How to Make Mornings Suck LESS!

Welcome to this week's “Here to be Great” guide!

This video is all about how to make your mornings suck less!

Look, I am a morning person. I love the mornings, but I'll be honest... some of them just suck.

So this video is for anyone who's trying to get up earlier and make that a consistent habit. Maybe you're getting up to exercise or maybe you're getting up to add a meditation time to your day (if you are - check out my FREE guided meditation to help you breakthrough your limitations!).

These are my five tips for maximizing your morning!

#1: Get really clear on your reason for getting up early.

• What are you trying to do?
• What are you trying to accomplish?
• Why are you getting up?

Because that my friends, is the thing that is going to drive you when it is cold and dark and you don't want to get out of your warm, comfy bed.

So why are you getting up early? For me, it was out of necessity. I was living in South Florida and I was working for a fitness brand, but ironically, I never had time for fitness during the day. When that 5:30 p.m. class rolled around I had no energy to work out. I identify as a regular exerciser, but I wasn't exercising regularly.

I had a deep necessity to make a shift! So I started getting up early and adding my exercise first thing in the morning for the first time in my life - and I was in my mid-30s when I made that shift. Now, I'm so glad that I am!

I also found I lived in this tourist town on the coast of South Florida and because of all the tourists, I found that the morning was the only time that I actually enjoyed the town that I lived in. I could enjoy my local coffee shop, walk around the streets and go to the beach. So, it was really out of necessity for me.

#2: Get up early for something that you enjoy.

Look, if you are getting up to do a run and you hate to run…find something else. Find something that you enjoy enough to do first thing in the morning.

Maybe, it's adding coffee before your meditation. Maybe it's switching from running to going to a boutique fitness studio and doing your favorite HIIT class.

If you don't like what you're about to get up and do guess what ya ain’t gonna do it!

#3: Set your alarm 30 minutes before you have to get up.

If you're like me, you may need a little bit of time to ease into your day. I wasn't successful getting up early if I had to get up at 6 a.m. and I set my alarm for 6:00 a.m.

I started setting my alarm for 5:30 a.m. and then I had 30 minutes to wake up gradually. I would put one of my air pods in and I listen to a podcast or an audiobook that I had queued up.

So I get something in my ear that helps me wake up and during that 30 minutes, I doze off, I'll wait back up. I'll grab my phone…I'll do something to help me transition into my day.

That tip was really critical for me. You may need more time than 30 minutes. You may want 45 minutes, but I promise you - if you give yourself that time to transition it will help. Yeah, it's going to be painful to set that alarm for 30 minutes before you need to be up, but trust me it's worth it! Set one 30 minutes before you need to wake up and then one when you have to get up…in case you fall back asleep!

#4: Have everything ready to go.

That means to have your meditation queued up. Or, if you're going to exercise, have your workout clothes ready.

When I get up, I go to exercise first thing. So I have my cute little bag packed with my mask, my workout towel and my keys. I have my water bottle filled and ready to go. Have everything prepared and ready.

#5: Focus on the feeling of being up.

Focus on the feeling of having actually gotten up and accomplished what you wanted to do.

For me, I know if I can just get out of bed get into the bathroom and start brushing my teeth that I'm okay. So when I'm lying in bed, and it's cold, dark and I don't want to get up, I just focus on the feeling of brushing my teeth. I know if I can just get from my bed to the bathroom, I'll be okay.

So I think about how good I feel when I'm done working out. I think about how great it is when I'm done with my workout and I meet my boyfriend, Nate, at the coffee shop and we have coffee together. I focus on the things that come after what happens when I actually get up. 

Okay friends, so I hope those five tips help your mornings suck less. If you're getting up earlier to meditate, check out my free guided meditation to help you discover your joy! Thanks so much for stopping by today and I'll see you next week!