Beep, beep, beep.

The jarring sound of your alarm rings through the air, interrupting your peaceful sleep. Dread fills your veins as you realize it’s time to wake up and embark on whatever tasks the day has in store.

While mornings can be deflating, there are steps you can take to make them more bearable.

Though I’ve never considered myself to be a morning person, following these simple strategies has enabled me to rise feeling less annoyed and more productive.

Stay away from your phone

Like many people, the first thing I used to do every morning was check my phone. Before I got out of bed, I spent several minutes responding to text messages and scrolling through Twitter to catch up on whatever I missed while I slept.

But recently, I realized my early morning screen time wasn’t making it any easier for me to motivate myself to get up. If anything, it demotivated me, serving as a reminder of everything that awaited me once I eventually crawled out of bed.

Instead of overwhelming myself with notifications first thing in the morning, I spend a few minutes focusing on the simple task of waking up. I wash my face, brush my teeth, and make myself a cup of coffee before I start dwelling on my morning agenda.

It’s helpful to begin the day with a predictable and uncomplicated routine. It gives me the chance to go through the motions before dealing with whatever challenges the day will ultimately have to offer.

Before you check your phone, give yourself complete a routine or ritual of your own. Whether it’s enjoying a cup of coffee, following a specific skincare regime or doing something else you enjoy, the act will allow you to wake up without feeling immediately overloaded.

Forget the snooze button

Repeatedly hitting the snooze button has always been one of my worst habits.

Usually, I set my first alarm to go off almost two hours before I need to be awake because I know I’ll wind ignoring the first several attempts to rouse me from bed.

But the snooze button doesn’t do me any favors. I rarely (if ever) fall back asleep after the initial alarm goes off. Instead, I lie there in a state of half sleep, dreading the moment my alarm will ring again.

To make better use of my mornings, I’ve limited the number of alarms I use in the morning to two.

Though it’s tempting to continually press snooze, it isn’t an effective use of time. The rest I get after I first wake up doesn’t make me feel rested. The only purpose it serves is making mornings more difficult.

It’s better not to get caught in the cycle of wake-snooze-repeat. Limiting your alarms will help you get out of bed before you spend too much time dwelling on how much you’d rather be sleeping.

Create specific goals for the day

I am a big believer in goal setting. Having goals provides me with the sense of balance and structure. But most importantly, it helps me begin each day with a purpose.

When I get up in the morning, one of the first things I do is create a short list of daily goals that I keep in my planner.

The goals are nothing special — most of them are things like “Put away laundry” or “Read a book.” But what I’ve found is that having a series of goals keeps me on track and allows me to have more productive mornings.

Besides, is there any better feeling that putting a checkmark next to a completed task in a list of goals?

How do you feel about mornings?

Sincerely,

Paige

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