The final week is here. I mean, it was meant to be last week, but … life. So this week, we’re summing up what we’ve been working on, whether it actually worked and looking at one more element to being a morning person. Right, let’s get into it shall we.
Building better mornings
In the first week, we tried to identify what it was that made it hard for us to get out of bed early, and whether we could fix that by changing how we approached the morning hours. For me, that looked like making a cup of tea and sitting to read and pray on the couch. The idea was to give me a small sense of relaxation and enjoyment in the morning, so I didn’t feel in a rush.
I’ve found this pretty helpful overall. Making something special for breakfast, having the cup of tea and time to read do get me up. I have something to look forward to, so I’m more likely to fight out of the warm bed to enjoy those things. If I sleep in, I know I can’t do them.
To be honest, there are days when this isn’t enough to get me out of bed. Occasionally, I’ve had to bribe myself with muffins for breakfast to make it extra special so I really get up. And some days (like the week before last…) I just sleep in. It’s a mixed bag, but I’ve had more success with this than with my exercise-fueled mornings, when I felt like I had too many things to do.
Improving bedtimes
In the second week, it was all about getting to bed early as well as cutting out caffeine and screens. This one I have had mixed results with. Mostly because I enjoy watching TV in the evenings, so I probably wasn’t been as disciplined as I could have been.
Not having tea or coffee after 12pm was slightly helpful. I’m not sure I noticed a huge difference for me, but I think this might be something that takes a while to have benefits. Staying off my phone in the evenings definitely improved how fast I fell asleep. Not to mention it meant I was more present for my husband and chatted a lot more.
Getting to bed early happened some nights but not others. I’m ok with that. As a general rule, I was in bed between 9:30 and 10:30 most nights which I think is very reasonable. I did feel better rested when I went to bed at 9:30, but it also wasn’t the end of the world if it was a little later.
Final challenge: don’t stop being a morning person
This is it in a nutshell. If we want to build new habits, we have to keep going with the new behaviour until it becomes routine. Maybe you need to tweak a few things to make it work for you. That’s fine. But don’t stop getting up and doing what you need to do to enjoy your morning. If you fall off the wagon, get back on. It doesn’t have to be an all or nothing thing.
I have certainly not yet reached the easy ability to get out of bed on time seven days a week. But I’m in a much better spot than I was four weeks ago. Now, I’m 50% of the way there! If I can keep going with this habit, one day I’ll find myself rising with ease to enjoy the morning.
Anyway, that’s the plan.
