Photo credit: Sean MacEntee
This is my weekday morning routine:
• 5 a.m. – alarm goes off
• Hit snooze no less than 9 times, until about 6:30
• Shower
• Contemplate going back to bed
• Get dressed, all the while contemplating going back to bed
• Drive to work, scoping out the side streets for a safe place to pull over and take a nap
Once at my destination, I’m usually okay and get into the swing of things pretty quickly. But I have the nagging feeling that I’m doing something – or maybe a lot of things – wrong. Did you know there are people in this world who actually go to the gym, or are willfully conscious in general, before the sun comes up?! I couldn’t believe it at first either, but they do exist. Some are probably lurking in your presence at this very moment.
Perhaps we weren’t all meant to be naturally early-risers, but the cold hard truth is that most of us have an obligation to function on some level before 10 a.m. Here are three very simple things I’ve found tend to improve my mood in the morning:
• Listening to music – I’ve tried listening to talk shows and news stations, but I usually end up annoyed at best or enraged at worst. What better way to get the day off to a great start than with your favorite tunes?
• Eating – This might sound like a no brainer, but I’m typically not hungry first thing in the morning so I often overlook this. The best solution I’ve found is apples. They’re light, refreshing and some even claim a better morning jolt than coffee.
• Keeping my morning self in mind – I try to do everything I can the evening before to make life easier for hapless future me, sure to be stumbling around in the wee hours with somewhere important to be and precious little time to get there. This includes laying out clothes, organizing the next day’s lunchtime errands and making a “to-do” list of the top 3 things I need to accomplish before Noon.
Now, because almost anyone who knows me will tell you I’m the last person in the world you should be accepting advice from on this topic, here are some words from U.S. News & World Report about How and Why to Become a Morning Person.
And if, despite all your best efforts, you still find yourself lagging in the a.m., don’t feel alone. It happens to the best of us, even those who make a handsome living off of waking up perky:
