Become a Morning Person Tomorrow with This 1 Trick
Oh, becoming a morning person. We read about a new success story every day, and oftentimes it’s less about the idea and more about a founder’s execution and efficiency that allow their product to rise to the top. But for those of us with a day job, or a family, how can we attain the same productivity that will allow us to devote the necessary time to something just as important to us? Whether it be getting in shape, finishing that novel, or working a start up on the side, everyone has the same 24 hours in the day and one thing remains constant among the success stories; these people know how to use the morning, afternoon, and evening to their advantage and none of their time goes to waste. After searching high and low for the best “secrets” to efficiency, becoming a morning person is where most of us fall short and seek help.
Getting the most out of one’s morning can make the difference between getting the bare minimum done and exceeding into extra projects, having time to go to the gym, and maintaining a healthy balance for the driven individual. I have studied everything from lists to apps to routines and mantras, and there is one trick that allows anyone to become a morning person.
Make a list of 25 tiny, tiny things to get done.
Sounds simple enough, but distractions and lack of focus are regular killers of these organizational tips. Having a strict regimen might make you feel like a robot, but done correctly will lead to a snowball effect that gives you the capability to get as much as ten times as much accomplished in a single day by utilizing an hour or so extra in the morning.
What is the best way to have a plan that is easy to follow through? Set yourself up for success and make sure you are guided through your morning with so much direction and so much purpose that you virtually can’t hit the snooze button or get distracted long enough to stop progress. Make being a morning person easy. What I do is the night before I make a list of everything I want to get done the next day and I break it up into tiny, minuscule amounts of work. I list everything from “drink a glass of water” to “do 15 push ups” to “turn on computer” so I can start crossing things off and gaining momentum. It’s important that your first couple tasks are dedicated to waking yourself up, whether it be through stretching or some resistance. My favorite list for a variety of these exercises is here. Another thing about this plan, anything that takes longer than 3 minutes to do, I break up into smaller tasks. I put a tall glass of water next to my alarm clock and make sure chugging it is the first thing I do when my alarm goes off. This is a great caffeine-free way to ensure you’re not falling back to sleep anytime soon.
Here is a sample list for someone who is trying to write and finish a book.
- Chug a glass of water
2. Do 15 push ups (this gets blood flowing and wakes you up)
3. Brush teeth (also helps wake up)
4. Turn on shower
5. Turn on coffee maker
6. Take shower
7. Get dressed (clothes should be picked out the night before)
8. Pour coffee and set up coffee maker for tomorrow
9. Turn on computer
10. Read yesterday’s writing
11. Bullet point 5 things to cover in today’s writing
12. Write one paragraph about bullet point 1
13. Write one paragraph about bullet point 2
14. Write one paragraph about bullet point 3
15. Write one paragraph about bullet point 4
16. Write one paragraph about bullet point 5
17. Write down what you want to write in tomorrow’s writing
18. Hit save and tidy work space
19. Eat something
20. Hair
21. Makeup
22. Put on shoes
23. Pick out tomorrow’s clothes
24. Write up this same list for tomorrow and put it by the bed
25. Fill up cup of water for next to the alarm clock
As you can tell from this list, I really only did three things here. I got ready for work, wrote some for my book, and prepped a little to do it all over again tomorrow. Why does this list work? It is ultra-specific. There are actually several cool things to learn about to do lists that can help you in this article. Every bullet point is so achievable you will not look through groggy eyes and say to yourself “too much work” and roll back to bed. Nothing here takes longer than three minutes except maybe the shower and if you’re some people I know, picking out clothes for tomorrow.
Another important aspect to this practice is as you go, set it up for tomorrow. That’s how you become a morning person.
Organization and cleanliness allow our cluttered morning minds to see something clearly and just do it, rather than giving ourselves any reason at all to procrastinate or add obstacles to these to do’s.
If you really want to do it right and keep yourself on track in the morning, create timers that will act as the list prompting you throughout the morning. This might seem unnecessary, but it guarantees you stay focused and work swiftly to maximize your time, stay alert, and finish your list before your kid needs to go to school or however the “normal day” starts. As a morning person by habit and not by nature, there are a couple of ways to do this. Some people simply use an egg timer and continuously set it for 3 minute increments. Personally that’s too loud and too often for my living situation and I’m into technology. What I do is the night before, I use a text scheduling app to send myself 5 or so texts to keep me on track. The best app out there for this is probably Capsule (www.downloadcapsule.com) for iOS because it’s free and just as easy as texting. No alarms or marking tasks as done. I spend two minutes the night before setting up these texts and they serve as an easy guide to get through my morning stress free while gaining momentum into the rest of my day.
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Make sure your list is made of such small bites that you can’t help but finish it. You aren't going to write your book in only one day and you aren't going to get your six pack back in only one day and if you think making a shorter list makes things easier, just keep a tally how many times you press snooze and add those tasks to tomorrow’s list. I suggest trying this for one day, one week, or one month and find how addicting this process can be in regards to transforming yourself into a morning person. And please, comment with your lists if you want any feedback on how to make it as simple as possible.
