How To Be A Morning Person + My 6am Routine!

Want to be more successful and productive? Look no further! Not only will waking up early give you more time to accomplish all of the things that you would like to, but it also gives you time to become motivated and have a clear idea about exactly what you wish to accomplish on both the small and large scale. Here are some tips on how to become a morning person and my own morning routine that you can tweak to your preference :)

7 Tips To Help You Become A Morning Person:

1. Start Slowly!

If you are not used to waking up at 6 am, especially on your days off or on the weekends, it will probably be easier for you to start slowly. What I mean by this is that you can start to take small steps towards going to sleep earlier and waking up earlier. For example, if you are used to waking up at 9 am or later, try going to sleep just 30 minutes earlier and setting your alarm 30 minutes before you usually would! Then, progressively increase the amount of time that you are going to sleep earlier and waking up earlier.

2. Have Something That Makes You Actually Want To Get Out Of Bed!

For me, I wake up and immediately get excited to have my coffee! While you do not need to head to Starbucks or Dunkin’ first thing in the morning and purchase your usual coffee order, learn to make it at home! It will be a quicker, and cheaper, caffeine fix. If you aren’t as caffeine addicted as I am, perhaps you can look forward to journaling, reading, or meditating in the morning!

3. Get Moving!

Although it might not sound so appealing to hit the gym or go for a run at 6 am, you will thank yourself afterwards! Just imagine how rewarding it will be when you are done! For me, unless I make time to fo to the gym in the morning, I will allow myself to make excuses, like being too tired or having too much work to do, and end up not going to the gym after classes or work. And if you want to begin your fitness journey, having a couple extra hours in the day to do so is a great way to start.

4. Prepare/Plan Breakfast The Night Before!

Even if you don’t end up working out when you wake up, plan and prep your breakfast the night before. It is still important to make extra time in the morning to have a nutritious breakfast. Don’t get me wrong, your breakfast does not need to be extravagant, it could be a quick protein shake, green smoothie, or over night oats/chia seed pudding. This way you just need to throw your ingredients in a blender or prepare your oats or chia seeds the night before.

5. Don’t Hit Snooze!

Although it can be tempting, especially in the beginning, DO NOT let yourself hit the snooze button. For me, when I let myself hit snooze, one snooze turns into two which turns into me waking up 30 minutes after I was supposed to. If you find yourself needing to hit the snooze button, try heading to sleep earlier or trying something new to look forward to on early mornings! While it might be hard some days to get out of bed early, just bite the bullet and get up anyway!

6. Make Your Bed!

Did you know that some of the most successful people in the world make their bed first thing in the morning? Even though this sounds so simple, it really helps you get moving in the morning and keeps you from crawling back into bed in the afternoon. Especially during quarentine, it can be super tempting to crawl into bed for a mid-day nap but, personally, when I have my bed made that keeps me from doing so. Also, who doesn't love getting into a nicely made bed at the end of a successful day?

7. Find Your Why!

This is definitely the most important tip that I have for being a morning person! Think about the real reason why you want to become a morning person. Is it to use that extra time to get into shape? Is it just some extra quiet time that you need to yourself? Is it because you want more time to focus on nutrition? Or maybe you just find yourself always rushing to work in the morning. Regardless of the reason, my biggest motivation to get up early is getting to the gym because having a great, or even just an ok, session at the gym makes me feel accomplished. Some endorphins will also be a great way to boost your mood to start your day!

My Current 6am Morning Routine:

Depending on my schedule, I wake up every day between 5-6 am. While this was definitely not easy at first, the thing that motivated me the most to get out of bed was remembering my priorities. For me, one of my main priorities, and one of my passions, is health and fitness. Because of this, I get excited to wake up at 5 or 6am to head to the gym before work or class.

6am: Crawl out of bed and make my bed. Then I head to the bathroom to cleanse my face and brush my teeth.

6:10-6:20: COFFEE TIME! I either turn on my Kurig or Nespresso (depending on how fancy I'm feeling and how much time I have) and brew a biggg cup of coffee, espresso shot(s), or make a latte. Typically I save making a latte as a caffein boost for later in the day because it is more time consuming. Then I give myself about 15 minutes to drink my coffee and spend time with my snoozin' dog (he is def NOT a morning person lol).

6:20-6:30: Change into my gym OOTD. I just head into my closet and mix and match some Lululemon or Gymshark leggings or spandex with a bra or top. After I throw the OOTD on, I head off to the gym! My gym is about 10 minutes away, so I typically start my workout around 6:45.

6:45-9:45: GYM TIME... aka my favorite part of the day. Since my gym just opened up again this week and I am at home for the summer, I have switched my routine around from my at home workouts to weight training again. If anyone wants to hear about my workout split or why I spend this much time at the gym (lol) comment below or DM me on instagram @sydlerz.fitness . While you might not have 3 hours to fully warm up, break a sweat, strength train, and cool down, use whatever time you have to be strategic about your workout and go in with a PLAN. I personally go to the gym for this amount of time lately because (A) I have nothing else to do during quarantine and (B) because I MISSED the gym! However, starting next week, I have an EMT class that begins at 9am and is about 20 minutes from my house. Because of this, I will be shifting my morning routine to start at 4:30am and *only* spend 2.5 hours at the gym.

10-10:30: Breaky. For breakfast everyday, I have a protein smoothie with fruit, kale, and Orgain protein powder (of course). Use this link and code SYDNEY at checkout for 30% off your first Orgain purchase! For more info about the company or their products comment below or DM me at @sydlerz.fitness on instagram! I also have a GoMacro High Protein bar for breakfast. I LOVE these so so so much. They are certified vegan, organic, gluten free, C.L.E.A.N., R.A.W., kosher, non GMO, fair trade, and more! They also just came out with new flavors which are amazing!

10:30: Shower and get ready to be productive!

While this is very different than my morning routine while I am at school and have class at 9/9:30am, the layout is somewhat the same. Although my morning routine starts very early and is quite long, you can use this as an idea of how to get motivated to wake up early, and possibly make time for something new! For example, I will be shifting my morning routine yet again this coming week because I am becoming a certified EMT and I have to prioritize the time that I have in the morning in a way that I get done what I need and want to get done while also being on time for my 9am class.

Being a 'morning person' should not just be something that you do because you feel like you have to, wake up even just a little bit earlier because you want to. This is why it is important to find you 'why', in terms of why you want to wake up and be productive in the early hours of the day. For me, waking up early is part of my version of a healthy lifestyle, which consists of making as much time as I need to eat healthy and workout. If you want to make your physical and mental health or wellbeing a priority, that means that you will have to make sacrifices between what you may want to be doing (like sleeping for an extra 2 hours instead of going to the gym) and actually implement a healthy lifestyle. Your version of a healthy lifestyle should be something that is maintainable for YOU in the long run!

Comment below what motivates you to be a morning person!

~Stay kind,

Syd