it, or conducive to any kind of happiness. You need to change your target for the day. Instead of spending your day counting down the hours until you can get in bed and turn on Netflix, give yourself goals to actually better the spaces you walk in every day.
For example: Who can you encourage today?
Whether it’s picking up a coffee for a coworker, checking in with the receptionist you never talk to, or sending a text to someone you appreciate, set your daily focus on something other than yourself. It gives you a sense of purpose, a joy in blessing other people, and, literally a reason to get up in the morning.
The sound of your morning alarm might never be music to your ears, but it doesn’t have to be audible dread either. Every day is a new chance to experience and enjoy a different part of life. Stop waking up ready to end the day, and make your mornings a time to reset your priorities and get in the right headspace. Being a morning person doesn’t have to come naturally — you just have to be want it.
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