A night owl lifestyle probably has its benefits; however, it really can’t be sustained for a long time. At some point or another, you will realize that it is not doing you a lot of good in life and you will wish to change it.
Some people enjoy working at night; they feel more productive. But when I compare them with a morning person, I see a vast difference in the productivity. The morning persons win in this category, and later in every other just because they learned how to seize the day.
Moreover, I believe that every morning person was a night owl at one stage of his life.
If you are here because you wish to change your bad habit (and I say bad habit on purpose) and to become a morning person, that is great!
I have been there, and I know what am I talking.
Staying up late to study, play video games, or stare at my favorite TV shows transformed me into a night person. By ages 18, 19, and my early 20’s, I had managed to become a fully-grown night owl.
Living the life of a night owl brought me nothing. And I mean nothing! While the rest of the world was busy going to sleep and looking forward to the next day, I was playing video games and thinking about how I hated the morning.
Slowly and gradually, I have managed to change that. I still enjoy staying up late. However, I do it only on special weekdays such as Fridays or Saturdays. For the rest of my weekdays, I am a morning person.
So, when someone asks a question…
Is it Possible to Become A Morning Person?
I will fire YES straight away!
After a lot of months of hard effort, I managed to win over my morning grudge and to transform myself from night owl to a morning person.
It was one of the hardest challenges I gave myself. The habit of being up late was deeply embedded in my behavior, and it took a lot of fight to change that.
The critical thing I learned in the process was that our belief in something would determine whether it is going to happen, or we will bang our head against the wall. If you can’t get up in the morning, it is probably because you believe that you will not benefit from such an action. Or you think you naturally can’t wake up early.
I meet so many people who tell me they CAN’T wake up in the morning. And now when I think about it, they couldn’t, just because they felt so. The difference in our attitudes determines what we can or can’t do.
Another important thing I have learned is that mornings and success in life are very closely connected. However, I will explain why at the end of this post.
Before we begin, I would like to share with you a quote from one of my mentors in life.
“I never met a person who wakes up at noon and wins the day!” Bob Proctor
10 Tips for Becoming a Morning Person
If you are going to take with you at least a half of this list, there is a good chance you will manage to become a morning person.
I based this list on my own experience during the process. Some of the tips will work for some of you, while for some they will be pure nonsense. However, do yourself a favor and try.
It all starts with the most important one…
Have a Strong Reason Why to Wake up Early
You have to have an emotionally strong reason to get up and get going. Working on a dream or goal would be an excellent example! When you have something like a goal in life, it can motivate you enough to shut off the alarm clock, uncover, and get out of bed at the first sound of the alarm.
The decision to stay in bed after the alarm has gone off is one of the first signs of a person who is goalless. Instead of being that person, get up and chase some dreams!
Make a Firm Decision
You have to be able to slam your fist and say, “I am doing this!”. When I say slam, I mean slam! The size of your determination and purpose will play a significant role in the process.
If you don’t make an agreement with yourself, who else then would you do so with?
When you finally make the decision to become a morning person, the next few tips will help you to chase away the night owl from your life.
Go to Bed Early
It sounds simple when I say it, but in reality, it is quite difficult. Especially if you have a longtime habit of staying up late.
The thing is, at some stage of your life you have developed the habit of staying up late. If you understand that you are not born like that, you will appreciate the fact that you can form a new habit of going to bed early.
My advice is to keep your focus on the benefits of the morning rather than on reasons why you shouldn’t get up early.
Cut on Coffee and Sugar
I think I don’t have to explain why?
Coffee, which contains caffeine, and sugar are energy-boosting. Cut off the source of energy and you will be able to fall asleep within a reasonable time. Don’t eat a bar of chocolate at 10 p.m. and have a cup of coffee with it. Cut out the RedBull, Monster, and others from your meal plan.
The intake of sugar during the day, not only in the evening, can have a considerable effect on your ability to fall asleep in a reasonable time of the evening.
Water is a source of life. And water can be as energizing as a cup of coffee or chocolate, if not even more! Plus, the water will not keep you up at night time.
Eat at Least 2 Hours Before Going to Bed
The same rule as the one above applies to your dinner. Try to eat at least two hours before bed so you can burn that energy before bedtime. Try to eat light food and smaller portions than usual.
You are preparing your body for rest. While resting you are not burning the same amount of energy, and logical thing to do is to eat less than usual.
Who knows, maybe you will lose a pound or two.
Avoid TV, Computer, or any Screen an Hour Before Bed
Oh boy! Now we are getting tough!
Watching your favorite Tv show before bed, or playing a video game, makes you mentally stay in it for a long time after you finish. It tires your mind. A tired brain will have a hard time waking up in the morning.
So do your brain a favor and…
Get Some Fresh Air Every Evening
Instead of TV and computer, go outside and take a walk around the neighborhood. By being physically active before bed, you can burn some energy.
Also, walking increases mental activity, so you can have an excellent opportunity to empty your mind every evening. An empty mind is a peaceful mind. A peaceful mind wakes up rested in the morning.
Warm Shower Helps
To boost the effects of your walk, take a warm bath before bed. Heat from the water will relax your body. When you are completely relaxed, you will have no problem with going to bed early.
