What time do you wake up? How big of a difference is there between weekends and weekdays (and/or between WFH days and in-office days)? What rituals do you practice when you wake up — and what are your best tips to make waking up easier?
My Waking Up Tips
I have never been an easy person to wake up — and I honestly never thought there was anything remarkable about that. My husband and children have disabused me of this notion, though! My husband tends to get up immediately at first light — he is really not one to sleep in. On the flip side, on my ideal lazy morning I can wake up, then snooze off and on for another hour or two, then finally start reading.
(I still remember one memorable morning when I woke up in my son’s bed when he was around 4, having comforted him with a nightmare or something in the middle of the night – he opened his eyes, looked around the room, said “go Go GOOOOOO!!!” and jumped out of bed. )
My wakeup time is definitely different — on weekdays 6:30 is the absolute latest I can be asleep. Most weekends I wake around 7:30 if my kids let me sleep that long — this contrasts sharply with my pre-kid life where I would regularly sleep until 11 or later on weekends.
I have noticed that Mondays are getting much harder — I want to stay up later, and then the 6:30 wakeup and morning rush comes as a rude surprise. (And then, feeling underslept from the Sun-Mon night, the rest of the week feels like it’s also a struggle.)
So for Mondays, I try to do everything possible to make them as easy as possible — laying out clothes, packing lunches, etc. I’ve only just started taking a melatonin on Sunday night, but I think that may be a keeper for me — going to bed at the correct time is such a gift to myself.
I keep reading that experts advise us not to reach for the phone first thing — but it’s part of my alarm system (don’t ask, I have multiple layers). When my music starts playing, I click the Happy Light on — even if I’ve got the pillow over my head I try to enjoy the music for at least a few minutes. Is it the meditation or journaling the experts advise? Nope, but it’ll do for now.
Readers, how about you — what are your best waking up tips? Do you wake up at different times on different days? What rituals do you practice first thing? Do you have any tips to make it easier?
Stock photo via Stencil.
Kat
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