Written on July 23, 2020

Tips to Wake up Early Everyday

I used to struggle to wake up early, I’ll snooze, talk myself to sleep and just sleep through the alarm sometimes. But that was 5 years ago. Now I wake up at 5:30 am daily, most of the time even before the alarm.

Here are some of the tricks I used:

The magic happens at night

The only way you can wake up early is by going to bed early. Start slow, if you goto bed at 23:00, then try going to bed at 22:45 the next week, then 15 mins earlier the next week.

I go to bed by 22:00 with a book and sleep by 22:30 at the most. This is the main reason, I think, that I can wake up early. Whenever I go to bed later at night, I miss my 5:30 deadline in the morning.

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. ~ Benjamin Franklin

No devices

I close all my devices at 21:00 and put my mobile in a shelf across the room while going to bed. This has several benefits:

• No blue light before going to bed which will reduce quality of sleep
• No scrolling social media in bed
• I have to physically get up and cross the room to turn off the alarm in the morning

Have purpose

You should have a strong reason to wake up early, or else you will rationalize yourself to sleep in the morning. My reasons are:

• I can get so much work done during the quiet hours in the morning
• I feel better throughout the day if I start early
• I can meditate in absolute silence

Give yourself a Reward

Reward’s work wonders to make habits, whenever you wake up early give yourself a reward that you look forward to.

It can be anything you like, one episode from your favorite TV show, coffee or even instagram. I forgot what I used to reward myself since I started so long ago. After some time you will also stop doing it for the rewards and do it just for the pleasure of waking up early.

Set up your environment for next steps

• Drinking water can freshen you up very quickly, so keep a bottle of water nearby the night before.
• If you are going to exercise, have the cloths and equipment ready
• If you are going to work, setup the work environment the night before for easily going to flow

Whatever you do, don’t go back to the bed.

At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?

So you were born to feel “nice”? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands?

You don’t love yourself enough. Or you’d love your nature too, and what it demands of you. ~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations