Am I insane? Perhaps I don’t own a time-telling device? Maybe I just hate sleep? Nope, it’s none of those things! I’m up an hour before I need to be during Monday – Friday because I find I am massively productive and get more done! Here’s how you can do the same.
I work full time, I also create content for BooksNest on my blog, Twitter and Instagram constantly and I’m writing a book. I have quite a few plates spinning at any one time and more often than not there aren’t enough hours in the day to do it all. This is why I choose to wake up an hour earlier and increase my productivity to utilise the hours in my day.
Here’s the things I consider and find useful when it comes to starting that hour early.
How many hours sleep do you need?
You’ll hopefully know on what amount of hours sleep your body functions the best. For me it’s eight hours, I find I can wake up a lot easier after eight hours and I don’t feel too tired or groggy. Given that I wake up at 6am, this means I need to go to bed around 10pm. I would rather sleep a lot later than that, but I try and be in bed around this time and spend maybe 30 minutes or so reading.
Get up and make your bed, don’t get back into it.
When your dreaded alarm goes off you need to make yourself stand up. I do this by leaving my phone out of reach from my bed, meaning I have to stand up to turn it off. I then make myself go to the bathroom and turn the lights on. By the time I shuffle back to my bedroom, I’m usually quite awake. I then make sure to make my bed so I’m not tempted to get back in and I take a seat in my chair with my little portable desk.
Set yourself a list of things you want to achieve.
I vary my goals for my early mornings, but at the moment I’m trying to write 1,000 words before 7am. I’ve found this is an achievable goal and something that makes me feel much more productive about my day. I’m working towards finishing the book I’m writing at the moment and that drives me to get up early and write. Some weeks though I dedicate this time to blogging and try and get a blog post drafted in this hour.
I know that if I want to really achieve my goals I need to put my all into it and for me this includes the effort of waking up early to put more hours in.
What are the benefits of waking up early?
I find this hour in the morning gives me dedicated time to catch up on my social media for the day and not fall behind on my blogging. Without this hour I would have a lot more to do when I finish work in the evening. But actually when I know I’ve completed my goals for the day before even starting work, I can have the evening to myself and enjoy my hobbies.
How does waking up early benefit mental health?
On top of the benefits I’ve already stated for waking up earlier, I also find it makes me more awake for my day. I’m sure you guys will empathise with the feeling of waking up for work and hating your alarm and considering how much you really need your job. But I find I’m taking my mornings back with this hour early start. My mornings are no longer just about getting ready for work, but they’re now also time for me to do things I need to do. I find this has a huge impact on my mental health because I feel in control of more of my time. I feel happy that I’m getting things done and I also feel like I don’t have to rush to wake myself up and I can enjoy my mornings a lot more.
I think even just waking up 15 minutes or 30 minutes before you need to will do wonders for your productivity and attitude to the day. Even on my super tired days when I don’t have as much on my to-do list, I will still wake up at least 20 minutes early so I can have that time to myself. You could use it for reading, exercise, phone scrolling, anything you enjoy to do.
I could not agree more!! I get up at 6 as I have classes at 10 am on Tues/Thurs. During the summer, I like to continue getting up at 6 so that I make the most out of the long, summer days. Saturdays and Sundays are when I allow myself to sleep in. 8 hours is ideal for me too! I like to curl up in bed at around 9:20 and read until I get sleepy. Usually, that means I’m asleep before 10 :’) Creating a weekly to-do list is so beneficial, and a daily one helps me stay on track!! Loved this x
It is certainly the best way to get more out of your day!
I absolutely agree. Even when I’ve not slept well, I will always try to be up and out of bed just before 7am because I can do a lot in a morning when it’s just me on my own. I can get ahead with some of the jobs I need to do or have some quality time with a mug of tea and a book/current crochet or knitting project. Also now with a puppy addition to the family, it’s hard not to wake up early as he will need tending to. If I don’t wake up early and I end up staying in bed past 8:30, I get a bit worked up because one thing I hate is time wasting and losing those morning hours.
So productive before 7! I usually prolong getting up as late as possible but perhaps this is something I’ll start doing in the New Year 🙂
Ha my alarm goes off at 5.45 for work, don’t think I could stomach getting up any earlier! (I know this is an old post, I’m a new reader and going through your archives!)