Hey guys.
It's Lay.
So as you guys know over my break December 16 through January 27, I spent my month developing good habits so I can better myself. I developed traits such as weekly cleaning, making my bed each morning and waking up early in the morning. Someone I'm close to asked me how I manage to keep waking up early when I don't go to school so this post is dedicated to him. Additionally, in my last post I mentioned writing a post about sleep. So I figured there is no better time to write this. I used to be a night owl but lately I've been trying to balance my sleep schedule. In high school, I had a bad sleep schedule because I would fall asleep at 3 am, wake up 6 am, fall asleep doing homework in the evening and then have to stay up late to finish and the cycle would continue for the 4 years. Now that I'm in college, I'm able to have more control of my schedule. My Fall 2019 semester I went to school 3 days per week which was mainly exhausting because my 8 am class. I don't live on campus and from my house it is a 10-15 minute walk from my house to the train station and the train on a good day takes 1 hour and 10 minutes. So every Monday, I had to wake up by 4:30 am so I could get ready, pack food and walk or take a taxi (my mom hated me walking in the dark because I'm small and as a female it's more dangerous to walk alone in dark hours) by 5:20 am so I could catch the either the 5:30 am or 5:55 am. Then I had statistics from 8:10 am until 12 pm because math had a lecture and lab (both 2 hours) but mine were both Mondays. I ended up feeling so terrible in that class but I still passed with a B but I felt like I would've done better if I wasn't so tired. So I set rules for myself so every morning I wake up energized and have a more productive day.
1. Learn how much sleep your body needs to feel energized
There are studies that show how much sleep people need based on age and I don't completely agree because I feel there is so much factors that can affect how much sleep a person needs. I think some people get more quality sleep (the type of sleep that you have when it's deep and goes uninterrupted) than others, some people are more active which affects quality of sleep and also people have conditions where they wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom or something. For me, to feel my most energized in the day where I won't need to take a nap, I need 6-7 hours of quality (deep and uninterrupted) sleep. If I sleep more or less than that amount I feel more exhausted and sluggish through the day so you need to find your magic number.
2. Consider how much time you need
When I say this I'm talking about how long it takes to get to school/work/ wherever you need to be on time, how long it takes you to feel alive enough to get out of bed, how long is your morning routine, if you eat breakfast at home: how long will it will take to make and eat and if you grab breakfast on the way: how long it will take. Every person has different factors so your morning schedule is tailored to your own life but you have to be realistic about how long you take with things. For me, the maximum I stay in bed after I wake up is 10 minutes, I have a morning routine for the bathroom that takes 15-25 minutes, I take 6 minutes to get dressed but if I haven't chose an outfit it takes me longer and if I want to eat before I go, I need to wake up 30 minutes before my usual wake up time and if I want to do a make up look I need an extra hour. So figure out your timing.
3. Set a sleep and wake up time based the previous
Once you figure out your timing you can set a time to wake up and sleep. Since on school days, both of my classes start at 9am which means I need to leave my house by 6:30am to catch the 6:50am train and I should reach the city by 8:10 am on a good day. If I want to eat before I leave I need to wake up 5:30am but if I want to do my make up I need to be up 4:30am - 5am so on average I need to be asleep by 10pm -11pm.
4. Drink cold water first thing in the morning
I talked about this so many times in other post but water is supposed to be the first thing you put in your body, even before your morning coffee if you are a coffee drinker. It increases how alert you and hydrates you for the day. Also you get to kick start your water intake for the day.
5. Create a night routine
Over the break I made a schedule to make sure I have time set aside to complete work, take a shower, eat dinner and have relaxing time when I get home from school. For me, I always get home around 7pm when I go to school because my class ends at 5 pm and I catch the train around 5:30 pm. Having a night routine keeps me on track so I can get the same amount of sleep nightly.
6. Create rules for yourself in terms of electronics
My kryptonite would be I used to stay up on Facetime with one of my friends but the problem with that is I can talk about anything with them for hours. So I started to schedule times when I could call people but I always have to close a specific time so I won't mess up my sleeping hours. So if you could, try to have time where you stop replying to texts and don't communicate with anyone. This method applies to all aspects of technology. For instance, If you play video games try to stop playing at least 30 minute from when you head to bed and also avoid playing group games at night, solo is better so you can close at anytime and never play a game that is hard for you to turn off. If you are fellow blogger, don't type on a laptop but if you have an idea pop up, try writing it on paper and you can type it the next day.
7. Don't start watching shows, videos etc. before you sleep
The apps you should never go on at night is Netflix, Youtube, TikTok or Instagram. This is because you either end up binging or in a scrolling hole. I had this problem if I wasn't on the phone with a friend. Instead of waiting to use those apps at the end of the day, I use them during my commute (since I don't drive), while I'm eating, during my showers etc. I basically multitask with tasks that don't require 100% of my attention.
8. Have a specific time of day where you stop having caffeinated drinks
If you know it takes coffee (or another beverage that energizes you) a long time to kick in and then you end up having trouble sleeping at night, that is a sign you need a cutoff time for caffeine. I need to have coffee in the morning before I leave but having a boost between 10am and 11am gives me energy I need so I won't take a nap but also will loose energy by time I'm ready to sleep.
9. Get an alarm clock and set it a distance from your bed
For some people, the alarm on the phone isn't loud enough to wake them up. I always set both my phone and my alarm because I find the phone to be unreliable alone. If you are one of those people who turn off the alarm when you're half asleep, wake up for the last alarm you set and then panic because you are running late, place your phone or alarm clock away from your bed so you have to walk to turn it off. Once you are moving, it will be easier to start your day.
10. Decorate the first place you see in the morning to motivate
You should do this because being reminded of why you are getting up to go the gym, school or work whether it is to be a step closer to your dream job, to getting a better life for you and your family, to be able to travel etc. It makes it easier for you to get up when you can be reminded of a bigger picture. Use pictures of places you want to go, things you want to buy, people you love, your dream house, your fitness inspiration etc.
Becoming a morning person is really important because they say this is a common trait of all people who is successful. Our time is so precious because it is the one thing we can never get back so we need to make the most of it and utilize it to achieve it while also making time for things to bring us joy.
That's all for today! So be sure to like, comment and share this blog post with friends and family if you feel like you've been inspired and also check out other parts of my blog such as my gallery to motivate you and to learn more about me. I hope you are having an amazing morning, day, night etc. whatever time you are reading this and I hope you continue this year with so much happiness, self love and excitement.
Until next time,
xoxo Lay 💋