how to get the f*** outta bed
If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a million times: morning routines are important, start your day off right, join the 5 AM club, rise and conquer, rise and grind—it’s all the same to you.
You’ve probably heard the notion so many times from influencers, coaches, and peers that you’re thinking it’s as cliche as the rest of that “woo-woo” self-help junk.
You’ve set your alarm a few hours early, that one time, and you tried to follow a routine...but a few days later, you decided that hitting snooze was more valuable than hopping up + getting the day started. That’s usually the case with building new habits: before you’ve done it enough times to make it actually habitual, your ego—who is not you, read more on that here—convinces you that it’s futile to make that change, and you’d rather just get some sleep. That’s what you need to have a successful day, right? More sleep!
Okay, that’s definitely true, 7 to 8 hours of rest every night drastically improves your mental and physical health. You’re gonna hate it, but I’d recommend going to bed earlier rather than sleeping in later. Easier said than done, that’s true. I know I told you that life is very easy, but I also told you that you’ll have to fight for your right to happiness—every.single.day.
The obstacle between you and reaping the benefits of your ideal morning routine is your own brain.
That tricky bastard will have a myriad of excuses on why you should sleep in: you’re tired, you’ve got nothing to do until later in the day, you’ll try again tomorrow, it’s too cold + too hot + too rainy + too comfy to get up right now. In the first five seconds of morning consciousness, these arguments are very convincing. Of course you’ll side with the guy telling you that you don’t have to get up, that there’s X amount of reasons to stay in bed.
That argument comes from your comfort zone, the dreaded place where we avoid growth + change + up-leveling because we are scared of failure or scared of feeling uncomfortable. That’s a basic human instinct, to avoid pain and move toward pleasure, so there’s absolutely nothing wrong with you for having those instincts + urges. But, the one thing in your control, is how you decide to think and how you decide to act in response to the urge to stay in your comfort zone.
How does your comfort zone secretly serve you?
Is it just keeping you safe?
What are you gaining from that safety, stability, comfort?
I want you to really sit down and journal these answers out. Perhaps there’s some inner work—there always is—you’ll need to accomplish around your willingness to change or to try new things before you’re able to start implementing new habits. Do not sweat it, the journey to learning who you are and why you do the things you do is lifelong...there really is no rush.
So this week is going to be a challenge, where I’m asking you to try on a morning routine and see how it fits.
That’s 7 mornings in a row where you’re committing to rolling out of bed and completing a series of tasks before you set off on your duties + job + schoolwork + parenting, etc. I’ll let you in on a secret I’ve found out in the few years I’ve been trying to perfect my morning routine:
Completing those morning tasks is not a chore… it’s doing the things that make you feel good.
Yes! Don’t you want to feel good? I know I do. Your ego thinks sleeping in makes you feel good, but we are flawed and often pretty wrong about what will make us feel good—here’s a great episode of the Happiness Lab Podcast that explains this paradox. The things that make us feel good are often things we initially strive to avoid: sweating through an early workout, carving out the time to sit still and read, finally picking up that meditation practice you’ve been secretly wanting to try. These things are beneficial to your health, wellbeing, and happiness—even if it’s delayed happiness you’ve gained. Doing things that make you feel good first thing in the morning, doing these things intentionally and from a place of compassion, allows you to start your day at your highest vibration and carry that sense of accomplishment into your looming to-do list.
That’s the beauty of a set morning routine, especially one that you repeat each morning: the same tasks, in the same amount of time, with the same degree of pleasure. This ritual is the springboard for your mood the rest of the day, because you already feel accomplished + fulfilled before the influences of the external world (nagging boss, stand-still traffic, bottomless email inbox) can tell you how to feel. Your morning ritual is where you decide how you feel about the day ahead, and that feeling is entirely in your control—no one thing or circumstance should change your mind.
Because this is about taking care of you and your energy first thing in the morning, here are my tips for making this ritual as positive + sacred as possible:
Set yourself up for success the night before:
Fold your workout clothes and put them where you can grab them easily—you’re more likely to keep that promise to yourself (I’m gonna workout in the morning!) if you see the clothes waiting for you: imagine putting them away, knowing you broke that promise—not a good feeling.
Make a to-do list for the next day. You’re less likely to feel overwhelmed first thing in the AM about everything you need to get done if you’ve already gotten it down on paper—or digitally as well, I use the Any.do website to make all of my to-do lists. It’s insanely gratifying to check things off, and easier to digest the day when it’s broken into actionable goals.
When you set that alarm for your goal wake-up time, try putting your phone on airplane mode before shutting your eyes. This will keep you from seeing notifications when your alarm goes off, the less distractions when you’re vulnerable + tired, the better.
If you can, try to crawl into bed 7-8 hours before the alarm you’ve set for the AM. Getting a proper night of sleep is crucial for warding off the “we should sleep in” excuse. When you wake up feeling well-rested, you’re more likely to feel the motivation to get out of bed. Although, that motivation won’t feel natural at first and that’s why my next tip is so important.
If the “getting out of bed” part is your biggest obstacle, I recommend the 5 second rule.
The 5 Second Rule is a book and a mental practice developed by Mel Robbins—read more in her words here. I’ll try to sum it up quickly, but I do recommend reading the article and eventually the book.
“When you feel yourself hesitate before doing something that you know you should do, count 5-4-3-2-1-GO and move towards action.There is a window that exists between the moment you have an instinct to change and your mind killing it. It’s a 5 second window. And it exists for everyone.” (Mel Robbins).
