How to Become More of a Morning Person (from the point of view of a Night Owl)
As I sit here right now, the birds are chirping outside my windows, the sun is shining and my second pot of coffee is brewing away. It's calm and peaceful. I have some calming jams playing on my Spotify and I have a book sitting beside me waiting to be cracked open.
Doesn't that just sound like the best thing? This feeling of total peace and serenity, can only truly be experienced in the morning, in my personal opinion. There is just something about the mornings that makes you feel as if you can accomplish anything.
If you know anything about me, you might know that I am a total night owl. Why just last night I stayed up until 1:30 AM (which isn't super late but still.) If given the chance, I can stay up until 4 AM and sleep until 11AM every single day. I'd just live the majority of my life in the PM, which doesn't sound horrible, but that's not how the rest of the world works. Unfortunately for us night owls, the world seems to be invested with early risers and most jobs start at around 8 or 9 o'clock AM, definitely not ideal for a night owl.
Over the past school year (my junior year of high school) I really pushed myself to be more of a morning person. To wake up every single day at the same time, to give myself at least an hour of me time before I hit the ground running, and really just basking in the morning. And let me say, it was wonderful.
This is how most of my mornings started:
*Also I will be completely honest, towards the end of the school year I did tend to not do everything because I was so done but I did really try my hardest okay?
- Most mornings I would try to wake up at 6AM (this was often pushed to 6:15 or 6:30.) This was an hour before I needed to wake up for school to get ready, so most mornings I was up two hours before I had to be somewhere.
- After waking up, not gonna lie, I checked my phone, as most of us are guilty of. But after that, I would head downstairs. Depending on the day, my mom would be up before me already brewing the coffee, but more times than not, that job fell to me. I would start the coffee, being the sole provider of caffeine and hot coffee for the women in the Reuther household.
- Once I had my cup of coffee, I would do a few different things depending on what I was feeling that day. Most of the time I would try to read, giving myself about 45 minutes of reading time in the morning really helped me to get through books. Starting it in the morning, pushed me to read it more throughout the day. Sometimes I would watch TV (not often) but my go-to morning show is The Great British Baking Show. It's such a calming program and is perfect for the morning time. Sometimes I would write, but pretty much if I wasn't reading, I was on my phone. This was also a great time for my mom and me to talk. I really cherish those early morning moments, just talking about random things in the still darkness of the morning.
- At around 7AM, I would head up to my bedroom to get ready for the day. I tried to make my bed every single day. William H. McRaven once said, "If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed." And I totally agree. You feel so productive if you've made your bed and even if your room is a mess, your bed is nice and it somehow makes the room a little cleaner. So I would make my bed and then I would pick out an audiobook or podcast to listen too. Get dressed, do my makeup, hair, all that jazz.
- Then I was ready for the day! Most days I really tried to eat breakfast, because breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day. After that, I was ready to go.
Of course my "morning routine" changes from day to day based on what my schedule is, but that's the most basic outline. Now I thought I would pinpoint a couple of tips that I incorporated into my routine, that really helped me to be more of a morning person I guess.
1. Have something to look forward to in the morning.
If you have something that you are looking forward to in the morning, it will really help you to be motivated to get up in the morning. It can really be anything. For me most of the time it was coffee, not gonna lie, or getting to read the book I was currently reading. It can be absolutely anything, but if you set that goal for yourself, you'll be a little bit more motivated to leave your cozy bed in the morning.
2. Take time for yourself
I really truly think the one thing that made me really love mornings, was having that one hour of just me time. Just getting to chill out, in my pajamas, reading or doing whatever it is I was doing. It was almost therapeutic in a way. I totally recommend it to everyone. It doesn't even have to be an hour. It could be 45, 30, 15 minutes, just taking time for yourself and not immediately rushing to get ready and get to the busy day ahead of you. Not to get all hippie-dippie on you, but you can even take the time to meditate (I think I'm going to try and start incorporating that into my routine) but just taking a little bit of time for yourself can really change your attitude and outlook on the day. There were mornings when I took that extra hour to sleep and only woke up right when I had too, and I totally saw a difference in my mood. I was actually more tired than I probably would have been had I woken up an hour earlier. I was also more irritable because I was tired and didn't take that time for myself. I totally swear by waking up early now, it's the best.
3. Try and eat breakfast every morning
Okay, I failed at this one a lot, but it really is super important. Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, because your body has just slept and gone without food for a long amount of time. It needs that nourishment. I'm actually the worst person because, during the school year, I wouldn't bring a lunch to school. If I didn't have breakfast in the morning, I would go without eating till about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, which you should NEVER do. I really shouldn't be giving advice on this subject (I really shouldn't I am literally sitting here typing this having not eaten breakfast and my stomach is not happy.) Just don't make the same mistakes I did. Eat food, please.
4. Go to bed at a decent time.
This year I set myself a bedtime of 11PM. Some nights it was 11:30, depending on if I had gotten home later in the evening, but 11PM was always my goal. It is really important to try to get as much sleep as possible. Our bodies really do need it. And if you go to bed at a decent time, it's not as hard to wake up early in the morning.
5. Do things to make you feel as though you've accomplished something.
So this one is a little weird and vague, but hear me out. Waking up early, reading and just doing all of these things gave me a sense of accomplishment. Like, I've gotten up early. I was being productive, getting a good start to my day. I read a book, making me feel productive and I was using my time wisely. Listening to an audiobook or a podcast also made me feel as if I wasn't wasting time and was being productive. This can really be tweaked however you want it, but doing something that makes you feel a sense of accomplishment, can make you really glad you woke up early.
Those are just a few of my tips that have really helped me to be more of a morning person. I now really enjoy mornings and look forward to getting up early. Of course, I still have my days of hating the world and wishing for that extra hour of sleep (I am only human after all) but these things have helped me flip the switch and to be a morning person, a morning girl. ;)
Doesn't that just sound like the best thing? This feeling of total peace and serenity, can only truly be experienced in the morning, in my personal opinion. There is just something about the mornings that makes you feel as if you can accomplish anything.
If you know anything about me, you might know that I am a total night owl. Why just last night I stayed up until 1:30 AM (which isn't super late but still.) If given the chance, I can stay up until 4 AM and sleep until 11AM every single day. I'd just live the majority of my life in the PM, which doesn't sound horrible, but that's not how the rest of the world works. Unfortunately for us night owls, the world seems to be invested with early risers and most jobs start at around 8 or 9 o'clock AM, definitely not ideal for a night owl.
Over the past school year (my junior year of high school) I really pushed myself to be more of a morning person. To wake up every single day at the same time, to give myself at least an hour of me time before I hit the ground running, and really just basking in the morning. And let me say, it was wonderful.
This is how most of my mornings started:
*Also I will be completely honest, towards the end of the school year I did tend to not do everything because I was so done but I did really try my hardest okay?
- Most mornings I would try to wake up at 6AM (this was often pushed to 6:15 or 6:30.) This was an hour before I needed to wake up for school to get ready, so most mornings I was up two hours before I had to be somewhere.
- After waking up, not gonna lie, I checked my phone, as most of us are guilty of. But after that, I would head downstairs. Depending on the day, my mom would be up before me already brewing the coffee, but more times than not, that job fell to me. I would start the coffee, being the sole provider of caffeine and hot coffee for the women in the Reuther household.
- Once I had my cup of coffee, I would do a few different things depending on what I was feeling that day. Most of the time I would try to read, giving myself about 45 minutes of reading time in the morning really helped me to get through books. Starting it in the morning, pushed me to read it more throughout the day. Sometimes I would watch TV (not often) but my go-to morning show is The Great British Baking Show. It's such a calming program and is perfect for the morning time. Sometimes I would write, but pretty much if I wasn't reading, I was on my phone. This was also a great time for my mom and me to talk. I really cherish those early morning moments, just talking about random things in the still darkness of the morning.
- At around 7AM, I would head up to my bedroom to get ready for the day. I tried to make my bed every single day. William H. McRaven once said, "If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed." And I totally agree. You feel so productive if you've made your bed and even if your room is a mess, your bed is nice and it somehow makes the room a little cleaner. So I would make my bed and then I would pick out an audiobook or podcast to listen too. Get dressed, do my makeup, hair, all that jazz.
- Then I was ready for the day! Most days I really tried to eat breakfast, because breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day. After that, I was ready to go.
Of course my "morning routine" changes from day to day based on what my schedule is, but that's the most basic outline. Now I thought I would pinpoint a couple of tips that I incorporated into my routine, that really helped me to be more of a morning person I guess.
1. Have something to look forward to in the morning.
If you have something that you are looking forward to in the morning, it will really help you to be motivated to get up in the morning. It can really be anything. For me most of the time it was coffee, not gonna lie, or getting to read the book I was currently reading. It can be absolutely anything, but if you set that goal for yourself, you'll be a little bit more motivated to leave your cozy bed in the morning.
2. Take time for yourself
I really truly think the one thing that made me really love mornings, was having that one hour of just me time. Just getting to chill out, in my pajamas, reading or doing whatever it is I was doing. It was almost therapeutic in a way. I totally recommend it to everyone. It doesn't even have to be an hour. It could be 45, 30, 15 minutes, just taking time for yourself and not immediately rushing to get ready and get to the busy day ahead of you. Not to get all hippie-dippie on you, but you can even take the time to meditate (I think I'm going to try and start incorporating that into my routine) but just taking a little bit of time for yourself can really change your attitude and outlook on the day. There were mornings when I took that extra hour to sleep and only woke up right when I had too, and I totally saw a difference in my mood. I was actually more tired than I probably would have been had I woken up an hour earlier. I was also more irritable because I was tired and didn't take that time for myself. I totally swear by waking up early now, it's the best.
3. Try and eat breakfast every morning
Okay, I failed at this one a lot, but it really is super important. Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, because your body has just slept and gone without food for a long amount of time. It needs that nourishment. I'm actually the worst person because, during the school year, I wouldn't bring a lunch to school. If I didn't have breakfast in the morning, I would go without eating till about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, which you should NEVER do. I really shouldn't be giving advice on this subject (I really shouldn't I am literally sitting here typing this having not eaten breakfast and my stomach is not happy.) Just don't make the same mistakes I did. Eat food, please.
4. Go to bed at a decent time.
This year I set myself a bedtime of 11PM. Some nights it was 11:30, depending on if I had gotten home later in the evening, but 11PM was always my goal. It is really important to try to get as much sleep as possible. Our bodies really do need it. And if you go to bed at a decent time, it's not as hard to wake up early in the morning.
5. Do things to make you feel as though you've accomplished something.
So this one is a little weird and vague, but hear me out. Waking up early, reading and just doing all of these things gave me a sense of accomplishment. Like, I've gotten up early. I was being productive, getting a good start to my day. I read a book, making me feel productive and I was using my time wisely. Listening to an audiobook or a podcast also made me feel as if I wasn't wasting time and was being productive. This can really be tweaked however you want it, but doing something that makes you feel a sense of accomplishment, can make you really glad you woke up early.
Those are just a few of my tips that have really helped me to be more of a morning person. I now really enjoy mornings and look forward to getting up early. Of course, I still have my days of hating the world and wishing for that extra hour of sleep (I am only human after all) but these things have helped me flip the switch and to be a morning person, a morning girl. ;)
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