Archives for May 2016

I’ve never met an adult who couldn’t use an extra 5 minutes of sleep. But I’ve also met people who love to wake up early and seize the day. In fact, I never thought that I’d become a morning person, but I have. 

You see, I used to believe that mornings and evenings belonged to different people. The early birds actually enjoyed rolling out of bed before sunrise, while night owls found themselves most productive once most others had gone to bed.

What I’ve discovered more recently, though, is the desire to take charge of my days– and weeks– and I’ve realized that it all starts with mornings. Mornings are when we set the tone for the remaining hours. We wake up for whatever is most important to us.

So, the challenge is to be train ourselves to wake up for that most important thing.

Why I’ve fallen in love with mornings

Note that this article is not just how to become a morning person; it’s about becoming a morning person, and loving it. I’ve come to love that quiet hour I get at home without feeling particularly rushed. I love arriving at work without the urge to inject more caffeine into my arteries. I love having the choice in the morning to decide what is going to matter that day.

In other words, mornings offer benefits that evenings simply don’t. Here are a few:

• The opportunity to do your best at something that matters. You won’t be tired from a whole day.
• The quietness in which to reflect, plan, pray, and hope for a day that exceeds expectations.
• The calmness that is free of unfinished work from a busy day.
• The option to examine any stress or emotion before the start of a long day.

Becoming a morning person is not an easy goal to achieve. Like I said, we could all use that extra 5 minutes (or hour) to snooze. But the productivity and intentionality that comes from an early morning can easily offset the late nights that result from lack of planning and procrastination.

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