Wake Up On Time Everyday
Don’t Succumb to Temptation
Sleeping-in is a huge temptation when you first become self-employed. This may seem like it should be one of the perks of working from home. Since you no longer have a commute, an extra hour of sleep could be easily justified, but you would be wrong. Disciplining yourself to wake up on time everyday is vital for your success.
Your newly found freedom can become a problem if you are not careful. One tap of the snooze button for just a few more minutes sleep is no big deal, but you may find that you end up hitting it again and again. The result is that instead of an extra hour, you sleep away the morning (or more).
This means . . .
- You will have to work until midnight to make up the lost time.
- OR – You will have a short day and not accomplish what you need to accomplish.
Either way, if you let this continue, you will definitely have a problem – and success may elude you.
Tips on How to Wake Up on Time Everyday
Retire Earlier
The best way to wake up early (and feel rested) is to go to bed at a reasonable hour. As a general rule, most adults need between 7 to 9 hours to function well.
If you are a night owl, you could go to sleep at 1:00 a.m. and get up at 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. and do very well. But . . . if you go to bed later and still get up at 8:00 or 9:00 a.m., you will begin to fight drowsiness and fatigue.
Find a schedule that fits your lifestyle and personality (and includes plenty of sleep), and stick to it.
Wake Up with the Sun
Leave your shutters or curtains open just a little so the morning sun can shine into your bedroom – and you can see the trees outside your window. When you let natural light awaken you, it literally brightens your day – unlike the blaring sound of an alarm clock!
Learn to Ease Yourself Out of Bed
It is not necessary to jump out of bed the minute you wake up. Open your eyes, stretch luxuriously, pick up your phone and read through your email, stop off at your favorite forum, or browse through the newest pins on Pinterest. You will find that enjoying a few minutes of leisurely reading helps get your eyes wide open and makes getting up much easier.
Remember – you no longer have to rush around, grab your morning coffee and rush to catch a train, or drive to work. You are now self-employed and can move at your own comfortable pace. Enjoy every minute.
Practice CBT
Finally, if you are still struggling, look into CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) – a fantastic psychotherapeutic tool that can help you change the way you think about your behaviors and bring about numerous health benefits – both psychological and physical.
Cognitive restructuring involves analyzing your thoughts – identifying the ones that are creating harmful behavior patterns; and replacing them with thoughts that promote and support positive behaviors.
In the context of this posting, a useful thought in connection of waking up on time would be to think about the way you felt last time you overslept: rushed, stressed, sluggish, grubby and with a sore back most likely – plus, the time you lost from your work day. When you focus on the problems sleeping late creates rather than how comfy you are in bed, it will be easier to get up, I promise.
Enjoy the pleasantries that can be part of the waking up process and start your day feeling good about yourself and your new freedom as “the boss.” It truly is a NEW DAY – EVERY DAY!
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