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This lesson will focus on creating morning and bedtime routines.
I suggest waking up a little bit earlier each day. If you like your routine and sleep schedule as it is, then disregard. But a lot of us would like to wake up a bit earlier to journal, get some exercise or yoga in, meditate, or work on a project.
Slowly change your sleeping pattern.
- Wake up 10- 15 minutes earlier. If you wake at 8am, try for 7:45am. Try this for 4 days and shift your time earlier if this is easy for you. If you are struggling with this. stay with the 15 minutes for a week and then you shift.
- Set an alarm. I like the Bedtime alarm with iPhone because it wakes you gentler.
- Have things ready to go. I also like to have things ready to go so when I wake up I can go right away if I want to run or exercise. You can place your shoes and work-out clothes by your bed or have a yoga mat laid out. Know what you want to do in the morning and have it ready to go.
- Set a morning routine. Set a simple routine right when you wake. Wake, go to the bathroom, drink a glass of water, take a vitamin, meditate, and start writing. Have a simple flow to start out with. If you want to structure the first 15-30 minutes of your day, that is okay too
- Think about what you want to do in the morning the night before. If there is a work task or workout, meditation and journaling, think it out the night before. Do it for the whole week so you do not want to wake and start checking Facebook or emails. Having it thought through will help the new routine.
One of the keys to waking earlier is making sure you go to bed on time. If you need 6, 7, or 8 hours of sleep, the time you wake will determine the time to go to bed.
Start a bedtime routine.
- Set a bedtime alarm. There is a iOS system that allows you to set a morning alarm and a bedtime reminder so you can get the amount of sleep you are wanting.
- Turn off the TV and electronics.
- Clean up a little bit.
- Brush and Floss your teeth.
- Get things ready for the morning. Set up your clothes or journal and clear off your night stand.
Yours could be a little different. Maybe you meditate or do a nighttime yoga. Do something that allows you to slowly wind down and that gets you ready for bed.
Don’t use screens in bed. I highly suggest not using any screens like a laptop or phone in bed, unless it’s a Kindle, which is dedicated reading. Make sure you ban yourself from using electronics in bed.
We want this to be a joyful change that we are excited about. That means going to bed on time and wake up with a joyful start to your day.
Experiment and see what works for you. Try it out and slowly adjust over the course of a month.