How to wake up EARLY and be PRODUCTIVE
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Hey Squadies!
I have been getting a lot of questions about “How I stay motivated.” “Why I train as hard as I do”, and “How I stay energized Day in and Day out”
I will go into a lot more about my “Why” later, but one of the BIGGEST factors which I find boosts my mood, energy and productivity is GETTING UP EARLY. How do we wake up early and actually be productive?
For most people, waking up early in the morning is a drag. It’s something that they dread doing, and like most things in like, if you don’t like something, it normally doesn’t last very long. HOWEVER, if you take a step back and look at all BENEFITS that waking up early can provide – you might think twice about hitting that snooze button.
Now obviously just “getting up early” by itself won’t change your life, but it’s all the things that SURROUND getting up early which really contribute to a fuller life.
The time you have to:
- Work on a new business venture
- Prep healthy, nutritious and leanmazing foods that will keep your body fuelled all day long
- Get 20-40 mins of quality exercise in
- Complete daily tasks so that you have more time with you loved ones later in the day (or in the morning if it’s Hudson!)
With all these positive possibilities in mind, let me show you HOW to create a healthy routine that will HELP you MAXIMIZE your morning time!! How do we wake up early and actually be productive?
First – let’s quickly go back to the “Why” you want to wake up early? It can sound a little bit cliché, but getting up early (if you’re not typically a morning person) can be difficult so you HAVE to have a reason, a motive, a “WHY”.
Going back to above: FIND YOUR "WHY"
- Do you want to improve your health and fitness? Lose a few extra pounds? Build Lean Muscle? Tone up for an upcoming vacation? You can absolutely do it! Everyone has the capability of getting stronger, fitter and leaner, but the biggest thing that I hear about is “I don’t have the time”. Well, by waking up early, you have the ability to CREATE time for yourself and for your health and fitness. It might be tough on the first few mornings, but by getting up and doing your best on that particular day, you are one step closer to accomplishing your why! Also, by getting your body MOVING in the morning, you will feel SO much more energized for the entirety of the day! Trust me. Try it.
- Do you want work on a new business? A new side hustle? Well realistically, the BEST time to do that is BEFORE work, when you are fresh, energized and optimistic! Getting a few quality hours in on your new venture in the MORNING can be HUGELY beneficial to making that dream a reality!
- Do you want to spend a little more time with your significant other? Your kids? Friends? Well this answer is two fold: For me, the ability to spend time with Hudson in the morning is the BEST. I can put my phone away and have real quality time with both Brodie and Hudson before my day starts. On the flip side, if time is better spent in the evenings, then use the time in the morning to check off some of those tasks that you might have to do in the evening so that your time is FREE to spend with your family, kids, or friends!
Ultimately, whatever your “why” is, find it, hold on to it, and constantly remind yourself of “why” you’re doing what you’re doing!
Next – let’s talk about HOW to go about creating a proper routine for waking up early!
1. Plan
Once you have your “why”, then you have to put yourself in position to succeed! The best way to ensure that your new habit becomes sustainable, is to PLAN. Without a plan, the ‘snooze’ button becomes increasingly more appealing and despite a strong “WHY”, you might find yourself falling into old habits.
For me, I make sure that each night before bed, I schedule my workout. When I say “schedule”, I mean I have what time I am going to wake up, what time I am going to leave for the gym, and what exactly I am going to do when I get to the gym. Currently, I am working through Phase 3 of the #6WeekLeanChallenge!
After planning my workout, I then make a list of objectives for the day. I list the MOST IMPORTANT objectives at the top to ensure those are top of mind and I do my best to complete them! That way, when I get up early, I have a LIST of things to do so I ensure I MAXIMIZE my morning!
2. Exercise
Did you know that exercising for 20-40 minutes per day will drastically improve the quality of your sleep?
When you exert yourself during the day, it not only boosts your metabolism and energy levels (through the amazing endorphin rush) but it also gives you a “release” that allows your body to unwind later in the day, making it easier to fall asleep! For me, I always try my best to get my workout done in the MORNING. I know it is not for everyone, but if you can, give a morning workout a try! It sets your day up for success and fires up that metabolism!
- Phone/Alarm Clock & Gym clothes on the other side of the room.
This is categorized under “2(a)” because it is a trick to help you get up and get your workout done in the MORNING!! This was actually brought to me by a current Squadie who:
(i) Plans her workout AND THEN
(ii) puts her alarm clock (phone) and workout clothes in the bathroom so that when the alarms goes off, she has no choice but to get up and walk to the bathroom to get her day started!
“Getting Vertical” is often the toughest part of getting up. So if you can make a little “plan” to help get your feet on the ground, you are setting yourself up for success!!
3. Sleep Disturbances
A few months back, I started wearing a WHOOP band. It is a fitness tracker that I wear 24 hours/day to track a number of different data points, one of the main focuses being SLEEP. Firstly, this keeps me accountable for my daily activity as well as my sleep! I found that early on, my “Sleep disturbances” were shockingly high! As you can imagine, the more “sleep disturbances” I had negatively affected my sleep quality. In response, I made a number of changes to my nightly routine:
- Drinking water
The first change I made was that I stopped drinking water at 7 PM. If you’re anything like me, I was getting up to go to the bathroom multiple times per night which would seriously disrupt my sleep!
- White Noise
The second change I made was to sleep with a fan. This is something that Brodie has been doing for awhile (except she uses a white noise machine) and she loves it! I find that a fan, even if it’s blowing in the opposite direction, can help the quality of my sleep!
- Sleep Aids
The third change I tried was melatonin! I must say I am not an avid user of melatonin, but if I feel energized and “not tired” when I am getting ready for bed, taking a small dose of melatonin can really help the deepness of your sleep!!
- Length of Sleep!
Finally, regardless of how “good” your sleep is, if you don’t get “enough” you will not be able to full recharge and recover!
Getting into bed at 9:30 and watching Netflix for an hour and half may be relaxing, but it is not contributing to “more sleep”. Often times, people measure their length of sleep by “when they get into bed”, when in actual fact they are falling asleep 1-2 hours after that time! If watching a show in bed is “your thing” then try to start your routine earlier so that you can truly get the sleep you need!!!
Think of it like your phone. If you phone requires 8 hours to get a “full charge” and you plug it in for 6 hours, you are only going to get 75% of its total capacity.
Similarly, if you know that to function at your best takes 8 hours sleep, then shoot for that 8 hours! Don’t settled for 7, 6, or less!
Overall Squadies, I cannot it stress it ENOUGH! Sleep is SO important.
- Find your Why
- Make a Plan
- Commit to better sleeps!
Then watch your productivity INCREASE, your mood IMPROVE & and your life to TRANSFORM!!
That is how to wake up early and actually be productive! LET US help you be more productive with a healthy fitness and nutrition plan! Check out our #6weekleanchallenge HERE!