5 Tips to Get Out of Bed Early in the Morning

Getting up early is something that everyone aims at, but not everyone is able to do. I see so many posts about how waking up early can change your life and why it’s good for you in the long run, so I wrote one myself, “Why waking up early can help you achieve success.” In that article, I talked about why waking up early was important and what actually made it an integral aspect when it came to achieving success. I touched a bit on how to get up early in the end, but today, I am going to talk about it in detail. Let’s get ready to wake up early and take on the world.

1. Make small changes

“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.”

-Mary Shelley

Do not make drastic changes! This is where most people go wrong. If you have been waking up at 8 AM all your life, you can’t suddenly start waking up at 5. Your body needs time to adjust to a new schedule. Making drastic changes sets you up for failure even before you start. Taking small steps towards your goal is always a smart idea.

If your goal is to wake up at 5 am, then start by evaluating how early can you wake up without messing up your body clock. Start out by pushing the waking hour back by half an hour. Set up your alarm for 7:30 am instead of 8 am. Do this for a week or so and then gradually set it to 7 am and so on.

If even an hour is a big change, start with 15-minute increments. You have to slowly ease yourself into the new routine. Let your body clock sync with nature. Some people suggest going camping for a week without any electronics to let your body clock naturally sync with nature.

2. Sleep early

“It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.”

-John Steinbeck

Waking up early won’t make sense if you aren’t getting enough sleep. If you sleep at the same time and start waking up early, you are soon going to be tired enough to be sleepy all day. Saying waking up early isn’t doing anything for you would be a stupid thing in that case, isn’t it?

The goal here is to have a well-rested body. You need to get a full night’s sleep if you want to be productive when you wake up. Dragging a sleepy body through the day isn’t exactly a boss move we are trying to make here.

One of the things that prevent people from going to bed early is scrolling through social media. People get into bed on time but don’t go to sleep well into the night. FOMO (Fear of missing out) keeps many people awake. It is suggested to not use social media or any sort of screen before going to bed. You can instead spend some time planning for the next day and then directly go to bed. It will help you fall asleep quicker than if you use your phone just before bed. Consider using a silk sleeping mask to create a conducive environment for rest and block out any potential disturbances, ensuring a more restful night’s sleep.

3. Keep your alarm out of your reach

Snoozing is instinctive in the beginning. Getting out of bed isn’t exactly an inviting prospect when you have been in the dreamland. This is why you need to keep the alarm out of your reach. Having to get up to shut the alarm down will wake you up quicker than if it was right next to you.

If you still go back to bed, then set 3-4 alarms at intervals of 10 minutes. How many times are you going to get up to turn the alarm off and then get back in bed? After a point, you are going to be frustrated. So, don’t overdo it because we don’t want to wake up with a foul mood.

Keep your alarm at a distance that needs you to walk at least 10 steps so that when you get up to shut the alarm, you might as well wake up instead of walking back to your bed.

4. Don’t go back to bed

This ties in with keeping your alarm far from you. If you don’t have that luxury, or your phone is your alarm that is always by your side, then you need to stop rationalizing shutting your eyes for 5 more minutes.

When we want to sleep more, we start giving ourselves reasons as to why it is okay to go back to sleep for a little while. This is what stops us from getting up at the time decided. 5 minutes become 10 then 10 becomes 15, and you are late just like that.

Do not listen to any reason that your brain tries to give you. Say NO! and get up immediately. You have to make a quick decision to get out of bed in the start, and then it just becomes routine for your mind.

5. Meditate before going to bed

If you have a really chaotic mind and find it difficult to fall asleep, then meditating is the way to go. Meditating for just 10 minutes before going to bed can be beneficial. Meditation helps you calm your mind and helps you breathe and relax.

When your mind is at ease, it is easier to fall asleep. I usually suggest meditating after getting up to start your day on a positive note. You can do it both the times to give yourself time to just breathe! Just breathing and not doing anything else is a solution to a lot of mental problems. Finding peace of mind is one of the things many people struggle with. Thus, meditating or doing simple breathing exercises before going to bed is advised.

“It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom”

-Aristotle

Waking up early is to help you be productive in your life and also start your day on a positive note. While you are on the path, stop for a few minutes and appreciate the serenity of the early morning. Take a moment to watch the sunrise or appreciate the silence of the dawn or listen to the birds’ chirp. Enjoy your coffee or tea or lemon water in the balcony or by your window. This helps you see the world in a positive light and helps you start your day right!