How to become a Morning Person? Here's a Practical Approach!

Mornings are my favorite part of the day. Was I always a morning person? Yes! I was, until I stepped into the university. A whole new chapter begins from here as everything just seemed to have turned upside down.

I lived in boarding schools from a very young age and a new sense of liberty entered into my life, the day I stepped into the university. Because there weren’t any more of those hostel wardens who would wake me up at 5:00 am or those hardcore Karate classes (I loved Karate – anyhow!), or Yoga sessions or any of those painful morning study hours.

But we all change at some point and so did I. Transitioning from being a night owl to an early bird was pretty dreadful in the beginning. But, by incorporating certain refreshing, positive morning practices, I look forward to mornings more than any other part of the day.

In this blog post, I would be sharing with you; a practical approach that has helped me in my transition towards becoming a morning person.

Little Note: I went ahead and created a little PDF for you guys, so do not forget to get your copy at the end of this post. And it's all for free!

Let's begin! Shall we!?

1. Clarity is the way:

Waking up early in the morning could be a painful and dreadful task for most people; it was for me at least at one point. Every single time that I wanted to bring a positive change into my life, I fell on and off the bandwagon.

It’s better to do something consistently by gaining some clarity, than doing it inconsistently or not doing it at all. It’s not always about the will power you see! The will to do something is awesome!

But the lack of clarity about why you are doing something might drag you into the routes of de - motivation and inconsistency. The enthusiasm of doing something might yield you some motivation for a short period of time but it might not just last.

On the other hand, when you clearly know why you want to do something (in this context, becoming a morning person)? You will do it anyway because you understand why something is important & essential to be done.

2. Think on Paper - Check in with yourself:

Now that we have discussed about clarity and how important it is to be clear before embarking on a new path. The question that needs to be answered at this juncture is – How do you gain the clarity?

Think on paper! It is a proven fact that when you write something down, your mind subconsciously works on it and interprets and understands the mentioned point clearly. By writing every single thing down and placing it near a distance that is visible to you, you are feeding your mind with inspiration and also reminding yourself of your goals and purpose. In contrast, when you just tell yourself to do something, you might tend to forget it after a point of time. Go ahead, write things down on a white board or a sticky note and place it at a distance where you can see it.

Again, How do you gain the clarity?

It’s simple; you must start checking in with yourself. For example, take this question - why do I want to become a morning person? The answer could be anything:

• I want to live a healthy life

• I could get some time for physical exercise

• I could go for a healthy morning breakfast

• I could avoid the rush in the mornings

Now, that you understand why you want; a sense a motivation builds up. That’s the subtle way, you tune your mind. Let’s consider a more pleasing example here, you have decided to learn the Guitar, because you clearly think that learning it would give you happiness. This answer – that it would give you happiness; is the reason and the required motivation for you to pursue a course on playing the Guitar.

Hence, When you question yourself >>> you comprehend whether something is as important or not >>> you analyze before making a decision because you are now aware of the pros and the cons >>> you have the power of decision making >>> you gain the clarity >>> and so if the decision is yes, then bingo! You have got the required push and that’s the motivation to embark on a new path. This is how it works!

3. Transition Smoothly and Slowly:

Now, this step is for those of you who are transitioning from being a night owl to an early bird. If you have read my previous article on “8 effective ways to create a well balanced life”, you must have understood why I emphasize on this point so much.The moment you read this article, subconsciously, your mind might start playing some tricks, they might manifest somewhat like this:

• I will set my alarm for 5:00 am from tomorrow on wards

• I will never go off track

• I will achieve everything if I wake up early, every great person did the same

• I will make healthy breakfast from tomorrow

• I will dust my pile of books for the semester and assign 5-7 am for studies

Oh! The list goes on... I guess you could relate to this kind of behavior at some point! This happens because, when you read something motivating that you think is good for you, there is a positive high. But, in reality it so happens that it only lasts for a day or two and then we are back to square one. And again, we read something like this after a few months and so it becomes a vicious cycle. But it is better to take one step at a time rather than rushing into something and overwhelming yourself. Now, in the previous article we talked of an example, it was about gradually preponing the time we go to bed and the time by which we wake up by 30 minutes. This is the same approach we would use here. 30 minutes is the ideal time by which I adjusted my sleep rhythms.

4. The crucial role "the evenings before" play:

It is a proven psychological fact, that when you set your action plan ready for the next day before you sleep, your mind subconsciously works on it throughout the night, and thus, helping you kick start your day with the right frame of mind accompanied by clarity.

While most people work on their to – do lists in the morning, I prefer to do it in the evening or the night before. Because, by the evening I know - what are the stuff that I have already accomplished for the day and what should I be doing the next day; as the day is now coming to an end. So, this practice gives me one less thing to do in the morning.And sometimes, due to the rush or lack of will we tend to ignore drawing our plan of action for the day altogether.

Drawing the action plan, the evening before helps me wake up with motivation. Plus, I get to do the stuff I love because I clearly know that the mornings are for myself. This helps me avoid the rush and also earns me some extra time.

5. Setting Up - Avoid Decision Fatigue in the Mornings:

As I mentioned earlier, mornings are my favorite part of the day and by this I mean I want to make the most out of them. I see a lot of people, do cleaning and stuff in the morning. But it’s the other way round for me.

Cleaning need not necessarily be a daunting task if you avoid procrastinating on it. So, start with simple steps like clearly off the clutter on your work desk, washing the dishes right after dinner, or just mopping the floors. When I do this, I tend to focus on the important stuff like exercise or making a healthy breakfast or listening to something inspiring & motivational just as the morning arrives.

One other thing I do is, I keep the things ready for the next day. Like the clothes I want to wear, my backpack – just to get rid of the decision fatigue in the morning. Every minute counts!

6. Breakfast Ideas:

One thing we all definitely look forward to is the fresh morning breakfast and you are definitely in need of it after a tight 6 - 8 hours of sleep.

This is something I learnt from my mother, who prepares the required stuff for breakfast the night before. If not at least, make sure you to plan out on what you would be cooking in the morning.

You might be wondering, does she need to mention something this simple? Yes I do! Because throughout the three years of my university period; I literally lived on Samosas and Chai almost every morning. Every time my friends and I would think that from tomorrow, we would make our own breakfast. But as the morning arrives, we wonder what should we make? And then, we just cover ourselves with the blanket and doze off for a little bit more.

But today, I plan out my breakfast before hand or if any preparations needed for it. Now, I do not need to miss out on that healthy morning breakfast because it's all planned. You can't ignore your health after all. At least knowing what I could expect the next morning, makes me crave for it. The key is the plan!

7. Productive Mornings:

The final but very important thing is this; you want to make the most productive part of the day productive. So, If you ask me how do I want my mornings to be like? I would want them to be peaceful, energetic and nourishing. Now, that I understand this point, I do those things that would fulfill my set intention.

So, I would meditate or just sit calmly with a cup of tea and enjoy the calm and peace of my mornings while everybody is still sleeping. I would do some light stretching or yoga and make a healthy breakfast. You get the whole point!

So ask yourself this question: What are the three things you want to be doing, which you think would make your mornings more productive and enriching?

The way you start your day defines your entire day’s performance and efficiency. For this it is also essential, to get a good sleep of 6 - 8 hours at least, in order to stay charged up.

There you go! This a practical approach with the help of which I gradually shifted my timings to make the most out of my mornings. You could too! Wishing you many more productive mornings ahead!