Are you tired of oversleeping and getting a late start on your day? Do you want to learn how to stop hitting snooze and how to start waking up earlier? You are in the right place. I’m running an experiment on myself where I shift my sleep schedule, so I’m going to bed and waking up earlier. Each week, I’m documenting my progress and providing tips on how to wake up earlier and strategies that you can apply, so you can also adjust your sleep schedule and start waking up earlier.

I’m somewhat rebranding this series. At first, I wasn’t sure what else to call this series, but now I feel “How to Wake Up Earlier” is more direct and specifically outlines my goal without any shame or judgment. “How to Wake Up Earlier” encompasses what I am trying to achieve more than “How to Fix Your Sleep Schedule.” That wording feels a bit vague and has the underlying tone that there is something wrong with me that requires fixing. I personally do not like that mindset, and I do not think it is helpful for creating lasting habits. I’m getting introspective and analytic of these small details on purpose. I really do believe that seemingly small choices we make, such as the way we word things create and uphold subconscious beliefs that can impact our success without us even realizing it.

Now that I addressed that, I will share my updates and insights from learning how to wake up earlier this past couple of weeks.

Photo by Acharaporn Kamornboonyarush: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-person-holding-alarm-clock-1028741/

I started off by getting clear on my objectives. My focus this week was to go to bed by midnight and get up by 8 am. I felt that was a realistic goal based on where I am at in this journey. I also closed my blinds to let my sunrise lamp take full effect.

Photo by Travis Rupert: https://www.pexels.com/photo/scenic-view-of-ocean-during-sunset-1032650/

2.21.23

I did it! I got up after my alarm went off at 8 am. I think closing the blinds so the sunrise lamp could take full effect made a difference. I made sure to celebrate my success by thinking positive thoughts to congratulate myself. I’m very happy – I knew I could do it.

2.22.23

I was not feeling it when my alarm went off. I wanted to go back to sleep, but I got up a little before 9 am.

I felt terrible today. I felt so tired. I just wanted to go back to sleep, but I also didn’t want to nap during the day. I noticed I was feeling tired the past few days, but I didn’t prioritize going to bed earlier last night. This caused me to feel unproductive, which was incredibly frustrating because I didn’t have the energy to accomplish the tasks I wanted to accomplish. I’m being dramatic on purpose. I want to train my brain to see how bad it feels when I don’t get enough sleep. Whatever I’m doing in those last couple of hours at night isn’t worth feeling this bad the next day.

2.23.23

I knew I did not want to have another day like yesterday. My original thought was that I needed to go to bed early. But, I had plans with my friends to go to trivia, which is something I look forward to every week. While I didn’t get home in time to go to bed earlier, I will continue to repeat that my intention is not to prioritize my sleep goals above all else. I value this time with my friends, and it is important to me to find a routine that allows me to have a balance between getting enough sleep and being social because connection is one of my values. This scenario is a reminder of the importance of keeping our values in mind when setting goals. Any habit changes or new habits that are not aligned with your values and your lifestyle are likely going to be unrealistic, which is not going to serve you positively.

I still was in bed before midnight, and I decided to push my wake-up time to later to ensure I got some extra sleep. I ended up waking up right before my alarm was set to go off at 9 am. The fact that my body woke up naturally after 9 hours of sleep confirms that I was behind and needed to catch up on sleep. As soon as I woke up, I could tell I felt better. I hope the past two days can serve as a reminder that not every day will go how we want it to go when making lifestyle changes, and that is okay. Rather than get discouraged, I made a point to learn from that experience and adjust. Every day is a new day.

Photo by Tim Foster on Unsplash

2.24.23

I woke up and got out of bed when my alarm went off at 8 am. I then decided to play the “I’m going to lay back down for 5 minutes” game. While knowing full well that this game rarely ends after the allotted 5 minutes. Needless to say, I woke up 10 minutes before my telehealth therapy session at 11 am.

My brain feels like it is still asleep, but I am doing my best to stay focused and motivate myself throughout the day. Let this be a word of caution against allowing yourself to get back in bed. At the very least, if you do decide to give yourself “a few more minutes of sleep,” acknowledge that those few minutes will likely be longer than intended, and you will have to accept that if you choose to get back in bed.

2.25.23 

I woke up at 5 pm today. I was debating whether or not I wanted to document this, but I want to be real. I don’t remember what time I went to bed, but I usually go to bed around 2 am on weekends, which means I must have gotten at least 15 hours of sleep. Needless to say, I did not feel great today. Physically, I felt good from the sleep, but mentally and emotionally I did not feel good about sleeping all day. I know I need to practice what I preach and show myself some compassion. I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to fall asleep at night, but, luckily, after going out with some friends I felt tired enough to go to sleep. I also took some melatonin and did a bedtime yoga video.

