Add glitter to your morning routine
Happy SaturYAY!!
Anyone else feeling #blessed we have the whole weekend to finally dive into the #EME6414 course and begin engaging with peer blogs in PJ's on the couch? I know I am!
Now that you've had some time to review the course, I think we may share some similar sentiments about the pace and breadth of course assignments. We're going to be doing a lot of wonderful online engagement and analysis! Like, a lot.
As a full-time Career Services professional when I get home from work at 5:00pm I am wiped out! There is little to no way I could generate high-level work beginning at 6:00pm after a long day working with students, sitting in meetings (some that could have been an email, am I right?!) and continue to cook dinner (as I'm the the primary chef for our household). That leaves little time and energy to dedicate to coursework.
Thus, I decided in the Summer of 2017 to adjust my morning routine and complete my online coursework before heading to work. AKA at 5:00am.
I wake up at 4:45am and by 5:15am I am at my desk reading, discussing, and blogging.
Guess what, it's been the single greatest decision I've made since starting graduate school.
I never used to be like this. I would wake up at 6:50am, throw together my physical appearance haphazardly and run out the door by 7:15am, arriving to work right on time.
However, after self-reflection I knew that morning school time would be best for me. So I embarked on a sleep training journey and changed my entire lifestyle!
If this sounds like wayyyy too much work for you, trust me I'm right there with ya! I felt the same way; the distal goal I set to wake up before 5:00am could never happen. But, if you follow the steps below to add glitter to your morning routine, you'll experience the same success as I!
How to add glitter to your morning routine
1. Start sleep training by setting incremental wake-up goals for yourself
Since I used to get up at 6:50am, I knew if I tried the "rip off the bandaid" method and set my alarm for 5:00am I would completely fail.
Your body is not used to functioning that early and just as any skill or physical fitness routine, it takes time to build the habit and wake up your brain.
Backup your wakeup time by 10-minutes each week. So if you are used to waking up at 6:50, the first week of sleep training you would set your alarm for 6:40am. The next week, 6:30am, 6:20am and so on until you reach your wake-up time goal.
This technique worked really well for me, as it allowed my body to adjust to waking up early in small increments. I attribute my successful morning routine to this technique.
2. Start each morning drinking hot water and lemon
Yes, even before coffee.
Beginning your morning drinking hot water has multiple benefits including kick starting your metabolism and re hydrating your body after 7+ hours of no fluids! I like to add a fresh lemon slide to my mug, then brew a medium sized K-cup of hot water. I drink that as I am waking up, then of course brew a cup of coffee to accompany my morning studies.
3. Train your brain to function early in the morning and begin with casual, fun reading.
Despite backing up your wake up time incrementally, you will still feel sluggish and tired in the beginning of your sleep training journey. Instead of overworking your brain in the beginning, take those new 10, 20, or 30 minutes to help your brain adjust to being productive.
I began by reading (okay, re-reading) the Harry Potter series to get used to reading, comprehending and visualizing so early. The text was easy to read so I did not experience any cognitive conflict early in the morning, and I was able to get used to using my morning time to read.
Other books I highly recommend you read in the morning include:
The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson
The Defining Decade by Meg Jay
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Yoga Girl by Rachel Brathen
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
These suggestions will help you always add glitter to your morning routine as long as you give yourself grace, have patience, and have LOTS of coffee ready to go!
Please share your thoughts below and your progress on sleep training if you decide to begin this amazing journey! I'm always here to support you and answer any and all questions you may have.
XO,
Michelle
