We are all guilty of it. The alarm goes off and you hit snooze. Scratch that. The alarm goes off and you mutter an expletive and then hit snooze. And you hit it again…and again…and then you check every app on your phone and…you hit snooze yet again. If you find yourself falling victim to the pillow every morning (like me) and you’re having a hard time breaking the cycle, then I hope these tips help. I’m not an expert in sleep cycles or life management or any kind of therapeutic regimens (although I am an expert at the art of sleeping itself), I thought it would be helpful for all of us to take a look at this bad habit and find ways to conquer it. At least, in the spirit of the new year.

I came up with 5 ways to get out of bed and conquer your day. I love my bed – it’s so comfy and warm and soft. But I’m tired of my bed getting the best of me. It’s been said that if you change your routine, you change your life. So start small. Incorporate one of these strategies at a time. Champion sleepers like me need all five.

5 Ways to Get Out of Bed and Conquer Your Day

1 – Keep your phone across the room

This is hard for me, because I’m usually checking emails and messages until I shut the light. So my phone is always right there on the nightstand next to me. This just makes it too easy to hit snooze in the morning. If the phone is across the room, you’ll be forced to get up to silence it. This isn’t a new tip, but it definitely works. I always do this when I travel for work because I’m petrified of oversleeping and missing an important meeting.

2 – Get good sleep so you can wake up

I set up a Do Not Disturb on my iPhone that starts at 10pm and goes until 7am. It will silence calls and alerts during that time but my alarm will still go off. You can just turn this on from your settings or schedule a time like I do. There is nothing worse than being woken up by bright flashing lights or sounds from your phone. In case of emergencies, I allow calls from my Favorites. This is also something you can set up in the settings. Since my husband travels a lot, I like to know that he can get through to me at any time if needed.

3 – Perform a “Brain Dump”

This is related to number 2. If we don’t get good sleep then waking up is that much harder. Sometimes my mind is racing with all the things I have to do, what needs picking up at the store, who I need to call tomorrow for work, and of course blog content! To help with this I perform a brain dump. I write down everything that is swimming around my head into a small journal I keep in my nightstand. There is something powerful that occurs when you do this, as if the thoughts and stress literally travel down your arm from your brain and out of your pen onto the page. I am a list maker and this strategy helps my brain to calm down and allows me to sleep.

4 – Down some H2O

We are dehydrated when we first wake up. Think about how many hours have passed without drinking water. I started keeping a bottle of water on my night stand for those times when I wake up with a headache (unfortunately I suffer from migraines) but I hardly ever finish it off. Now I drink almost an entire bottle of water immediately after waking. It’s amazing the difference I feel. Like I’ve shocked my system back to life. I use an insulated tumbler to keep it cold throughout the night.

5 – Get clean ASAP

Allow yourself to look forward to your shower. I always shower in the morning and it helps to get me out of bed. Put some nice soaps or luxurious body washes in there and soak it up. I could languish in a hot shower for hours if you let me, but that’s not helping me conquer my day. After you’ve enjoyed your morning mini-spa, try turning the water a little cool for a minute or so before you get out. Maybe don’t try this in the winter, but otherwise it’s a good strategy to get you going.

BUT…since we are talking about sleep, I am excited to share these pajama sets with you! I have been looking to update my sleepwear and found these comfy sets for under $30! The top is extremely soft and could be worn by itself, but since the weather has been so cold here lately the leggings are a must. I don’t think you can beat two pieces for under $30. That’s a steal in my book! I’ve linked a couple of the other sets available below, as well as my coffee mug because it’s pretty cute, too. And I’d like to just mention how brave I’m being by not wearing makeup in these photos. Yikes!

SHOP PAJAMA SETS

Well that’s it! Those are my 5 ways to get out of bed and conquer your day. I hope they help! I’d love to know some ways you get motivated in the morning. Is it working out? Do you make time for coffee? Sleep addicts, unite!

xo – Erin

Related post: 5 Things I’m Excited About in 2018

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5 Ways to Get Out of Bed and Conquer Your Day appeared first on Cathedrals and Cafés blog.