5 steps to set yourself up for success every day

Some folks are born as “morning people”. The kind of people who naturally wake up before 8 am with a smile on their face and a skip in their step. I, however, am not one of those lucky people. I cherish those brief moments between snoozed alarms. If the sun doesn’t want to be up yet, I definitely do not want to be up yet. I can still do mornings, but it takes more effort for me to fake it.

Our society is designed for morning people. From 9-5’s being the status quo and the stigmatization of sleeping in, we have this built-in mindset that morning people get more done. I’m sure my fellow night owls have also heard the condescending “oh, you’re JUST waking up now?” from someone in our lives. Despite your accomplishments, it feels like it only counts between the hours of 6 am- 6 pm.

Studies show that morning people do have an overall elevated level of physical and mental well-being. We’ve all heard the phrase “the early bird gets the worm”. In an effort to increase my well-being and the amount of time I can see the sun each day, I have adapted to the early-bird life of a 9-5 employee.

Through years of trial and error, I’ve figured out a few ways to make mornings work for me.

1. Don’t check your phone first thing in the morning

I know this can be incredibly hard to do. It’s almost routine to check your phone right away. You want to know what’s happening, what you might have missed, and what time it is. However, by checking your phone when you wake up, you are setting your mind into reactive mode. You are instantly responding to what has happened instead of focusing on what will happen. Here are a few solutions. You might need to set your phone on “do not disturb” for the first 20-60 minutes of your day. You may even have to get a physical alarm clock (so old school) to tell the time and wake you up effectively.

If you want to learn more about how checking your phone is affecting your mood, and how to overcome it,