I’m a night owl, but now I’m responsible for getting my daughter to school at 7:20 every morning, so I had to rearrange everything.
A couple things that helped…
- I save some dry/boring reading or learning for right around 11. I learn that stuff in the bed after getting ready to sleep. So even if I’m not tired, reading about something I’m not really interested in works better than something completely mindless or something I really like.
– I got a cheap vibrating fitness tracker that I wear to bed. I started with 6 alarms on that thing and eventually you just get up when it keeps going.
– I have caffeine of some sort waiting in the morning.
– I have all the morning decisions made already when I go to bed, so I can run on autopilot
I wouldn’t say I’m a morning person, but I’m up everyday (even weekends) between 6 and 7 now, and that hasn’t been the case ever before in my life. Before I needed to be up, I’d usually go to bed about 2, which is still really easy to do if I’m not exhausted or forcing myself to lay down at 11.
The first few weeks suck. When you fall back into going to bed at 2 for a few days, it sucks. But overall, it gets easier, even if not more enjoyable. I miss the creative nights when it’s quiet, but for now this is what needs to be done.
There are some good things about mornings, if you have a moment to enjoy them. The feeling of things coming alive, or the fog before it clears, and the sunrises really are beautiful. I get to see my kids sleeping just before I wake them up.
One more thing, that may or may not help everyone, but has changed the whole thing for me. I don’t think of it as something I need motivation for anymore, motivation seems to be really fickle. I just decide I’m going to try and do it, and then do it (or fail and figure out why). If I look for a reason/motivation beyond that, I outsmart myself and finding fault with the motivation also kills the desire.
I’m just going to get up because I need to and then do the next thing because it needs to be done. It’s less inspirational, but it’s reliable.
Hope it helps.