Those who know me will have heard me say many, many times, “I’m not a morning person.” If I haven’t caffeinated adequately, don’t talk to me. I’ll be in zombie mode.
That was the reality for most of my uni life and it was so bad that the damn baristas (as cute and lovely as they are) knew my name and my coffee order and might’ve even made it before I got to the front of the queue… until things started to change a few months ago. Now I’m up around 5am and feel ready to slay the day. 💃🏻
My Morning Routine: Then vs. Now
Then:
- Snooze alarm about 10 times before crawling out of bed
- Get ready whilst half-asleep
- Chug down caffeine
- GTFO
- Probs zonk out on the train/bus
Now:
- Wake up without an alarm and jump out of bed, excited to start the day
- Wash up and get changed
- Journal
- Enjoy a cup of coffee
- Exercise
- Read / get shit done
- Get out of the house
- Listen to podcasts or read a book on the train/bus
What happened? Well, a few things. One of the best things I’ve ever done is to experiment with waking up without an alarm. It was in the holidays, so I didn’t have anything that I absolutely had to get up early for.
At first I’d been getting up around 8-9am, then it slowly moved to 6-7am, and now it’s around 5-6am. Not sure how the hell that happened. I just ensure that I sleep by 10pm most days and cut myself off technology at least an hour before I sleep. 🙅🏻♀️
Another thing I’ve done is to absolutely prohibit myself from having caffeine after 12pm. I think I knew in my head that this was the right thing to do even back then, but always thought that I needed that afternoon pick-me-up anyway.
This would result in me lying in bed past midnight, wide awake, going “what the hell have I done??” And probably have some weird-ass thoughts racing through my head. Yeah, caffeine has a huge effect on me. And counting damn sheep doesn’t help – I’ve tried.
So I got trapped in that endless cycle of caffeine dependency. Not good. It’s like my brain just didn’t know how to function properly without it. 🤯
What I think has really made the most impact, though, is cleaning up my diet and exercising more regularly. Fuelling up with the right kind of foods mean less chance of brain fog and thus less caffeine dependency. And exercise = energy + good vibes = feeling amazing + getting shit done. 🤩
With food, I’ve cut down on processed/refined food and artificial sugars. That includes things like bread, cereals and muesli and them beloved GYG burrito boyz.
My go-to for breakfast is oats and berries, and for lunch/dinner I have a crap ton of mixed veggies (the more colourful the better) plus some protein and some healthy fats (avocadoooo). Oh and squeeze some lemon. Lemon makes everything taste good. 😍
For exercise, if I’m short on time I do a quick 12-min tabata workout. I’ve found great videos from Nicole Perry which really kick my ass despite being only 12 minutes long. Otherwise, I do strength training or cardio at the gym for around 30 minutes.
The Sweat With Kayla app is good for lazy asses like me who just want someone to tell them what to do. I use it for strength exercises – it’s great because it has video walkthroughs of how to do each exercise.
Sometimes I just take a walk in the lovely natural areas near my home and get lost in my thoughts. Whatever it is, exercise boosts my brain and my mood. Oh yeah, remember to play bomb-ass music in the background – that helps a lot. 😉
With these small changes, I feel like I’ve transformed into a new person. It has done wonders for my productivity and focus.
Don’t get caught in the trap of saying “oh, I’m just not a morning person”. It doesn’t mean that just because you’ve never been a morning person, you can never be one. It is up to you to change that and it is within your control.
And look, I thought that being a night owl was pretty cool, but getting up early is waaaaaay cooler because you can conquer so much stuff before most people have even woken up and the hustle and bustle of life begins. And that seriously sets you up for the day. ✌️
What is your morning like? Do you wake up feeling energised and ready to slay the day? If not, what changes would you want to make?
