Expand Time

I am going to let you in on a little secret - I recently discovered how to expand time. 

How did I do it?

By waking up at 5:30am. 

Now I know that some of you may not like to hear that answer, but I promise this is not another post touting the benefits of waking up super early and trying to convert you to be a morning person. 

The truth is that I have always loved early mornings. Even in high school and college, I found it difficult to sleep past 8am.

After a summer of waking up later and wondering where all the time went, I knew it was time to recommit to one of my favorite habits - waking up before the sun rises. 

While getting up this early allows me to journal, exercise, and meditate before the day really gets going, that isn’t why I love it so much. I love the peace, the quiet, the opportunity to be in my own energy, and the ability to ease into the day. It allows me to be intentional and to feel accomplished, no matter what happens the rest of the day. 

There is a special type of magic that comes with being up at the crack of dawn. Plus I always appreciate a beautiful sunrise. 

I will admit that there are some downsides that come with waking up early, the biggest of course being the fact that you have to start to wind down and go to sleep kind of early to ensure that you are getting enough sleep. But for me, it is worth it. 

Maybe you are not a morning person. You have tried it and you hated it. Or maybe you are also an early bird, but your current lifestyle does not allow you to have that intentional time first thing when you wake up. 

I would still encourage you to try to find time when you can be intentional. Give yourself the space to do those things that are important to you and help you be at your best. Whether it is late at night or during your lunch break or after you drop your kids off at school. Find your time and do everything you can to guard it. 

And if you are trying to become a morning person, my biggest tip, besides simply going to bed earlier, is to find something you look forward to in the morning. Once you get excited about what is awaiting you when your alarm starts blaring, it makes it that much easier to skip hitting snooze.