Let me tell you something – waking up just a little bit earlier everyday can dramatically increase your productivity. Im amazed at just how much I get done by now waking up an hour earlier.
Here are 5 ways you can make the entire process of “waking up” that little bit easier:
1. Don’t Use an Alarm
Im talking about the alarms that use horrible sounds – instead wake up to music. This will make the whole process that more relaxing.
2. Take an Hour
Set yourself a window of 1 hour to wakeup in, and start the music playing at the beginning of that hour. This will encourage your body to wakeup, when your in the right cycle of sleep, instead of when your alarm dictates. There is alarm software available on both mac and pc that will slowly increase the volume of music which is perfect for this!
3. Have a Drink of Water When You Wake Up
Keep a glass of water next to your bed. Before even getting out of bed, down it. Not only are you doing your body good by re-hydrating it after a hard night of sleep – the water is kick-starting and waking up your body. Eating does the same thing, although its rather difficult to keep bacon and eggs next to your bed!
4. Stay in Bed
Some people like to hop straight out of bed in the morning. If it works for you then do it! I prefer to stay in bed, reading emails, checking FriendFeed, Twitter etc. By the time i’ve finished, I’m wide awake and getting out of bed is easy. Plus I have already accomplished so much without even having to get dressed!
5. Give Yourself an Incentive
Leave yourself one task from the night before either incomplete or half finished. Of course this is only an incentive if you enjoy doing that task. But waking up and wanting to complete it, will get you out of bed in no time at all.
These are my 5 tips that I use – what are yours?
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Currently I use #2 and #4, this works best for me. When I was younger I used the exact opposite approach but with a twist: I would put the alarm clock at the other end of the room so that I had to get out of the bed to stop the alarm. That’s the best option when you have to get out of bed, no matter what.
In the future I would like to try out one of these alarm clocks that turn on the light instead of playing music. I imagine this would be the softest way of waking up.
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