"I am neither an early bird nor a night owl. I am some form of permanently exhausted pigeon" is a quote that I've seen a few times and always makes me laugh. It's just so relevant to me!
Back at school and college I was a bit of a night owl, I'd go to bed super late and then struggle the next morning. Quite often those nights were productive, tidying my room or writing my essays. Sometimes it was just dancing around my room to my favourite songs! That was when my brain was most awake, and there were fewer distractions because everyone else was asleep! Same for most of uni. There were more than a couple of times (read: about 100 times) that I'd stay up to 3am finishing essays due in the next day. Maybe part of my being a night owl comes from not being so good at time management... If it's got a deadline, you can bet I'm not getting it done before then! Last minute Larry right here 🙋 My mornings therefore, on days I didn't absolutely have to get up, were total write offs. I'd sleep til midday on weekends and most weekdays would have to rush like crazy to make it on time because I'd stay in bed until the last possible minute. I might have stayed up late and procastinated sleeping, but once I was in bed I did not want to leave.
Then some things changed in my life and instead of being wide awake at night, I craved my bed from about 6pm. Well, actually it was all day if I'm being honest, but at about 6 I was ready to go to sleep. I started going on nights out at uni less and less because by 12am I'd be a zombie and have to leave early alone, so it was less effort to just skip the night out all together. I still stayed up late because I had essays to finish, or because I just couldn't sleep despite being exhausted, but I would do it from my bed whenever possible. This got me in a really bad cycle where both my mornings and my evenings were pretty much wasted time. Now I've got a full time job, mornings are something I have to deal with whether I want to or not! (And trust me, I'd rather not.) I'm really working on getting into a routine to make mornings a bit easier and more enjoyable, especially as they're getting darker and colder! I used to rush around and then run for the train and then feel stressed all the way to the office, and I decided that needed to change. So, as I mentioned before, I got up earlier and gave myself more time for the commuting part of my morning. This is definitely working in making my commute less stressful, but I still haven't quite perfected the bit between getting out of bed and leaving the house. The rushing around to leave the house on time just took place ten minutes earlier than before!! After about a month or so of trying to get into a routine, I'm actually not too bad at getting out of bed as soon as my alarm goes off now. Get up, dressing gown on, kettle on, wash my face. That usually wakes me up enough to stop me going back to bed! Then I have my tea and toast before I finish getting ready. I never thought I'd be the kind of person to have the time to eat breakfast before I left the house, but it actually makes a huge difference and helps my brain function better. Another thing I've found really helpful is picking out my clothes and packing my bag the night before - the less things to think about in the morning the better! Of course, there are still some mornings that I snooze the alarm but they're definitely fewer than before. Now I'm just working on how much time I need. As an extreme overthinker, too much time in the morning leaves me sitting around getting anxious about the day ahead and actually makes it harder for me to leave the house. However, too little time in the morning means I'm stressed out and it throws off my whole day. The day I find the sweet spot will be a good day! I think it's around about 45 minutes between my alarm going off and the time I need to leave, but it's a work in progress. Any tips on how to make mornings easier would definitely be appreciated! Thanks for reading! Becky x
Back at school and college I was a bit of a night owl, I'd go to bed super late and then struggle the next morning. Quite often those nights were productive, tidying my room or writing my essays. Sometimes it was just dancing around my room to my favourite songs! That was when my brain was most awake, and there were fewer distractions because everyone else was asleep! Same for most of uni. There were more than a couple of times (read: about 100 times) that I'd stay up to 3am finishing essays due in the next day. Maybe part of my being a night owl comes from not being so good at time management... If it's got a deadline, you can bet I'm not getting it done before then! Last minute Larry right here 🙋 My mornings therefore, on days I didn't absolutely have to get up, were total write offs. I'd sleep til midday on weekends and most weekdays would have to rush like crazy to make it on time because I'd stay in bed until the last possible minute. I might have stayed up late and procastinated sleeping, but once I was in bed I did not want to leave.
Then some things changed in my life and instead of being wide awake at night, I craved my bed from about 6pm. Well, actually it was all day if I'm being honest, but at about 6 I was ready to go to sleep. I started going on nights out at uni less and less because by 12am I'd be a zombie and have to leave early alone, so it was less effort to just skip the night out all together. I still stayed up late because I had essays to finish, or because I just couldn't sleep despite being exhausted, but I would do it from my bed whenever possible. This got me in a really bad cycle where both my mornings and my evenings were pretty much wasted time. Now I've got a full time job, mornings are something I have to deal with whether I want to or not! (And trust me, I'd rather not.) I'm really working on getting into a routine to make mornings a bit easier and more enjoyable, especially as they're getting darker and colder! I used to rush around and then run for the train and then feel stressed all the way to the office, and I decided that needed to change. So, as I mentioned before, I got up earlier and gave myself more time for the commuting part of my morning. This is definitely working in making my commute less stressful, but I still haven't quite perfected the bit between getting out of bed and leaving the house. The rushing around to leave the house on time just took place ten minutes earlier than before!! After about a month or so of trying to get into a routine, I'm actually not too bad at getting out of bed as soon as my alarm goes off now. Get up, dressing gown on, kettle on, wash my face. That usually wakes me up enough to stop me going back to bed! Then I have my tea and toast before I finish getting ready. I never thought I'd be the kind of person to have the time to eat breakfast before I left the house, but it actually makes a huge difference and helps my brain function better. Another thing I've found really helpful is picking out my clothes and packing my bag the night before - the less things to think about in the morning the better! Of course, there are still some mornings that I snooze the alarm but they're definitely fewer than before. Now I'm just working on how much time I need. As an extreme overthinker, too much time in the morning leaves me sitting around getting anxious about the day ahead and actually makes it harder for me to leave the house. However, too little time in the morning means I'm stressed out and it throws off my whole day. The day I find the sweet spot will be a good day! I think it's around about 45 minutes between my alarm going off and the time I need to leave, but it's a work in progress. Any tips on how to make mornings easier would definitely be appreciated! Thanks for reading! Becky x
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