I want to make a small confession.
I'm not a morning person.
I just pretend to be one on a fairly regular basis.
I think morning people are the most productive kind of people I know.
If I can think of two words to describe me, it's productive and efficient.
Not the most elegant descriptive words, but they are pretty spot on.
I don't think I can be either, without waking up early and scheduling my time wisely.
For the past five years I have made working out at the gym a priority.
It became quite obvious that the best schedule for me to make time at the gym was to go before the kids woke up.
My youngest son didn't sleep through the night until he was 3.
My daughter was 2.
I didn't have much uninterrupted sleep for the first eight years of parenthood.
I relished every drop of shut eye I got.
Waking up early to work out seemed like the most awful solution.
But, I got in to a habit and working out was a part of my daily life.
I needed to make time for it.
So I became a fake morning person.And I'm pretty sure you can do it to.Here are some tips that worked for me.
Tip 1:Go to bed at a consistent time every nightIt's weird to say, but I have a 10 o'clock bedtime.I may read for an hour in bed, but usually I am asleep by 10:30
Tip 2:If you are married, go to sleep togetherI'm not a light sleeper, but I am married to one. Since the day we were married, we have always gone to bed at the same time as one another. This limits the disruptions if you are asleep. That way, you aren't falling into a deep sleep right as your night owl spouse is crawling in next to you. There is nothing worse than interrupted sleep.
Tip 3:Get up at the same time every dayIf you go to sleep at a reasonable hour, you should be able to wake up at a reasonable hour too.Even on the weekends or on days that I take off from the gym, my body is trained to wake up on it's own now. I usually get up at that time and have found that laying in bed with a good book is far better than sleeping in.
Tip 4:Prepare the night beforeI want to do the least amount of thinking in the morning, so I have made it a point to do as much of the thinking the night before so I can move in a robotic motion when I get up in the morning. I put my clothes out on the floor, my shoes next to it, my ipod and whatever else I need for the gym next to that. I lay out my hairbrush and my sweaty band and fill up a water bottle for the fridge. Preparing ahead of time, makes me mentally prepare for the morning which makes me less likely to slack off and sleep in.
Tip 5:Have a go to saying if people talk to youI know this is weird, but since I am just faking my morning personality by going to the gym, I rarely have to talk to anyone. If someone says something to me usually I reply with "good morning". That's it. I can't formulate a sentence let alone a conversation. Sometimes this is my fall back phrase if I'm in a daze other times of the day so if you see me and I say good morning, usually I'm in my own little world.
Tip 6:Have a reason to wake upFor years, I formed an accountability group with the people in my group fitness classes. If I didn't show up at 5:30 for my class they would ask where I was. Last summer, after my 4:30 am boot camp class I formed a running group. People counted on me to be there so I came. My husband and I also have an unwritten rule that the last person out of bed has to make it. I usually only make the bed on Fridays, my day off from the gym.
I will never be a chipper sunshiney morning person, but I can wake up and get moving early.It's not rocket science, just some practical tips that help me be a pretend morning person.
So are you a night owl or do you wake with the birds?
Is anyone else pretending to be a morning person but isn't?I want to hear from you!
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