How to Wake Up at 4:30AM
Almost two years ago I remember telling my mom, “I want to start waking up at 5AM.” I remember feeling so compelled to wake up early, I didn’t even know why. I just knew that it was something that successful people did, and I wanted to be successful. So I put my mind to it, and failed, miserably, for the first few weeks. Every morning my alarm clock would ring at 4:30AM and every morning I would awake from my slumber, hit snooze, and fall right back asleep. I grew so tired and hopeless of this cycle. I was frustrated. Why couldn’t I do what I said I would do?
There are thousands of blog posts out there that will tell you how to wake up early. You may hear the common advice: charge your phone on the opposite side of the room while you sleep, count to 10 before falling back asleep, go to sleep earlier. I’ve read all the advice and I am sure you have to. Sure, it’s all helpful but nothing made my routine stick until I was willing to part with my precious remaining minutes of sleep for something more important: my morning routine.
To wake up early, answer the question, “What do I want that’s worth waking up for?”
In the beginning of my morning routine creation, I didn’t have a clear idea as to what I was actually getting up for which is why it was so hard to establish a consistent routine. Why did I want to wake up at 4:30AM? I truly didn’t know.
So I realized I had to make it something good. I had to want to get up.
That’s when I began to realize how much goodness I could squeeze out of my day by adding a few more waking hours during the time where my mind was fresh: in the first few hours of the morning. I realized I could read, I could write the things I wanted, I could meditate, I could make my morning coffee without being rushed. The world began opening itself up to me!
And over time, these things became more valuable to me than staying up late to scroll through Instagram or getting a few more extra minutes to rest my eyes in the morning.
I wanted to wake up at 4:30 AM, so I did.
Seamless Mornings are Made the Night Before
It helps to write the things you’d like to accomplish during your day the night before. I even had someone tell me once that they plan out their day as if it’s already happened. So instead of writing, “Write caption for Instagram, work on this week’s blog post, and send proposal to client.” You might write instead, “I wrote an uber compelling Instagram post about the art of setting boundaries, I worked on this week’s blog post and got it done in half the time, and I sent a proposal to a client and she said yes!”
This is a great way to get your subconscious mind working and preparing to have a great day before the day has even begun. I find that if I lay my clothes out the night before, I’ve done a thorough skincare routine, and end the night with a good read (instead of TV) it then becomes much easier for me to get up in the morning. I am already ready for my day, I am not rushing to get ready for my day, tomorrow.
The truth is, what works for someone else may not always work for you.
This is why it’s important to identify the things you truly desire in your day that you currently aren’t making the time for. What is missing? And would you be willing to wake up earlier to get them? Start by writing a list and ask yourself how much time you would need in the morning in order to have enough time to complete them. When you do this, it becomes much easier to wake up, simply because you’re waking up for a purpose. Not because you have to, but because you want to.
And that’s the key to a successful morning routine.
With love and admiration,
AV
