Carry on Beautiful!

I spent a long time staying up till 4 AM every night and deeply regretting it when I had to get up at 8 AM the next morning, and I didn’t really think that would ever change. I’m just a night owl! I’m more creative at night! Not anymore people, so far this year I haven’t woken up past 9 AM, most mornings I’m up naturally before 7. I thought I’d share how I’ve managed to sort myself out for anyone looking to do the same!

Change how you think.

If you think you’re only creative at night, chances are you’ll only be creative at night. Same goes for if you can only find time to relax or read or whatever it is that keeps you up late. For me, I stayed up late to write or paint usually, so I’ve instead found time in other parts of my day to do it. Maybe I’ll get up and write while I have breakfast or paint while I have time after lunch. I’ve shown myself that I’m not only creative at night, I can be creative any time and I can do the things I’d usually start at 2 AM at 6PM and be done and ready for bed by 10.

Just do it.

We’ve all seen the whole ‘set your alarm 15 mins early every week’ or ‘slowly go to bed earlier’ but I hate taking things slow. On New Year’s Eve I had a bath and a quiet read with a glass of wine and was tucked up in bed for 9:30, waking up naturally at around 6 and just keeping up the pattern. Now I’ve had it for long enough, even if I have an especially late night one night I tend to get up around the same time, I assume because it’s when my body is used to waking up!

Find what you enjoy.

You’ll not want to go to bed if it’s not enjoyable, nor get up for some oatmeal sludge before work, but if you change the little things it can make an impact on the overall experience. I bought a really nice duvet and pillow spray and moved around the bedroom to make it feel more open and relaxing. I bought a coffee maker so that I can have a really good coffee when I wake up. I added a bit of time before bed to read, and when I first wake up I spend about 20 minutes with my coffee and my cats before going on social media or watching YouTube or anything.

Creating a routine is all about finding what works for you and when, hence why this is all a bit vague and not a schedule for you to follow! Take some time to figure out what you can do everyday to make it easier to get out of bed, and it’ll be easier to get into it too at the end of the day.

If you have any tips of your own or if you find any of these tips helpful I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

-Dana