So, You Want to Be a Morning Person? 3 Ways I Make Mornings Rock

I used to hate mornings…then I discovered some simple ways to make mornings my favorite! Here are 3 of my favorite ways to “Take Back Morning” and make them rock!

An alternate title for this post could easily be “I Hated Mornings But Now I Love Them”.

I love mornings… in fact, the early morning hours are easily my favorite time of day. It didn’t used to be this way…even as a child I never really slept in, but I was definitely not a rise and shine and have a smile on my face kind of kid. As an adult I would get up when my alarm went off, but grumble through my morning routine, wishing I could just crawl back under the covers.

Don’t get me wrong… I’m still not a happy, cheerful morning person (I prefer to speak to no one during the first couple hours of the day) but I love the quiet and stillness of the morning so much, it is worth it to me to get up and get my day started.

Have you wished you were a morning person? Here are 3 key things I’ve done to become a morning person… maybe they’ll help you too!

Wake Up Earlier Than You Have To

I became a morning person once I finally realized the benefits I received when I implemented new things in the morning. The hardest part of becoming a morning person was learning to wake up earlier than I have to.

I’ve spent a good part of my life sleeping until I absolutely had to wake up, then spent the remainder of the morning rushing around in a hurried hot mess state, not feeling relaxed and calm at all, yelling at everyone in sight, etc. Basically, I was starting off my day in the worst way possible.

Now, I wake up at 4:15am on gym days and 5am on non-gym days. My kids get up at 6:15, so this gives me at least an hour of time to not feel rushed and to ease into my morning. My goal in the morning is to:

1. Be showered and somewhat ready for the day by the time my kids get out of bed.
2. Have my exercise over and done with so I don’t have it hanging over me all day.
3. To have some time to do something for me…something that I love and that makes me happy…to set the overall tone for my day going forward.

I even wake up earlier now when we are on vacation. When I was recently on a Princess Cruise, my friend and I would wake up earlier than we had to so we could enjoy a delicious breakfast on the balcony, have some time to read, watch the sunrise, and ease into our morning. It was so lovely!

I’ve had to alter some things, especially about my nights, to make these changes work. I have to be very, very disciplined about going to bed on time. If I stay up until midnight then wake up at 5, that’s not going to do much good for my well being. I am now typically in bed by 9pm, which was a HUGE adjustment for me, but one that has been incredibly worth it.

I recommend easing into your morning by waking up earlier than you have to. It’ll take some time to get used to, but once you do, the benefits of having that quality time with yourself are so worth it!

Spend Your Morning Time Doing Something You Love

I love my morning time because I spend it being completely selfish and doing things I love. If I have something to look forward to in the morning (like a quiet house and me time) it makes rolling out of bed earlier so worth it. Most likely, if I skip my early mornings and sleep in, I’ll miss the opportunity for reflection and happy time in the morning. I call my morning “me time” my “Early Morning Happy Hour”.

Some of the things I enjoy doing in the morning are:

1. Journaling/Writing – I love these journal prompts from Life Captured Inc.
2. Coloring – Adult coloring is all the rage! I have this adult coloring book and love it.
3. Reading – Anytime I can sit down with a cup of coffee and read is a happy time. Here’s what I’m currently reading.
4. Participate in self reflection – I’m currently working through The Desire Map and loving it!
5. Listening to music, watching the sunrise, and drinking my coffee. I’m loving this Amazon Prime station for early mornings!
6. Read the newspaper or a magazine
7. Plan Your Day – I’ve recently gotten into Bullet Journaling in a Midori Traveler’s Notebook (LOVE!) It’s creative and productive!

Eat Breakfast

 My entire life I’ve been a horrible breakfast eater. I’m just one of those people who isn’t hungry in the mornings, so I never felt the need to eat when I wasn’t hungry (well unless it’s cake or chocolate…I can eat that any time of day).

Well, I can tell you that my entire life I’ve been missing out and wrong. It’s amazing the energy, focus and overall mental clarity a good breakfast in the morning gives me. It’s actually really nice now to be able to eat my breakfast in the silence of the early morning hours, before the rest of the family wakes up. I don’t have to share, I can eat what I want, and I can savor eating instead of shoving something down my throat as I rush out the door to the car.

If you want to become a morning person, I’m here to tell you that eating breakfast is key.

One Final Thought

This should probably be front and foremost in my suggestions but resist the urge to bring your phone and other electronics to your morning happy hour. You need to control what seeps into your brain in the morning, not Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Aside from a picture or two (because I can’t resist that morning light) my phone stays off during my morning happy hour… and when I break my own rule, I really end up regretting it.

Are You Ready to Give It A Try?

If you desire to take back morning and start your days off on the right foot, give these tips a try! Remember, I wasn’t always a morning person, but now kind of wish I had been. I’m happier, my family is happier, and our household is much less chaotic because of my personal morning happy hour.

Let me know if you make the switch and if you have any tips of your own. I’d love to hear from you!

Disclosure: I was honored to be a guest aboard the Ruby Princess with Princess Cruise Lines. In addition, this blog post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.