2.26.23

I still slept in on Sunday, but not nearly as late as I did on Saturday. I spent the day in a bit of a funk, but I did some journaling and brainstormed ways to help myself feel better (stay tuned for a blog post on how to take care of yourself when you are feeling down) to motivate myself. Planning acts of self-care got me excited for the week ahead.

2.27.23

I woke up and got up at 8 am! I am practicing what  the lovely Muchelleb refers to as a “bounceback mindset.” Meaning, I can bounce right back to achieving my goals, even if I have taken an extended break and/or faced setbacks. I was so excited about my win this morning, and I made sure to think celebratory thoughts, such as “Yay!” and “Good job!” As soon as I got up, I made sure to wash my face with cold water and open up my curtains. I also decided yesterday to make sure to plan a fun activity to look forward to as a reward for getting up. I was originally going to crochet, but my yarn was really tangled. Trying to untangle it was making me more stressed than relaxed, so I switched to reading my book instead. Planning an exciting activity as motivation to get up was something my therapist suggested, and I would recommend this strategy. I made a conscious effort the night before to think about the fun activity I had planned to get myself excited to wake up.

I went to bed at 12:30 pm last night, which was later than I wanted to, so I’m making a point to plan out my night, so I am ready to go to bed earlier.

Photo by Dapo Oni on Unsplash

2.28.23

My time management needs some work. I ended up going to bed even later than I did the previous night. I wasn’t ready for bed until 1 am. And that was after saying I was making a point to go to bed earlier. What actually happened was I got sucked into a task that took way longer than expected. I’ve been looking into ways to make money from home, and I found out about the site Branded Surveys, which gives you points that you can redeem for rewards for taking surveys. So, I found myself going over their Terms of Use and Privacy Policy instead of getting ready for bed. I felt frustrated with myself, but it is what it is. I acknowledge that this task could have waited until the next day, but I felt a sense of urgency since I had already started. I know this is something I want to work on – prioritizing what is actually most important to do at that time and rescheduling tasks that can wait.

All that said, I did not get up at 8 am today, but I did get up when my second alarm went off at 8:30 am. While 71/2 hours of sleep isn’t terrible, and I can function fine, I would feel better with more sleep. I’m a little tired today. Another lesson on the importance of prioritizing getting ready for bed above other little to-do items that can wait until the next day. I’m becoming increasingly aware that simply saying I want to go to bed earlier is not enough. I need to actually set the time I want to go to bed and then work backward from there to schedule everything I want to include in my evening routine. Having a set schedule may sound dull, but I know it is what I need to ensure I am in bed by the time I want to be. This information about myself is not news to me, but I am more aware that making a dedicated effort towards a specific objective (the time I want to be in bed) is going to work more effectively than a vague and ambiguous intention with no guidelines (such as going to bed “early”).

3.1.23

Exciting news! I went to bed at 11:30 pm last night! And, I let myself sleep until 8:30 am, so I got a solid 9 hours of sleep. That is amazing! I do want to give the disclaimer that I told myself I wanted to go to bed at 11 pm, but I’ll take this! Progress is better than perfection. I feel better today than I did yesterday. To reward myself, I spent some time crocheting after I got up. I mentioned that my yarn was too tangled to use, so I ended up cutting it, so I could continue the scarf I’m making. I’m glad I did that because crocheting is a huge motivator for me. I was showing my brain that waking up early means time for crafts. I am building that positive association between this habit and the activities I enjoy.

3.2.23

I went to bed around midnight last night. But I didn’t get up until 9:30 am. I am feeling frustrated, but I’m not paying too much attention to the negative thoughts, because I know that won’t help me in any way.

3.3.23

I decided to take another day off. Truthfully, I just wanted a day where I could stay up late and then sleep in. So that is what I did. My purpose in documenting this journey is to be as transparent as possible. If your schedule permits it, I would recommend you listen to what you feel you need. For me, that was a day off from getting up earlier.

Takeaways

That is a wrap on another two weeks of waking up earlier. Overall, I feel this is going well. There were some ups and downs, but that is expected, and I am learning as I go. I’m planning on creating a blog post about all the tools and strategies that can help you learn how to wake up earlier. 

Click here to read the introduction to the How to Wake Up Earlier Series.

Click here to read the first set of updates and takeaways on how to wake up earlier.

Featured Image

Photo by Kristin Vogt: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-bed-linen-57686/