Mornings can be a big struggle for a lot of people. You suffer through the insistent ringing of your alarm, hit the snooze five times, and sometimes even end up late for work or school. It can be hard to wake up motivated in the morning.
This article will share five techniques that will get you up in the morning and help you achieve satisfaction, and increase your happiness in your daily life with early morning motivation.
It is important to note, however, that success doesn’t happen overnight. In order to truly improve your mornings, consistency is key, and part of it will always come down to self-discipline. Take these tips and apply them with self-discipline to make the most of each morning!
Table of Contents
Organize and Declutter
If you wake up to an organized, clean space, you’ll instantly feel happier and get the motivation to wake up and get prepped up for the day. Whether you work from home (check out our recommended WFH essentials) or not, a neat house is something that everyone would want to go to work or come home to.
Here are a few extra tips:
- Start with just delegating 5 minutes each day for a tidy-up. This will keep your space from getting too messy, so you don’t have to be overwhelmed and have to do a three-hour cleaning session every so often.
- Change up the scenery. Every half-year or so, change up the arrangements in your room. This can be anything from moving the furniture to re-arranging your desk space. By changing up the furniture arrangement in your bedroom, you’ll get more excited to go to bed early and wake up earlier and super motivated because you’ll enjoy your bedroom space more and naturally feel more motivated.
Review Your Goals
This one is a big one. Remember those goals you set yourself for this year? Your goals are the backbone for why you wake up in the morning. Every day is a new chance to live that dream life and accomplish what you set for yourself. Let your goals motivate you and drive you each morning.
From this, plan out your day. People who “live in the moment” may feel carefree. Still, they will ultimately feel unsatisfied because they aren’t working towards anything. As humans, we have an innate desire to grow. Make use of this every day by reviewing your big-picture goals and planning your day to work towards them. Even if it is a small thing, by chipping at it every day, you build consistency and get closer and closer to accomplishing your goals.
There is one thing you should keep in mind, though. Many people are tempted to fill their to-do lists and plan to accomplish a lot in one day. But if you get overly ambitious and end up creating lists that can never be finished, it only sets you up to get less motivated in the morning. As such, stick to the “#3 rule”. List three must-do tasks for each day. It’s a lot easier to stay focused and actually achieve what you plan if you narrow it down and prioritize your to-do list.
Let the Information In
Feed your brain each morning by putting on a podcast, watching an inspirational video, or reading a book. Encouraging podcasts are my personal, go-to wake up motivation. It’s always important to dedicate some time to self-improvement and continual learning, and the morning is one of, if not the best time to do so.
This will also instill motivation into your day if you read/watch something that motivates you. You can also follow a few motivational quotes/speakers’ accounts on social media and get a daily dose of motivation delivered to you. Try to only go on social media after you have done most of the other parts of your morning routine, though. Don’t make other people’s lives take priority over your own. When you first wake up, make sure to spend some time going over your own goals and priorities.
Meditate and Do Some Yoga
Not everyone is lucky to have enough motivation to get up in the morning and work out, but what about doing some stretches and meditation? Not only does it clear your mind, but it also gets your body moving, which is another natural wake-up technique. Play a recorded meditation, and just breathe to help realign yourself and your mindset.
After some practice, you’ll soon discover that this is a practice you enjoy and can look forward to. Bonus points if you are able to find a space outside to enjoy the fresh air as you do yoga and meditation (although this may only be probable in the warmer months). Another addition to this is doing a gratitude journal and putting some of the thoughts you encounter in meditation onto paper.
Get Enough Sleep
By giving yourself at least 7 hours of sleep each night (or whatever your perfect amount of hours is), you will wake up naturally without feeling sleep-deprived.
Not getting enough sleep not only leads to decreased productivity and concentration, but it also can result in a greater influx of negative emotions. This is not what you want to be channeling in the morning. Sleep has also been proven to be linked to self-control. Having self-control requires a lot of effort, which wilts away if you aren’t getting enough sleep.
One super-effective way to get to bed earlier is to have a specific time where you shut off all electronics. Many experts also suggest placing your phone outside your bedroom, which helps you resist the urge to use it before bed and check it right when you wake up.
Here ends my tried and tested techniques to wake up motivated in the morning. As mentioned at the beginning of the article, habits take time to build. Slowly ease into your ideal routine, and you’ll eventually find yourself the motivation to get out of bed and control every morning!
