Always the Early Bird

For years I swore that I was a night owl but as college went on and on I slowly realized that I am not the girl who will stay up all hours of the night in the library to pull an all nighter. I tried my best to stay up with the girls for late night study sessions, movie marathons or midnight snack runs to our student union center but I dreaded it. Not because I didn’t want to hang out but because I know that no matter how late I slept the following day I would feel exhausted, and anxious over wasted time. At some point my sophomore year I decided to begin packing my schedule with early 8am courses and if I needed to cram for an exam I would do it over an early 5am breakfast rather than at 2am in the morning.

After changing my schedule I soon noticed that other things were changing that I didn’t expect. I thought that I would just get my classes out of the way sooner in the day if I went to an early morning schedule but so much more came out of this shift. I became awake and energetic throughout the day. My mood completely improved, instead of not wanting to talk to anyone until after I’ve had coffee in the morning, I was excited to be around people and even if things weren’t going my way; nothing could get me down.

I’m not going to lie, I’m surprised that I’ve embraced being the early bird but now that I am one I will always choose to be the early bird rather than the night owl. The benefits are just too great. I know that some people are reading this and saying to themselves that they could never possibly become a morning person but that’s just not true! I’m someone who does things cold turkey but if you need to work into it here are some things I noticed that helped me and I continue to do!

Here’s what you can do to become the early bird too:

Disconnect / / 
One of the biggest reasons people are not early risers is because of our phones, computers, social media and television. We feel the need to be entertained at all moments and once we begin it’s often hard to stop. Before you know it, you only have one more episode left on your favorite show so even though its 11:30pm you’re still going to watch it; or we just get sucked in to facebook and tumblr. Let me tell you something, there’s a reason why social media websites like to use the color blue… that blue light keeps you awake and alert. I would highly suggest start disconnecting from electronics 30 minutes before you want to head to bed. Conor and I have a no electronic rule for the bedroom so now we don’t use any phones or computers in bed.

Morning Routine / / 
If you’re going to become a morning person you need to create a plan, especially when you first start out. If you don’t have a plan for your morning then it will be so easy to crawl back into your bed and continue your morning rush of a routine. Be committed and make it an appointment for yourself. Write out what your morning routine will be before you head to bed.

Drink Water / /
Before I go to bed at night I always pour a glass of water and either leave it on my nightstand or I put it in the fridge so it’s ready for me first thing. Before I use the bathroom, I drink that glass of water and it’s so refreshing.

Yoga / /
On the mornings that I’m struggling to get out of bed I make sure that I get my morning yoga and basic workouts in. You don’t need to do yoga but do something to get your blood pumping. The plus of doing some form of exercise or workout in the morning is that if you miss your workout later in the day you at least did something earlier. One mistake I made when I first started working out in the morning was trying to commit myself to running in the morning. I was not already a runner so I’m not going to lie, it made me dread getting out of bed. Choose something that you already enjoy and can really commit to and be excited for.

Tea & Coffee / /
I no longer drink tea or coffee in the morning to wake myself up but more for just the sheer enjoyment of sitting down and relaxing before starting my day. Some days I enjoy it before I get ready and some days before I leave. Give yourself an excuse to relax before starting a really busy day.

To Do List / /
Instead of rushing to get things done before you need to start your day, sit down and relax while you write all your goals for the day out. You would never believe how many more things I remember for the day in those few quiet minutes I get to myself in the morning.

These are only some of my suggestions, you need to find what works best for you. Whatever you decide to do make sure you stick to it and you’ll be able to become an early bird too! Let me know how you do or let me know what you’ve seen work best for you!