Becoming a Morning Person

 

During the week I have to get up at 7 a.m. For the morning people under you, this may seem like a reasonable hour to get up – not for me. I love getting my sleep and I will do anything to get just one more minute every morning. If this feels like you, keep on reading to get some great tips on becoming a morning person who gets up early and develops a killer productive night and morning routine.  If you make it through the post, there is also a nice little freebie waiting for you.

 

STAGE 1 Going to bed

During the week, this stage sets in around 11 p.m. and it is what I call the „Planning-Phase“ of my bedtime routine.

 

1 Make a To-Do list

How often have you been sitting in bed, thinking „I need to return that E-Mail tomorrow … and I can’t forget to call XY to schedule that meeting … oh and definitely buy toothpaste … and new bin bags ..?“  This was one hundred percent me. Especially on the nights, where it was important that I go to bed early (oh, the struggles!). Writing down everything that you need to be doing the next day will help declutter your brain and make you so much more relaxed. I actually have a little notebook on my bedside table as well, just in case I do have anything more to add in my „half-asleep“ Phase.

I would also recommend you to schedule any meetings or appointments that you can in the morning. That way you have a solid reason to get up early and if it’s something exciting … even better.

 

2 Shower before bed

I used to be one of those morning-shower-people. Then I grew up and needed twice the time in the bathroom. You know, Make-Up and what so not … Also, if you are a girl with long hair like me: It takes FOREVER to dry! So save yourself some trouble and a lot of nerves and just do all the showering, hair washing, showering and hair drying in the evenings.

 

3 Pick out your clothes

I know this is where the opinions may diverge a little and I can only speak from experience. I just feel more at ease when I know I don’t have to stand in front of my closet for 30 minutes the next day. If I have my clothes laid out for thee next day I know, it will give me t least 5 more minutes of sleep (and those are sacred). And yes, I do have those days where I get up and just do not feel the outfit I had picked out the night before. But in that scenario, I usually don’t want to wear that outfit because I have something way better in mind.  So no time lost!

 

STAGE 2 Sleeping

I just realized this is going to be a total App-request-section of the post. But oh well… there is a lot of apps that help me sleep apparently.

 

1 F.lux App

This App is pretty much a live saver for your eyes and your mental health. Did you ever notice that blue glow the screen of your phone or computer gets once it is dark? Especially before going to bed the brightness and color that those screens release can really hurt your eyes. Also, they just keep you up longer, because your brain keeps thinking that it is still bright out and therefore not willing to go into sleepy mode. So after you lay in bed you just keep tossing and turning because your brain is not shutting off.

F.lux fixes this problem for you by adjusting the color of the screen  to your surroundings and time zone at all time. That way there is now gloomy blue at night but only the warm light of your night lamp for example. You can download the software for Mac OS X, Windows, IPhone and Android (yeah, so pretty much everywhere).  

 

2 Calm App

Even with my F.lux App in the works I still have those nights, where my brain is just not willing to shut off. So I used to lay in silence for what seemed like hours and hours before finally being able to sleep. But no more! I am definitely not a meditation persona what so ever but the Calm App has really helped me to fall asleep.

The app has different settings that you can use (some are free and some are not). A few oft he sequences feature different nature sounds like the rainforest, the sea etc. And then there are those who feature the voice of an actual person trying to get you in the meditating stage. I love those! There are different ones for different occasions but I usually use the one for helping you to sleep (duh!). The music and the persons voice really relax your whole body and make you go into a stage of calmness which is just absolutely perfect for a good nights sleep. I urge you to try it even if you are not a meditation person.

I usually listen to Calm on my phone with the help of my sport headphones. They are basically a headband with the headphones implemented. And if you have ever tried to wear normal headphones whilst going to sleep, you know why they are so handy. 

 

3 Sleep better with Runtastic App

Also, an app that makes my life so much easier. Sleep better does pretty much what the name tells you. The app monitors your sleep and by the next morning, it is able to tell you the different sleep stages you had at what time during the night. Since using this app I have learned that the only real rest you get is in the deep sleep stage (did you know this?!?). Therefore, the Sleep Monitor helps me to figure out the best sleep pattern to get as much deep sleep as I can.

 

 

STAGE 3 Waking up

This is the honestly the worst part of my day. Everyday. But we can’t help it, right? Somebody has to rule the kingdom so it might as well be us. To do so, you need these two apps in your repertoire:

 Somebody has to rule the kingdom today, so it might as well be me. Click To Tweet

 

1 I can’t wake up App

I hate this app with a passion because it does exactly what it is supposed to do. It wakes me up. If you are like me and your brain and body are somehow reluctant to wake up to any kind of music, you need I can’t wake up in your life. There are a few different settings on the app, like having to do a math or memory task before the alarm shuts off. Those are probably very effective. But I use the Barcode task and it is the bomb (horrible but amazing). Basically, when setting your alarm, you need to scan the barcode of 1 to 3 items in your household. So when your alarm goes off, the loud, nasty sound does not turn off before you have found this item and scanned its code. Get it? By that time you are already up and probably halfway across the room. Very small chance of you going back to bed now, huh? And yes, I do know that you could just put said items next to your pillow. But seriously dude, kinda defeats the purpose don’t you think?  

 

2 Wakeup.io App

Also, a very nice app to get your butt out of bed, although a little more basic. Wakeup.io provides you with your old-school-movie-hotel-classic: They give you a call! Not quite as innovative as the first app but definitely successful. You just schedule your wake up call the night before and you’re ready to go. You can do it from anywhere and it is absolutely free.

 

STAGE 4 Getting ready

So here we are. Already kind of up, not really in this world yet but definitely moving. Good. Let’s make this morning a little more fun, shall we?

 

1 Spotify

First things first. Everything is better with music. As the experts of positive healthwellness put it: “It reduces stress levels and relieves depression”. I probably do not have to tell you what Spotify is and what the app does, do I? But if you have lived in a whole for the last 5 or so years, don’t sweat it. Spotify is a digital music service that provides you with all the music pleasures you will need. AnD here is what I want to persuade you to do: Make a fast-beat-happy-good-morning-playlist on Spotify. Mine just makes my mornings so much more enjoyable.

 

This is my Spotify Playlist for a great morning:

 

 

2 Weather Kitty App

We all need to check the weather in the mornings. Be it find out if our clothes are the right fit or if we rather need to pack an umbrella or our sunglasses. Spice up your morning by checking the weather whilst looking at cute kitty cats, thanks to the Weather Kitty App. It brightens up any morning, trust me.  http://www.weatherkittyapp.com/

 

Wow, this post just got a lot longer than anticipated. If you are still here and reading: Congratulations, you made it. Those are my tips for becoming a morning person. I hope you can take a few helpful bits and bops out of this post. There is also a nice freebie waiting for you here that holds a list of everything we just talked about. Are you a morning person or do you struggle with getting up the same way I do? Let’s chat in the comments. 

 

Xoxo

Nico