After decades of trying, I’m finally an early bird! — Here’s how
My whole life I have wanted to be that person who woke up at 5 or 6 am consistently. That person who would meditate, work out, read a chapter of a book, eat breakfast, journal, etc. all before starting my workday. I remember being so envious of Patrick Bateman of American Psycho because of his morning routine…and he was a serial killer*.
I am not exaggerating when I say that I have promised myself on 20+ different Sundays that “this week, I will wake up at 6am everyday and have a productive morning!” Guess how many times I accomplished it? None. Not once. Not even on the Monday that followed. It was sad.
Not only did that make my mornings hectic, I was kicking off my day feeling like a failure. I wondered why I didn’t have more discipline — why I didn’t have the strength to not hit that snooze button 1000 times.
Now don’t get me wrong. I have always been very capable of waking up early if i really needed to. When I had a job where I had to beat traffic, I could wake up at 6am consistently. When I had an important presentation to prep for or an early flight, I could wake up at 4am — no prob. But if it was to exercise, or read, or simply have a quiet peaceful morning, then nope- couldn’t do it. Snooze, snooze, snooze.
I tried lots of methods. Waking up to a blasting Rocky soundtrack, having east coast friends and family call me, setting the alarm for 5 so I can still hit snooze multiple times. Nothing worked. It was awful — and kinda weird.
The good news is….I cracked it! I FINALLY cracked it!!!
I’ve been waking up at 6 am consistently for weeks now and I absolutely LOVE IT.
Here’s the trick. Also this is not an ad — I have no idea who made this app.
I downloaded this free app called barcode alarm. Basically the only way to turn the alarm off is to scan a specific bar code of your choice. I decided the bar code was going to be the hot sauce in my downstairs fridge.
So when the alarm goes off, I have to get out of my warm bed, walk down the stairs, open the cold fridge and scan the code to turn it off.
But it doesn’t stop there…
I also keep a spray water bottle next to the hot sauce and I spray my face with it twice after I’ve shut off the alarm. This jolt to my system definitely helps. Immediately after, I go to make my coffee. At that point, I no longer want to go back to bed.
Throughout all of it, I tell myself that if I want to go back to sleep after the water bottle step, I can. The only reason why this is necessary is because let’s be real, I can easily shut off my phone if I wanted to. Fortunately, it has never gotten to that point where I have needed to go back to sleep.
Simple right? I can’t believe it took me this long to figure out the technique that works but I did, and I love my mornings. It’s now my favorite time of day. I’m rested, calm, sharper, more creative, and this simple act has done wonders to my confidence and overall happiness. I’m also doing all the things I stated above — running with my pup, reading, meditating, etc. I’m also reading the book Atomic Habits to build out some routines and now my mornings are 🔥
I felt the need to pass this on because I know there are other people out there who wish they were an early riser and don’t believe it’s possible. It is, and it is a game changer. I’m learning that will-power is hard to sustain — it’s all about strategy and habits.
Next up, I’m thinking of waking up even earlier and checking out the 5am club. BUT, I don’t love the idea of sleeping at 9p — I’m not sure I want to be that person — so we shall see. Good luck to anyone who tries this and please let me know if it works for you!
*he may not have actually been a serial killer and just believed himself to be. Either way, not a role model.
