...how to become a morning person one groggy step at a time.
Tip #1: whatever fuels you best, make that your morning focus.
I thought about simply making tip number one "coffee." But as near and dear as coffee is to my heart, I know some people don't drink it or can't, and if the use of a strong stimulant like caffeine is the only way to become a morning person then mornings are an unruly beast nobody should have to face. But I know from experience that caffeine is not necessary in the equation. Does it help? Oooh, yes. But the reason why is the same principle that can be followed without the joe:
Whatever gives you energy needs to be the highlight of your waking routine.
Maybe it's breakfast (which will definitely get a post of it's own in this series) or maybe it's time to be quiet and think or pray. Maybe it's an allotted 22 minutes to watch your favorite sitcom on netflix before you have to pull yourself together to face the world. Maybe it's Scripture, a walk, journaling, or some of all three. The point is, when you have purpose for your morning that is more than just scraping yourself together to be presentable for your coming day, you will start looking forward to the morning like never before.
For me, I make sure I have time for this little trifecta of Libby-fueling: coffee, a hot breakfast, and 20-30 minutes of a pursuit that is just for me. Often that will be 30 minutes of writing or reading. Sometimes photography (iPhone-4 style because that's how I roll.) Sometimes that will be my time in Scripture. It varies, but it is always a time where I allow myself to do something just for me. When you're taking care of little ones all day, you don't get much me-time. So if I can look forward to that time in my morning, I am already running on that emotional steam before my day really starts.
Here's the tricky part: timing is key. Which means planning is key.
This is how I became a morning person—once I realized I needed this coffee/hot-breakfast/Me-time routine I knew I would have to conquer my snooze-button to achieve it. Or rather, my snooze habit. I haven't figured out how to reprogram my brain NOT to hit snooze at least twice per alarm, but I now set my alarm indecently early so that by the time I'm into my second or third snooze, I have three or four microbursts of alarms set at 1-minute intervals that break into the snooze-induced-quiet and tell my brain, "Hey, this alarm is for realz." Kind of a harsh awakening compared to the gentleness of the preceding snoozes. But it does the trick and gets me out of bed in time to make that lemony avocado toast (when I'm mailing it in) or shakshuka with chevré and fresh herbs (when I'm extra ambitious.)
Now for the parents reading this and shaking your head at the seeming naïveté of my advice. I have a 14-month-old. I know how early these days can begin. Part of my success with mornings comes from the sacrifice of late-nights. I'm in bed around 9:30 most nights. The sleep certainly helps.
But a big part of my success is strategy with my bebé: I have an even more indecent alarm (set to 4am... sounds awesome, right!?) that is the alarm to give my baby his morning feeding while we are both still basically asleep. It helps that we can nurse in my bed and it's easy to sleep through the feeding and just plop him back in his crib and carry on with my last bit of sleep when he's done. That alarm prevents him from waking up starving at 6, which is right in the middle of my morning routine. Will I have to adjust this routine eventually when he's weaned and out of a crib and prone to trouble-making when I'm not watching, and able to open the fridge? Oh sure, but then I'm a parent, and we are experts at improv. Even if a cartoon on Netflix is how I rein him in, if it gives me a morning, then welcome to our living room, Daniel Tiger. Want some eggs?
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