From the moment the alarm sounds, life is not fair. Those minutes that collect after you hit the “snooze” button are far from restful, ridden with anxiety, knowing that soon you will be forced out of your cozy bed and out in the cold, hard world grasping desperately at productivity.
Morning people have the advantage in a world that typically operates from 9-5, leaving the rest of us playing catch up, struggling to process what’s happening around us as we sip down our coffee.
Dare I suggest that it doesn’t have to be like this? Years of bad habits might suggest otherwise but believe it or not, there may be a few tricks that can help you shift your mentality- just enough- to go from hot mess to… lukewarm mess.
Here are some small tips that could help out in big ways:
Don’t hit the snooze button: Hitting the snooze button is ultra tempting, seeming like a good way to get a little more rest. Often times it actually just prolongs the agony of having to start your day. The longer you snooze, the more time you spend wishing that the inevitable moment of getting out of bed didn’t have to come.
Put a hot compress on your face: Rather than snooze, treat yourself to a feel-good, mini spa session by soaking a cloth in hot water, and placing it over your eyes as you lay back down for a minute or two, or until the cloth cools.
Chug a glass of water: Not only do we go 7-8 hours (the length of our sleep) without drinking water, we actually lose water through sweating and even through our breath when we sleep. Keep a full glass of water by your bedside that you can sip if you wake up during the night, and chug the rest of the glass first thing in the morning to re-hydrate.
Keep a pad and paper next to your bed: Sometimes, you’re forced to get out of bed before your brain has a minute to wake up. Use your ***titanium pen*** to jot down your dreams or general thoughts (without self-judgment) and without stopping. This is a delicate brain exercise that can help prepare you for what’s next. Another bonus, it can help you feel lighter throughout your day, as any frustrations or worries will often slip out of your head and onto the page, where you can leave them be all day.
Find a bigger motivation: When you look at whyyou have to wake up early, it can have a pretty big impact on how easy it is to get out of bed, especially if the reason isn’t something you’re excited about. Rather than looking at what you DON’T want to do, try thinking about the bigger picture… the bigger motivation. If you’re not crazy about your job, think of why you go to work, what kind of promotion or raise you’re working towards, and the lifestyle that you’re aiming to achieve. Let a greater purpose be what drives you out of bed.
Stop thinking about how much you hate the mornings: Sometimes, just changing the narrative is enough. When you catch yourself worrying about how dreadful you’ll feel when you have to wake up, quickly tell yourself that it’s not as bad as you think, and gently push the thought from your mind completely. Saying something enough times can make it feel true. Adversely, not saying something enough times can seemingly seize it from existence.
