Are you a morning person or a night owl? If you’re searching this topic, I’m going to take a wild guess that you’re a night owl. But you might be considering or attempting to become a morning person, which isn’t such a bad idea!
There’s no judgement here! I used to hate early mornings. In fact, for the first few years of motherhood, it was rare that you would find my kids and I awake before 9am (even that was early.) My husband worked a construction job, where he would leave way before the rest of us woke up and work until well after dinner. So in order for him to spend any time with his family, we didn’t ever have a set bed time routine. There were many nights we would be awake until midnight (sometimes later.) Which meant my little ones would sleep in with me in the morning.
I eventually grew tired of missing out on the best part of the day. When the weather is cool and the house is quiet. I woke up with my kids and went to bed with my kids. There was never time solely dedicated to just me. That gets exhausting! I desperately needed something to change.
It was a slow process. Just because I wanted to get up earlier, didn’t mean my kids wanted to go to bed any earlier. But with a little bit of consistency and a whole lot of willpower, waking up early eventually became a habit. So here are the top 8 benefits you will also reap from waking up early.
1. Hassle-free Start
I LOVE waking up on my own. If I sleep in and wake up the same time as the kids, I find myself much more irritable. It’s like those coffee mugs that tell you not to talk until the mug is empty. Except I don’t drink coffee (anymore.) So it’s more like don’t talk, period (haha.)
But if I allow myself a couple of hours to prepare for the day, I’m ready to conquer whatever they throw at me as soon as their feet hit the floor.
2. Quietude is Solitude
The first thing I do in the morning is open the windows, take in a deep breath of the fresh, crisp air and just relax for a minute in the dark and peaceful living room. I even take a few moments to find a few things I am most grateful for.
Have you ever heard that how you spend your morning will likely tell you what kind of day you are going to have? It is a brand new day full of new opportunities that you need to take advantage of. So let’s start it off right!
3. Focus on Being Productive
In the morning, I have more creativity and focus. Pair this with even just a little motivation and I tend to get a lot done in a couple of short hours. I always cover the most important task in the morning. That way, I’m almost guaranteed to get it done completely. There’s nothing like starting the day with a check mark on the to-do list!
4. Self Discipline
Theodore Roosevelt said it best, “with self-discipline, most anything is possible.” If you can accomplish getting yourself out of bed early in the morning (even on the days you huff and puff the whole time), then I know you can also resist eating the foods you know are bad for you, that you’re properly hydrating, and maybe even exercising. One small discipline trains your brain to believe that you can also accomplish other small tasks.
5. Setting and Achieving Goals
How to get from goals to accomplishments is through your discipline. I created a chaos coordinator packet that I use often. It includes a weekly planner, meal planner, daily cleaning check list, and chore chart. I review this weekly and daily to make sure I’m staying organized in every aspect of my life.
I also have a list of goals for health, business, or homeschooling saved on my notes app on my phone. Without goals, there is no big picture that I’m working towards. If I don’t allow myself time to review those goals or set new ones, then I’m a blindly fumbling through my life. Goals keep us pointed in the direction that we would like to go.
If you’d like your own chaos coordinator packet, sign up for my email newsletter, and I’ll send you one for free!
6. More Me Time
Boom! Mic Drop. End of story. If I wrote another blog post on the number one reason you should start waking up earlier, this would be it. As mothers, we are terrible about prioritizing me time. I also encourage you to get out of the house and have “me time” that doesn’t include grocery shopping or errand running (I’m guilty of that, too.) But we are just taking baby steps here. Let’s start with just one part of the day. That’s easy to manage, right?
7. Do Something For Yourself
We all have the same 24 hours in a day. How about you dedicate even just one hour every day to becoming a stronger, better version of yourself. Meditate, exercise, read, listen to podcasts, gain control over the clutter in your house, the chaos you’re struggling with, do something you love; whatever it is, it’s worth trading one hour of sleep for, I promise!
8. Family Time
Most importantly, wake up early so you can spend more quality time with the ones that matter most. That sounds funny because I just convinced you to get up early so you can spend time alone. But when you’re able to complete those tasks that are heavily weighing on your mind, then you can freely unplug and enjoy quality time with your family. They deserve it and they deserve you at your best!
The First Step to Win Yourself is Wake Up Early
This quote by Sukant Ratmakar was so profound for me. Those extra hours in the morning have a lot to offer. So wake up with a purpose, avoid hitting that snooze button, and let’s embrace our mornings!
Before you go, let me know in the comments what you love (or look forward to) about waking up early!
