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Wednesday, May 14, 2014

the struggle of early rising


it's a constant battle for me. every morning, i set my alarm clock for 6am. every. single. day. and most days, i snooze until 7:15.

am i a glutton for punishment, or is this just some sick ritual i've gotten used to?

online resources agree that waking up earlier is beneficial for a myriad of reasons. according to forbes, early rising is linked to success. just an extra hour in the morning increases your productivity, mental health and sets a tone for your day. instead of feeling rushed to get out the door, your morning is more of a leisurely routine that calms your nerves, helps you feel in control and keeps you balanced. i totally agree with this entire list.

when i do manage to wake up at 6am, this time is used for a 20 minute yoga session, a healthy breakfast, chugging as many glasses of water as i can stand, preparing my coffee, getting ready & checking my emails/social media. usually, i'll listen to the soft pop wakeup call station (so good) on songza. before i've even gone to work, i've already devoted time to fitness, health & mental wellbeing. it's done wonders for any bouts of anxiety i've had, and it makes me feel accomplished.

but let's not get too carried away, here. because my problem is that making this happen daily is an uphill battle. i'm not naturally a morning person. i wish i was, so desperately. nighttime has always been when i feel most creative - it's not unusual for me to get a wave of inspiration at 1am. due to my schedule, falling asleep earlier has gotten easier, but waking up in the morning never has. i could go to bed at 9pm and wake up at 6am asking the world, "are you serious? already?".

they say to change up your routine, you should start waking up 10 minutes earlier each day. i've tried this. and hey, maybe i'm not dedicated enough, but getting out of bed is still rough as hell.

what's your morning routine? do you take advantage of extra time in the morning? is it easy for you - or are you like me, totally committed to the idea but struggling with the execution?

8 comments:

  1. I used to really struggle with waking up in the mornings, maybe it comes with getting older...but even on weekends I am up naturally by 7:00am. Weekdays? I have to wake up at 4:25am. I get in my work out, shower, do my make up, let the dogs out, feed the cat, pack mine and my husband's lunches, make iced coffees, eat breakfast, iron whatever I am wearing, then I am out the door and off to work. I always feel so accomplished having my work out done for the day. I can't make excuses that way. It is so easy for me to come home at night and "be too tire" to get it in.

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    Replies
    1. Feel free to pass some of that mojo on over to me. I just need to get in the habit and stick to it. If I sleep in once, I'm all thrown off!

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  2. YES! I am the exact same way. I set it early and then wake up thinking "shut up, I've only been asleep for 30 minutes!". I am going to try waking up 10 minutes earlier tomorrow. Fingers crossed I can get my butt out of bed and work out!

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  3. I used to have issues with waking up early...then I had a baby. Haha! He wakes me up by 6 every morning.

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  4. I can completely relate! When I used to actually work for someone, I'd have to get up at 5:30 to get out of the house by 6:30. Usually I'd sleep til 6, but the feeling of being rushed made me instantly regret those extra minutes of shut eye. Now that I work from home for myself, I actually find it easier to wake up in the morning. Granted, I don't get up a 5:30 and I have a dog that licks my face until I open my eyes, but by 7am, I find I'm usually ready to get out of bed. I've also found that mornings are easier when I have a morning routine I look forward to. If mornings always consisted of work I dreaded instead of a leisurely walk outdoors, coffee in hand, I'd probably hate them to the highest degree.

    Long response! Maybe I should write a whole blog post on this - haha!

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  5. YASSS. Morning: 1, Molly: 0. Always. I snooze for about 45 minutes every morning, then end up having to go straight upstairs to my office. I want to get up early and do yoga, but it never works out.

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