No matter what time you set your alarm, do you struggle to get up in the morning? Do you find yourself rushing out the door because you stayed in bed too long?
I battled with this very challenge for a long time. You see, I need to be out the door by 5 a.m. on weekday mornings to make my 5:15 gym class, and it didn’t matter if I got up at 4:40, 4:30, or 4:15, I’d always be running a few minutes late. It drove me crazy.
What gives?? Where is all that extra time going?
If you find yourself asking these same questions, then you’ve come to the right place. Keep reading to learn the simplest strategy to easily get up in the morning and out the door on time.
Can’t Get Up In The Morning? Then Try This
Are you ready for the #1 secret to getting up in the morning? Good news; it’s incredibly easy.
Keep your phone outside of the bedroom. 📵
Yep, that’s it.
I’ve talked in the past about your phone’s blue light, and how it causes sleep disruptions at night. But did you know that sleeping with your phone next to the bed can throw off your entire morning routine, too? It’s true!
I don’t know about you, but when I sleep with my phone on my nightstand, I find myself wasting so much time checking emails and scrolling through Facebook before I even start my day. In fact, it was wasting time on my phone that caused me to run late for the gym each morning.
As I mentioned, it didn’t matter how early I’d set my alarm in the mornings, I’d always be scrambling to get out the door on time. Why? Because when I set my alarm earlier, I’d unintentionally spend all the extra time scrolling through my social media feeds.
For my fellow early risers, you know that at 4:30 a.m. every extra moment of sleep counts. So why on earth was I wasting it scrolling? Heck, I could’ve been sleeping those extra 10 minutes! 🤦♀️
Show of hands: can you relate to this situation? Do you find yourself reading “just one more post” or watching “this one quick video” before you get up in the morning? If so, I challenge you to try my technique.
Simply charge your phone outside of the bedroom. That’s it! I can’t tell you how helpful this simple switch is.
First of all, you avoid wasting 10, 20, or even 30 minutes on your phone when you should be getting ready for the day. What’s more, if you’re like me, you might be driven by the curiosity of who emailed, texted, or updated overnight, which is one more motivation to get up. (This probably reveals the unhealthy addiction I have with my phone, but that’s a problem for another day…)
By keeping my phone downstairs by the coffee maker, I’m inclined to get out of bed, get ready quickly, and head downstairs without wasting time. Then, as I’m waiting for my coffee to brew and for Bruno to go outside, I can check my updates.
I’m telling you, it’s been a game changer.
Possible objections:
But Paula, my phone is my alarm.
I know, I know. Many of us use our phones as alarm clocks. My number one response is this: get a regular alarm clock. You can pick them up almost anywhere.
I personally use this light alarm, which slowly glows in the morning like the sunrise. It makes getting up at 4:30 so much easier since it’s not pitch black in my room. Seriously, I love this thing and recommend it to everyone.
But Paula, I need the phone in my room in case of an emergency.
Yep, I completely understand that. In fact, I’m the same way on the weekends. Because my husband plays in a band on Friday and Saturday nights, I always keep my phone in the room in case he needs to get ahold of me after I’ve gone to sleep.
So what do I do in that situation? I plug in the phone so it’s out of reach. Once I get up in the morning, I’m rarely tempted to crawl back into bed. So by keeping my phone out of reach, I don’t inadvertently waste my Saturday morning scrolling through Facebook in bed. Easy.
So what do you think? Are you ready to give it a shot?
Great!
Then here’s the deal; I challenge you to try this strategy for one week and see how it goes. I’m convinced that it will make a positive impact on your morning routine and make it so much easier to get up in the morning. In fact, I’d love to hear from you after the week is up! Keep me posted. 🙌
Want more strategies to create the perfect morning routine? Check out my post, and then download this morning routine worksheet to help you get the most out of your mornings.
Question:
Do you struggle to get up in the morning? Do you usually sleep with your phone next to the bed? Will you try this challenge? Let me know below!