A few years ago I was chatting to some friends and I realized that I had seen far more sunsets in my life than sunrises. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I had always felt like I was missing out on some important hours of the day by waking up too late.

The mornings when I did wake up early were usually spent rushing to get ready, without the time to notice what colors were streaking through the morning sky or feeling the morning breeze.

So many successful people seem to have it all together, waking up at 5 am and getting things done while the rest of us slumber.

I always wanted to change that about myself and wake up earlier to get more creative or spiritual time for myself in those magical, dark hours before the dawn.

The problem I’ll admit is that I’ve never really been a morning person. I am, however, a determined person, always looking for new ways to grow and learn, so I set about making some changes to make myself into a morning person!

If you’re anything like me, and waking up early doesn’t come naturally to you you are going to need some serious discipline, motivation, and a certain amount of patience as you change your schedule and adjust to a new routine.

People talk about waking up early like it’s the key to great success – my belief is that entirely depends on you, but certainly waking up earlier can mean many positive changes in your life and much more time to get things done.

There is something very special about that quiet, peaceful time to yourself.

Read on to find out what I discovered about what’s required to make waking up early part of your routine!

Visualize your morning

If you take the time to plan your morning in your mind, you have a better chance of experiencing it in reality. Take just 5 minutes before you go to sleep to plan what you are going to do when you wake up, and most importantly, how you are going to FEEL as you do it.

Get a good sleep

Of course, the quality of your sleep is going to be a huge factor in determining how you feel when you wake up. Make sure you get into the habit of falling asleep at the same time each day as often as possible. This makes it easier for your body to adjust to waking up earlier.

Set everything out the night before

It’s an old trick but one that works. If you plan to go for a run in the morning, they say you should set out your clothes and running shoes the night before. A considerable part of your morning routine success depends on you merely getting up and being ready to go!

Don’t press snooze

Leave your phone or alarm clock out of reach. It’s tempting to press snooze, but it’s actually much easier to get up straight away. I like to imagine the day is waiting for me to show it how willing and ready I am to make the best of it!

Smile first thing and get in the shower

Set the tone for your day with a smile and a positive attitude! Getting straight into the shower can also be very helpful for revitalizing you physically and mentally, and getting you ready for the morning.

Read something inspiring

Keep a book of inspiring quotes by your bed or something that makes you smile and feel positive as soon as you wake up.

These are small tips, steps that will get you in the waking up early mode, BUT they are not the true key to making these changes.

The true key to waking up earlier is KNOWING WHY YOU WANT TO.
It sounds so simple, but without knowing your true motivation for waking up earlier, you won’t be able to stick to the discipline.
You need to have your reasons to do so and it’s better if they are specific.

If you want to wake up earlier because you’ve heard it’s what successful people do, that’s not good enough.

You need to ask yourself exactly how it will benefit your life?

What do you plan to do with those extra minutes or hours in the morning?

Whatever you do with your extra time in the morning should have a purpose.

Where is that extra time going to lead you and your life goals? What does the result look like?

For example, I wanted to see more sunrises, but I also wanted to experiment with writing and journaling first thing in the morning while it was still dark. I wanted to experience that special, quiet time and feel how my brain worked differently while the rest of the world slept.

I knew that extra time in those early hours would push me to complete some creative projects I had that I kept putting aside later in the day, feeling as though I had no time.

When you have a specific motivating factor like writing your book for an extra hour a day, it’s so much more likely that you will stick to a new routine.

Maybe you want to fit in some early morning yoga or meditation, or you would like to take a walk outside in nature before the day gets going, whatever it is figure out your WHY and then act upon it.
Just waking up and then not making good use of the time is not the key to success – it’s all about finding your motivation for getting up early!