Waking up early in the morning is crucial to determining how my day will go (no joke). With the extra time in the morning, I like to give time to myself and practice my morning rituals.

> Related: My Fast and Easy Morning Routines.

I’m not saying that we should all wake up earlier. It might not be for everyone as we all function differently. For me, I find it a lot easier to focus and think with a clearer mind if I wake up at least 3 hours before I head to work, usually at 6 am.

I still do not wake up as early I would like sometimes. But I do strive for it every day to make it into a habit. I even consider it as one of my keystone habits. (Recently I also thought about waking up at 5 am, but that’s still a work in progress…)

When you’re just starting to wake up earlier, it can be tricky in the beginning. No matter how hard you try, you just can’t get out of bed. Or you keep pressing the snooze button without realizing. I understand because I’ve been there…

If you are like me and find waking up earlier helpful for your overall well-being, here are some tips to help you develop this habit:

4 TIPS TO HELP YOU WAKE UP EARLIER

1. Understand Your Motivation

Before developing any habit, you must first understand your motive. Why do you want to wake up at 5 am or 6 am instead of 9 or 10 in the morning?  Is it just because everyone/ or the internet/ or Shir (haha) is telling you to do so? Or do you REALLY SEE A NEED in your current life style that requires this change? How will this habit benefit you in the long run? How will this affect you – your mood, your daily routine, and your relationship with others?

If you do not see this habit as something important to you, then it’s best to spend your energy on doing other things instead. Developing a habit requires willpower, and you have to really have to want to change and have the desire to wake up early in order to make it stick.

2. Get Your Optimal Hours of Sleep 

This might sound like a no-brainier tip, but it’s actually the one thing that most people struggle with the most. We all function a lot better with a good rest. It’s important to determine how many hours of sleep you need daily to function at your best self. For me, it’s 7 hours. If I sleep for more than 9 hours, I actually find myself waking up drowsier and not in a good mood. If I want to wake up at 6 am, I try to go to bed by 11 pm to get my 7 hours in. See, these hours don’t sound too bad right?

3. Set Rules 

What I learned is that you have to be self-disciplined and set out specific rules for yourself. One rule that I had is the 3 – Snooze Rule. I can only press the snooze button 3 times, and on the third snooze I must get my lazy-butt out of that bed.

Another rule I’ve used is Mel Robbins’ 5 Second Rule technique, it helped me a lot to wake up immediately in the morning and also in forming other habits as well.

> Related: How to Develop Habits in 5 Seconds

4. Ask Why

If you are struggling to get out of bed, find out why you can’t.

Did you not get many hours of sleep the night before? Go to bed earlier. Is the alarm too easy to turn off? Place it outside your bedroom. Is the alarm not loud enough, or you just hate the sound of it when it rings? Change to a gradually increasing volume with uplifting music. Is it too cold so you just want to cuddle up in your bed? Wear more when you sleep or turn up the heater.

Find out the specific reason that’s making you stay in the bed. At one point, I even have a water spray beside my bed so I can give myself a “spray of freshness” that would make me jump out of bed right away.

The point is, if you really want something, you will do whatever it takes to accomplish it. If I can do it, you can surely do it too. Best of luck, I have faith in you 🙂

Where the heart is willing, it will find a thousand ways; where it is unwilling, it will find a thousand excuses. – Arlen Price

Cheers,

Shir : )

Shirley Huang is a Certified Life Coach, Podcast Host, and online educator. She provides weekly resources to help people become leaders in their life, while loving themselves and having fun a long the way. Check out her Life Coaching Programs here.