Where's the coffee?

I am NOT a morning person. By any stretch of the word. I would much rather stay awake until 3 a.m. to accomplish everything I need to than wake up at even 9 a.m. every day. I think we have all felt that before in our lives and especially those of you who can relate to not being a morning person. However, recently I have challenged myself to wake up earlier and try to become more of a morning person.

The key to this for me was my mindset. In the past when my alarm has gone off in the morning I have grumbled and hit the snooze button five times before dragging myself out of bed. This would subsequently cause a chain of reactions of 1. me waking up later than I wanted and thus in a rush 2. no time to be able to relax and fully wake up 3. stressed out about no time to properly go through my morning routine and 4. just have general stress about starting the day.

This nasty habit developed when I started college because I didn't have early classes so I fell into this stay up late and sleep until the last possible moment routine. In my experience it has not been a very productive or enjoyable routine to have. 

So how have I began my journey to try and turn this around? By simply giving myself a chance to be a morning person. I don't know that I will ever be as productive in the morning as I am at night however I do think that I can change the way I begin my days. 

The first step in doing this is waking up with a positive mind. When my alarm goes off I am trying to say one thing that I am excited for that day instead of grumbling about having to wake up at whatever God-awful hour it may be. For example if I have plans for the day I think about those plans and how excited I am about them.

The second step is to just get moving. I have read countless articles online that stress getting out of bed after your first alarm goes off because snoozing your alarm makes you more tired. To do this I just reason with myself. You all know you have those talks with yourself in the mornings that go a little like "You know you can totally lay here for 10 more minutes you know it is going to make you feel great" and then 10 minutes goes by and you feel like its only been 30 seconds. I have started telling myself the truth that 10 extra minutes laying here is not going to make me want to get out of bed more or feel more awake. 

The third step is to have a routine. I know this should probably be the first step for most people but for me just getting out of the bed on time and without snoozing deserves an Olympic gold metal. I think it is important to know how long you take to do things without rushing yourself. This is where your routine will come in handy. For instance, I know that I want to take my shower first before I do anything else because a warm shower helps me wake up my body and mind more and gives me time while in the shower to focus on becoming more alert. My routine in the mornings is normally a 8ish minute shower (depending on how long it takes me to wake up), 15 minutes to dry and style my hair, 15-20 minutes to do my makeup and get dressed, and I like to give myself at least 30 minutes to be able to eat breakfast and relax before I have to head out the door.

These little steps have helped me in just the little amount of time I have implemented them and it has helped me become a more joyful person in the mornings. I may still be grumpy when I wake up but by the time I need to leave my house I am excited for the day ahead, I'm in a relaxed mood because I didn't have to rush to get ready, and I am ready to tackle the day!

I hope these little tips can help those of you who may also not be morning people to at least start your day off on a better foot even if you still give side eye to those perky morning people!

Let me know if there is anything you do to help you be positive in the mornings!

xoxo Jess