Waking up at a reasonable hour in the morning can be a challenge if you’re a night owl—never mind trying to be productive during these early hours. It can be even worse if you wake up to a combination of adverse weather, a lengthy commute, and a calendar filled with boardroom meetings.
Resist the temptation to wake up and immediately start working. For many people, the desire to wake up earlier in the morning isn’t just to get more work done, but rather to simply take back the morning, and reclaim the hours that are currently going unused.
Lily Herman, author of 8 Tips for Feeling More Awake in the Morning, has compiled advice from around the web to help you transition from a night owl to an early bird. Here are 3 tips to help you take back your mornings:
1. Avoid Using Technology Late at Night
Your productivity and energy levels in the morning are tied to a good night’s sleep. If you want to get quality sleep, one “trap” you need to avoid is checking your emails, Twitter, Instagram, and more, late at night.
“Modern TVs, tablets and laptops use LED lighting that is similar to daylight which prevents melatonin being released and triggering tiredness,” says Jennifer Smith, author of How to Wake up Immediately in the Morning, “this keeps you awake for longer and can disrupt your sleeping pattern.”
If you want to wake up early and get the day started with no difficulty, the process starts at night: put down the smartphone, turn off the TV, and pick up a good book.
2. Drink Your Coffee at the Right Time
A hot cup of coffee in the morning, or a small shot of Espresso, provides the perfect boost to jolt you out of your tiredness in the morning and into the lane of productivity.
As explained by Rachel Gillett, author of The New Habit Challenge: Drink Your Coffee When Science Tells You To, everybody has an internal body clock (a “circadian clock”) that regulates how sleepy or alert you feel throughout the day. Among the things that this circadian clock controls is the level of cortisol production, which is a hormone that naturally makes you feel more awake.
If you consume coffee during levels of peak cortisol production, the effect of the caffeine will be diminished, and, worst of all, your body will start to build up a tolerance to the buzz you’re hoping the caffeine will provide.
Knowing this, you need to start having your coffee at the right time in the morning to get the kick you want. If you wake up between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m., have your coffee between 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. If you’re a super-early riser (before 6 a.m.) wait at least one hour after you wake up (for your cortisol levels to fall) before taking your first sip of coffee.
3. Don’t Make Work the First Thing You Do in the Morning
Resist the temptation to wake up and immediately start working. For many people, the desire to wake up earlier in the morning isn’t just to get more work done, but rather to simply take back the morning, and reclaim the hours that are currently going unused.
Ease into the day when you wake up by lying in bed for 5 minutes after your alarm goes off, or hop in the shower and don’t feel the need to rush. Your goal here is to avoid task-orientated thinking (“What emails do I need to respond to first? What meetings do I need to schedule?”).
Research has also found that people in a positive mood have increased “cognitive flexibility,” and are more able to solve problems creatively as opposed to those in a negative mood. So go ahead and watch that cat video to put yourself in the right mood before responding to your first email.
Bonus: Stay Awake by Going for a Walk
If you’re committed to changing your routine to get some quality sleep, and to wake up earlier and be more productive, you also need to consider how your body and mind will react in the afternoons during the first few weeks. Namely, don’t be surprised if you start to feel tired in the middle of the day.
If you find yourself hitting a wall in the early afternoon, thanks to your new sleep-and-rise schedule, head outside for a quick walk. Going for a walk will boost your circulation, wake up the mind, push away clutter, inspire creativity, and help you think clearly. A simple walk lets you push through that afternoon slump, and provides the perfect way to stay focused throughout the day as you adjust to your new lifestyle.