I personally take this rule very literally. On days when the motivation to get up is not strong enough naturally, I will count down from 5 out loud after turning my alarm off. Once I hit 1, I sit up as quickly as possible and get on my feet before my ego can argue otherwise. Once I’m up and away from my bed, it’ll be much more difficult to talk myself into laying back down. I then count down from 5 when I’m eyeing my workout gear: hit 1, immediately start changing clothes. There’s no time for thinking here, just doing. Once I have the clothes on, there isn’t much stopping me from crushing my morning Chloe Ting home workout.
No checking notifications—at all...the entire time.
Do not read a text, a tweet, a DM, not a single post or update until you’ve finished your morning routine. Having your phone on airplane mode is crucial here. Until you’ve built up the habit + willpower over time, which I’ve done myself, the airplane mode will work as a barrier between you and the urge to check socials instead of working out + journaling + meditating. Airplane mode will affect your ability to use wifi, so I make sure I’ve downloaded my workout playlist, my morning podcast queue, and my pump up playlist in advance—which leads me to my next tip.
What you consume first thing in the morning is going to set the tone for your day, that includes media + music.
I’ve subscribed to a handful of motivating morning podcasts—a list I’d love to share soon—that make me feel empowered and teach me something new… all while I’m sipping coffee, cooking breakfast, and doing my makeup. What I learn in that hour of podcast time are things I intentionally carry into the rest of my day, things that will challenge me to show up as a better version of myself. If music does that for you, go ahead and put together a playlist of your favorite high vibe songs and have that blasting in your headphones while you eat breakfast, get ready, go for a walk, etc.
It is your routine, so have fun putting it together.
Ask yourself, truly, what are a handful of tasks that will set you up for success today?
For example, I’ll give you my own list of tasks. I want to stress that this really is just my example, I’m not saying you HAVE to do pilates first thing in the morning, but I am suggesting that you do what feels right + good for you—not your ego though, who thinks it’s good and right to sleep in.
My personal routine, which will ultimately shift and change as my life shifts and changes, has been the same for the past 5 months:
4:40 AM: Alarm goes off, 5 second rule propels me out of bed.
5AM: Workout gear: on. Hair: tied up. Yoga mat: laid down. Chloe Ting workout circuit: queued up the night before, just waiting for me to hit play.
~6AM: Workout + morning stretch complete, hit brew on the coffee pot (water and coffee added the night before—setting yourself up for simplicity + success in the evening really helps), let the pot brew while I’m taking a shower.
~6:20: Pick out a cute outfit for the day, opt to change into it instead of throwing back on my “lazy clothes.” Pour my first cup of coffee, start my podcast queue in my headphones, enjoy the first few sips on my balcony. After a moment of enjoying the morning air, go into the bathroom and do my makeup for the day (simple stuff because quarantine, but still nice to feel a little more put together for work each day).
~7AM: Sit down, in front of my vision board, and dig into a big ass breakfast! I eat the same thing for breakfast everyday—read more about what I eat in a day here. Whatever breakfast you decide on, make sure it’s food that will fuel your body + mind (protein, whole grains, fruit and or healthy fats). To make a ritual out of it, sit down and intentionally savor each bite, thank yourself for the delicious meal and the quality time you spent enjoying it.
~7:30AM: I burn incense, grab a crystal, and meditate for 5 minutes. After meditating, I’ll sit at my desk to do my morning pages and my morning gratitude—get some insight into my daily journaling prompts here.
~8AM: This is when I finally shut off airplane mode: I reply to texts, check my email, sift through social media notifications, and knock out any admin work for into-it (placing print orders, drafting my content for the day, etc.). And that marks the end of my morning ritual, I immediately dive into working remotely + knocking out my daily to-do list…. And I do it already feeling so accomplished, empowered, and aligned.
Broken down, my ideal morning routine accomplishes these tasks:
-Workout + Stretch
-Shower
-Skincare routine + makeup routine
-Cook + eat a healthy breakfast
-Meditate
-Journal + Gratitude
Unless I’m having an “out of the ordinary day” (like being on vacation), these 6 tasks are absolute nonnegotiable. I do them every morning, good mood or bad mood, rain or shine. If I do not follow this routine, something out of my control (sickness, emergencies) is the culprit.
On the weekends, the time I wake up absolutely shifts. Before you think I’m crazy for getting up at 4:40 every day, know that I make that time a priority because I work full time from home during set hours of the day. On Saturdays and Sundays, that alarm time totally varies depending on the time I went to bed the night before. I also make Thursdays and Sundays my rest days, so I gain extra sleep in place of working out.
To get started, I recommend making a list (similar to my example) and testing out that list first thing tomorrow morning.
Perfecting this routine is going to take a lot of trial and error...and a lot of patience. If you can accomplish all of your tasks in just one hour, then that’s totally fine! I only stretch mine out over so much time because I really like to relish the slowness + quietude of the morning. This routine is yours, and it is about doing what makes you feel good—whatever amount of time that takes.
Hopefully the tips I’ve given you will help combat some of the common excuses + distractions that deter you from building a morning routine that you love. Let me know in the comments or drop me a DM on Instagram what your ideal morning routine looks like! I’m obsessed with starting the day on the right foot, so I’m always here to encourage and inspire you to take care of yourself and your energy.
It’s also important to note that no one is perfect
You shouldn’t beat yourself up if you wind up hitting snooze every now and again. A mantra that helps me “get back on track” after I’ve faltered is: The sun will rise, and we will try again.
Write that down and put it somewhere you can see it first thing in the AM, use the 5 second rule to get yourself going, and do something kind for yourself every morning. That’s what everyday magic is all about, thinking of + doing what feels good.
You’re a badass, and by the end of this week, I know you’ll already see the benefits of maintaining and practicing a solid morning routine. See you bright and early, fam!