Go to sleep early!
I could finish here but let me elaborate just a little.
I usually investigate 2 important questions with my coaching clients who are trying to work on becoming morning person:
- Do you really need to become a morning person and why?
- Are you ready to change your lifestyle to go to bed early? The other way of asking this question is ‘are you willing to let go of your nightlife?’
A client from my Group Coaching Program told me her life was not working because she was unable to become a morning person. Try as she might she failed to wake up early. I asked her what time she went to bed and she said after 1am. Given that she was achieving all her deliverables I could not understand why she even wanted to be a morning person given how productive she was at night!
And that is the key – who cares what time you get things done as long it works with your lifestyle there is no need to change a thing. If on the other hand you are more productive in the mornings, like I am, but are unable to get it together we may need to take a closer look at your life. But for now are you ready to become a morning person?
If you answered YES then here is the list of things you will need to implement
- If you want to wake up easily at 6 am, you will need to be in bed and falling to sleep around 9:45 pm – 10:00 pm.
- Keep in mind the time it takes to unwind, it means you may need to be home by around 7:30pm. And not watching Homeland. You need to slow down and leave the day behind.
- You need to speak to your partner or roommates to make sure it works with their schedule and evening activities.
- Are you a parent? You could just go to sleep with the kids.
- You may need to sacrifice some social activities – are you ready for it?
The best thing about this is you may discover that you do not want to be a morning person or perhaps you can become a morning person for a couple of months while you are writing a book or studying for a particular project. I prefer a morning routine when I need to be efficient and productive, often just for the duration of a project after which I get to take a break and concentrate on my social life.
So no matter what you do – go to sleep early or late – make sure it works for you.