I have been a night owl my whole life.When I was a kid I would stay up late to read my latest novel. As adult it was cleaning or movies and now, currently, it’s the time when I blog. I wake up to the sound of my toddler crying for me to come get him out of bed. I have tried so many times to wake up early in my life. The only time when I was truly successful was when I was a young 21 yr old serving a mission for my church and it was REQUIRED that we wake up at 6:30 every morning to study. Because I tend to have an ‘obedient’ personality, I did it faithfully…for 18 months. You’d think that would have cured me of my late night addiction. Nope. The minute I returned home to normal life I immediately slipped back into my night owl routine.
Why is it so easy to be a night owl as a mom? Well, duh! The kids are in bed and I FINALLY have some time ALL TO MYSELF! IT’s hard to give that up by succumbing to an early bedtime! It’s when I get any left over cleaning done (if I’m in the mood, which I’m usually not!) or when I watch movies with my husband….but usually it’s spent on my favorite hobby…blogging.
Here’s the thing, I know if I woke up several hours before the kids, I would be so much more at peace and ready for my day. I know I could probably receive a lot better inspiration for blogging, and for life, in general. Waking up early is also supposed to be healthier and better for your health….so I’m just gonna give it a go again! I’m at that point in my life where I just really need that peace BEFORE my kids wake up every day. I’m gonna see if all the early bird moms really have an edge in life or if it’s all just a big hoax. To all you night owl moms out there, I invite you to join me! (yeah, I know you aren’t even remotely interested, but I thought I’d give it a try!) I’ll keep you all posted on my night owl vs. early bird fight and we’ll see who comes out on top!
Here’s the 5 ‘tricks’ I’m trying for success!
1. Go to bed earlier (obviously!) so it’s easier to wake up! My goal is bed by 10 and wake up by 6. (oh boy!)
2. Charge my laptop and smartphone OUTSIDE of my room. Why? So I can sleep better, so I won’t be as tempted to open up my computer and blog, and so I won’t be tempted to reach over and press snooze on my phone alarm!
3. Set out my workout clothes so I won’t have to ‘think’ about that workout after my groggy walk back from turning off my alarm. I just gotta put those shoes on and go. (That will be my hardest step!)
4. Motivation! No night owl wants to wake up early for no good reason! I mean c’mon! If there is nothing to motivate me to get my lazy butt out of bed, bed will always win! My motivation is having quiet time to blog in the morning and hopefully better inspiration because of a fresh mind.
5. Reward! My birthday is in 2 weeks and my husband usually takes the day off work so I can have that day to do whatever I want. I’m rewarding myself with a day full of pampering and fun if I can make it 2 whole weeks of getting up early!
Ok, here goes nothing!
(Keep Reading! Night Owl vs. Early Bird Part 2)