Apr 2, 2008
5 ways to motivate yourself to get out of bed early in the morning.
1. Go to bed earlier.
2. Make your alarm terrible music.
3. Plan something exciting for morning.
4. Pre-set coffee.
5. Drink several waters before bed.
More?
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Theme based on Derek Punsalan's Grid Focus.
Another one would be to make sure your alarm (and therefore, snooze button) is not within easy reaching distance of your bed.
Judging from the posted time of some of these blogs and comments I would say…go to bed earlier.
I like the idea of not snoozing. If you just decide when you want to get up and then do it, you get more sleep. I, however, am a terrible snoozer.
Yeh, you have to put the alarm at the other side of the room, that way you’re already up and cold, so it’ll seem pointless going back to bed.
Have your wife pull all the covers off of you and turn all the lights on.
Realize that your 2-year-old will awake at 7:00, so if you want any peace and quiet in which you can read and reflect, you must get it before then.
Have a baby(or adopt one). You get to wake up REALLY early, several times a night!
Going to bed early is, I would say, the best one, but getting terrible alarm sounds is also good.
I just got a new cell phone and downloaded the theme song from LOST (one of my favorite shows). It’s incredibly spooky, and as soon as I hear it, I want to turn it off as fast as possible.
Have some pastries (bought the night before) from Whole Foods (or another bakery of your choice) waiting next to the pre-set coffee.
I echo the “alarm across the room” strategy, though I sometimes still lack the discipline to avoid diving back into bed.
Sorry, but coffee is icky. Tea is better.
Leave your outdoor pets inside. When you hear them scratching around (dog OR cat OR both), you’ll get up, alright…!
:)
Be – by nature and genetics – a morning lark! Otherwise, whatever you try will have only limited success.
Go to bed 15 minutes earlier each night until you are waking up before your alarm goes off. Then make that your bedtime. I haven’t set an alarm for years. It feels wonderful in the morning to wake up naturally and to feel rested and ready to get out of bed. Also, I programmed the thermostat to have the house warm by the time I get up. When the room is warm there’s less temptation to hop back into a cozy bed!
Exercise 1st thing and have an exercise partner waiting for you. has worked for MANY years for me!
After you get up, make your bed Immediately! If someone is in it, Make it quietly…they may not notice!
Is it wrong to not be motivated to get motivated to get up early?!
Looks like you counted “pre-set” as two words. Way to play the man.
My rec: Know that your kid’s getting up at 7 no matter what, so whatever praying you don’t do before then won’t get done.
Not that that always works. It didn’t today.
Keep chickens.
Have kids!
Actually, my 1 and 3 year old sleep pretty late now, but I know if I’m going to have decent time with the Lord and get some cleaning done, I HAVE to do it before they’re up.
Just expect a really crappy first 10 min. but try to remember, if you can just make it to the coffeepot, the rest is (usually) much easier. (I actually borrowed this from Carolyn Mahaney, although I doubt she said “crappy” so if you’re offended, let it be at me, not her.) I agree, having kids helps. Also, I’ve found that having a very pleasant routine helps. For example, I sit in the exact comfortable spot on my couch, with my tray of coffee and bagel next to me, same thing every morning.
Everybody mentions that kids help you get up earlier…I agree–but if I didn’t have kids, I wouldn’t have so much to get done!!
There’s a saying that I came up with that seems to help: just do it.
If I put a link with this do you mind if I post this on my blog.
Bret
#5 is hard right now because the Minneapolis water tastes and smells like fish.
Bret, That would be great. Thanks!
Andrea, I can’t taste it, but I’ve been dumping lemon juice in Molly’s water, so that she’ll stop noticing it. It seems to work.
I get up at 5:00 every morning to exercise because I want to live to see my kids come to Christ. Genetically-fat guys like me have to want it more than the rest of you.
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As others have mentioned, exert as much energy as possible throughout the day. You’d be surprised how little sleep you can get away with if your sleep is deep and restful.
You could get yourself one of these contraptions.
In short, it is a clock that automatically donates your money to your least favorite charity anytime you hit the snooze.
I definitely need to follow rule #1 also!
On mornings that I absolutely have to get up on time, I set my alarm for 5 minutes before I need to get up, set the alarm on my cell phone for three minutes later and by the time the alarm snoozes the first time three minutes after that I’m irritated and awake. :P It’s what helps me get up two hours earlier than normal on Sunday mornings for worship rehearsal.
“5. Drink several waters before bed.”
That made me laugh. Haha… not only is it healthy and helps me get a good night sleep (dehydration is just bad news all around)… but my bladder only holds so much.
Having a new breakfast cereal awaiting me the next morning always seems to do the trick. Sometimes it’s the little things. I find the water trick usually backfires– it’s either too much, or not enough.