Coach Yourself Awake

Waking up early is dependent on how well we slept the night before, am I right?

Make sure you have a bedtime routine, stay away from electronics, avoid the blue light, don’t eat too late, have a hot bath, have a cold bath, don't have a bath at all, have a shower!!!

When a client comes to me asking how they can wake up earlier, and start their day more positively, I most definitely don't give them a run down of how to complete some kind of lavender infused bedtime routine. Nothing wrong with any of that advice, but you can find that information everywhere.

My questions work at a different level. Firstly, what is your motivation, what made you decide that now is the time to start making the most of your mornings? If you don't have a motivator for getting out of bed , your natural default will be to stay right there, in your cosy cocoon, press snooze on your alarm, and close your eyes for just a little longer.

Actually my first piece of advice is to use the snooze button, but set it to 15 minutes and don't fall back asleep. Or try setting 2 alarms. The first alarm is your wake up call, bringing you into the land of the living, then try setting a second alarm for maybe 10 or 15 minutes later, this is your cue to get up, now is the time to get out of bed.

So what happens in those 10 or 15 minutes between your first alarm and your second, if you're not supposed to be nodding off again? I am suggesting, rather radically, that this time is spent perhaps reading a few pages of a book, filling out a Journal or diary, repeating some affirmations for the day, having a cuddle with your partner, taking time to be grateful.

But at some point we have to actually get out of bed. So I ask the question again, what exactly is your motivation? That drive might be get started on your working day, family responsibility, animals to care for, appointments to attend. You will have a reason somewhere in your brain, it might not be the most exciting, but this is a starting point and the goal to focus on.

However mundane or exciting you reason may be, my next piece of advice is to start your day with joy. Take a moment to understand what your joy might be. For me, my morning ritual involves coming downstairs to brew a fresh mug, the biggest mug in the cupboard, of delicious steaming hot coffee. It is the start to the day that I love the most. I relish this moment, but maybe that's not you, maybe you are a herbal tea kind of person. Maybe you are a gentle yoga stretcher, maybe you are a full on HIIT lover, maybe you are an early morning quiet street walker, alone or with your best mate Buster the dog. Just find that joy for the morning and before you get fully into life, just take a moment to feel this peace. Have everything at hand and ready to make the morning easier, have your clothes chosen and ready, have your journal close at hand, have your coffee pot set to brew at your chosen time, or a smoothie waiting in the fridge. You can do this!

At the end of the day though, let's have some realistic expectations too. Honestly, how many hours of sleep best suits you, what time of the day or evening will you actually be able to start winding down. From that point we can for sure start to create habits and routines to help get that good nights sleep. The few simple steps mentioned above are your guide towards a beautiful early start to the day.

Habits are formed in as little as five days! Those early mornings don't seem that unattainable anymore.

Contact me and let's start creating your personal habits. alexandrathecoach@gmail.com