How to Wake Up Well (Pt. 2)

22 January, 2018 // in The Coffeehouse Cleric // by Alex Rowe.

A few weeks ago, in my post How to Wake Up Well, I gave a big-picture description of waking up well. I tried to answer the question why? why care about waking up well in the first place? Why is it important? In this post, I want to get practical. You may be motivated to begin the day right, but how do you do it?

The first five minutes.

The first five minutes are always the hardest. The ringing begins and you start to stir. You open your eyes, and fumble around to hit the alarm and settle back into the silence of your warm bed. Snooze. The ringing begins again. Snooze. And so the cycle begins.

Those first few moments will make or break the morning, determining whether you lay in bed for the next hour-and-a-half in a dozed and restless state, or whether you begin the day as planned. That first step, that decision to get up when you wake up, is the most difficult.

If you survive those painful first minutes of sore eyes and deep yawns; if you force the cosy bed covers away, and stand on your two feet; if you turn on the side lamp or open the curtains — then the morning is yours. The first five minutes are always the hardest.

Bonus tip: if you really want to wake up fast, try doing one exercise set of 10–15 repetitions. I usually do some variation of push-ups.

The cup of tea.

You may be full of good intention to use your mornings well. But when that alarm sounds, all the desire and motivation seems to vanish. “This is crazy! What am I doing, waking up at this time? I could sleep for another hour!” You know there’s a reason why you want to wake up well, but first thing in the morning the Old You is not going to want to remember what that was.

Instead of trying to pep-talk yourself into a hyper-motivated state — you’re dozing in bed remember — try this one, simple trick: get up, and boil the kettle. Forget about your lofty plans and noble ambitions. Forget about what you’re going to do in the next two hours. Just boil the kettle. Make a cup of tea.

There is a some psychology underlying this practice. It’s called a “replacement habit.” Replace the cycle of hitting snooze, or checking your phone in bed and mindlessly scrolling, with the habit of getting up, boiling the kettle, and making a cup of tea. Eventually you will start to condition your brain, so that this practice becomes second-nature. And once you’re clutching a warm drink in your sleepy hands, you’re ready to go.

Bonus tip: Try to drink some kind of low-caffeine tea, and not coffee, first thing in the morning. Your body’s natural cortisol levels should be sufficient to perk you up without excessive caffeine. Come 10AM, drink the hard stuff. Read more here.

The morning routine.

I have found over the past few years that the key to waking up and starting the day well is a good morning routine. There are countless news articles or blog posts that talk about this, and there are all kinds of recommendations as to what precisely should go into your morning routine — journalling, meditation, practicing gratitude, physical activity (usually low-level cardio), reading, stretching, visualisation exercises…the lists go on and on.

These recommendations are great, and a very helpful place to start. But blindly follow the advice of others, and your morning routine risks becoming arbitrary. You’ll end up doing things simply because that’s what you were told. Instead, then, of splashing out on a gym membership, or wading into the world of chakra, ask yourself this question: What is most important to me?

If you can begin to answer that question, however tentatively, I then advise that your morning routine is comprised of activities that reflect those priorities. That way, you will begin the day by doing the things you most love and value, the things that make you come alive. For me, this looks like time with God in scripture and prayer, and then practicing reading and writing. I break up my time into 25–30 minute chunks, and go from there.

Bonus tip: Be flexible, keep refining your routine. Some seasons of life look different than others.

And finally, to frame all this discussion, go easy on yourself and be kind to yourself. Learn to listen to how you feel, and take rest just as seriously (if not more so!) as anything else. Sometimes you really do need to sleep in. At least once a week, maybe on weekends, don’t set an alarm. And definitely don’t jump up and boil the kettle straight away!

Thank you for reading. The Coffeehouse Cleric is a Medium publication dedicated to asking the big questions of life. It features writing on three main areas: minimalism, spirituality, and learning. If you enjoyed this piece, please do share it with friends and family on social media.