I’m coming to you at 6:42 am, full of excitement [okay and tired eyes that I’m still rubbing trying to get all of the gunk out of – which can we just talk about, what is THAT stuff and where did it come from overnight?] to spend some quiet time with you. I made a new goal for myself over the weekend to see what happens with my life / days if I would simply wake up an hour, or in my case – an hour and a half, earlier.

After I started working for myself full-time, I developed a habit of n0t getting out of bed until 7:30. This was after falling asleep between 10-11. Do the math – that’s upwards of 9 1/2 hours of sleep or something crazy like that. Don’t get me wrong, it felt nice, but I also think it was too much sleep for myself. Not only that, but by the time I was starting my day, so was everybody else and there’s just something about those hours ahead of the world waking up and hitting the ground running that are extra magical and buzz-worthy in my eyes. So here I am, setting my alarm for 6 am every morning, waking up while it’s still black outside and everybody else in my house is sleeping [side note: snoring dogs are the cutest, oh my word].

So how am I spending my extra time in the mornings you ask? Well, you didn’t ask but if I don’t keep going this is going to make for a pointless blog post and if there’s one thing I don’t want to spend my mornings doing is writing pointless blog posts [psych, that is one of my actual goals to this early morning hour stuff]. Anyhow, here’s what I’m doing:

6:00 – 6:30 am: I start by opening my Calm Meditation app [a friend told me about it and now I’m hooked]. I’ve been doing the 7 days of gratitude meditation which is such a great way to wake up my mind and get it into a positive place immediately. Typically while that’s playing through my headphones [hi, speaking of headphones but Apple AirPods are a GAME CHANGER. I used to make fun of Shawn for wearing them because I thought they were douche city but here I am, living that douche city lifestyle loving every minute of it. They are so good. Moving on]. I get some stretching in while listening because Lord have mercy, stretching is amazing first thing in the morning apparently. Something to say about this Calm app in case you’re interested – I have never fallen asleep faster and more peacefully than when I do the sleep meditations while lying in bed at night. If you have trouble shutting off and falling asleep, you may want to give this a try.

6:30 – 7:00 am: After my little zen time is complete, I hop into my Start Today journal and write down 5 things I’m grateful for along with 10 dreams I made happen [aka 10 goals that I want to accomplish in the next 10 years and yes, it’s re-writing those same things down day after day]. I find myself praying somewhere in between all of this because it’s something about this activity that causes me to want to speak to Jesus about either filling my mind with all of the good, praying for who and what is on my mind and then asking for clarity in my vision for the future.

7:00 – 8:00 am: Uninterrupted work time accompanied by a hot delicious cup of coffee. This is my hour to do any work that I want to do. Not necessarily what’s on my to-do list for the day, but a time to either write a blog post about nothing at all [or something VERY important like my morning routine ;)] Maybe it’s time spent brainstorming something that’s been on my mind or get lost in data and spreadsheets [I love data]. Maybe I pop a few things up on Facebook if I feel so inclined. The world is my oyster in this hour and it’s glorious.

8:00 – 10:00 am: It is somewhere within these hours that I *hopefully* get a workout in and do something about the sweat that follows by showering and getting ready for the day. One of my goals that I write down daily is that I have defined arm muscles and from what I’ve learned is that if the only curls I’m doing are with mugs of coffee or forks full of food, it’s not getting the definition I’m exactly desiring.

After all of these early morning shenanigans, I’m ready for the day and it’s time for all things work, running errands, eating [gosh I love to eat] and going about my normal daily activities.

A few days in and I have to say, this whole early morning routine is turning out to be my most prized [and productive] time of the day. If you’re feeling like you’re stuck in a rut, don’t have enough time in your day, want to wake up slowly and start your day with intention, I totally recommend setting that alarm just a little earlier than you’re used to and incorporating a new habit into your life. Who knows what it could do for you but I have to believe it might just be something good.