Read Before Going to Sleep
Just before closing your eyes, take a good book and read for 30 mins. Reading, as well as watching TV, will tire your brain. But at least you will fill your mind with some more valuable information than you can usually get from TV.
I have some excellent titles in my BOOKS section.
The last tip is GOLD!
Create Morning Rituals
Since I have learned the fact that the way how I begin my day influences the rest of it, I discovered an entirely new world.
Many people, probably you as well, wake up because they have to wake up and go to work. I can imagine that you are not a fan of your work which immediately puts you in a negative state first thing in a day. But if you wake up because you want to wake up, then it is an entirely different set of thought, feeling, and actions. Then, even your job becomes something you will enjoy, or at least you will not feel bad because of it.
I discovered a significant difference in my evenings if I began my day with a morning ritual. In other words, I have a set of tasks which I perform every morning, therefore, every evening I know why I have to wake up.
If you have a dream or goal, you can create a morning ritual around it. The feeling of excitement and anticipation will make you jump out of your bed immediately. Even if you stay up late sometimes, it will not matter because the adrenalin rush will wake you up in a millisecond.
Knowing about and creating my own morning ritual changed my life like night and day!
Learn more about morning rituals and how they can transform your life.
Now, here are some benefits if you decide to do so…
The Benefits of Waking up Early in the Morning
As we know already, a night owl lifestyle will do you no good. On the other hand, some fantastic benefits await you if you decide to wake up and start your day early in the morning.
You will experience:
- more energy
- fulfilled days
- ability to accomplish more
- better relationships
- stronger mind
- better health
- more success in life
- more money
And a lot more will come to you when you decide to trade your night owl life for a morning roster.
A lot of people who are highly successful in their lives go to bed earlier than others, and they wake up before everyone. I don’t know why, but there is something in that feeling of being busy at work while others are still busy sleeping.
There is truth in the old saying…
The Morning Shows How the Day Will Be
As I promised at the beginning of the post, I will explain why mornings and success are closely connected.
You see, when you wake up late, everyone is already working, while you are just beginning. This action sends a negative message to your subconscious mind, making you feel behind everyone else. Later on, you will carry that feeling with you all day long.
However, on the contrary, if you wake up before everyone else, with determination to work on your goal, and with enthusiasm to use the given day, you will develop the feeling of success.
Success is nothing but a feeling at the end of the day.
So why not begin and end your day with the same feeling?!
If you wish to learn more about how to create morning rituals that breed success, make sure you check out my post “THE MORNING RITUALS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE.”
Hope to see you on the other side!
If you ever need a hand or have any questions, feel free to leave them below and I will be more than happy to help you out.
All the best,
Ivan
yourpersonaldevelopment.org
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This information is out of this world. I am one of those people who have developed the habit of staying up late when I am working on my dreams but I never knew being a morning person can actually benefit me. The problem is that I enjoy working until it is the next morning because I always feel I have accomplished a lot.
It is true that you can tend to wake up very early when you have a burning desire to achieve your goals, It happened to me when I was doing my degree (I really wanted to get it).
However after getting it it seemed like my enthusiasm to wake up vanished due to the lack of desire of work.
I have now been very optimistic in waking up since I am working to get myself out of the rat race.
Also I am using the principles you gave in your other article where you talked about principles to use to get out of the rat race.
Thanx
Hi Thabo,
You see, I was doing the same thing. I was working on my stuff until I knock my self out with the feeling of accomplishment. One thing I realized is that I was burning too much mental energy at once. I thought if I don’t finish it today I maybe won’t tomorrow. Stupid way of thinking! We must pace our power and be aware we have an unlimited supply of it if we are working on something which we like to do. The positive feeling of doing it generates more energy. I remember how I was skipping my meals just because I thought I would lose my work if I go and grab a bite.
One man told me that I can accomplish a lot more if I do one hour each day for 30 days instead of hitting the all-nighter for couple times in those 30 days. I listen to his advice I my productivity went up! A successful athlete trains a little bit every day, not sometimes for all day.
Now, your enthusiasm was present because you had a worthy goal in life you were striving to achieve. You had a strong desire in you. As well, that is why you got your degree after all. The desire to achieve a worthy goal is a dominant fuel. I have a great post about how to set worthy goals in life that will lift you up from bed 356! Make sure you read it.
https://yourpersonaldevelopment.org/set-goals-achieve-them
All I see from reading your comments and getting to know you from your words is one thing and one thing only. You are always moving on up! Keep that attitude, and you will win big.
All the best,
Ivan
Thanx for the Advice Ivan man and I will read your article too
Indeed life is all about growth and I am addicted to that process.
Keep up the great work brother
Your welcome Thabo. The life is all about that positive addictions.
I will brother. Thanks
This post is very thorough. I never thought about successful thinking and waking up early being linked, but I can see the connection now! I was one of the ” have to get up early for a job I hate”, people. I’m glad that has changed, especially after reading your article….Ionly have a couple tips to work on, not all ten!
Hi Nicole,
Thank you for your nice words. Me neither. I am glad you have changed your attitude and I am happy if I helped you with it.
All the best,
Ivan
Great article.. I appreciate reading it.. got some nice tips..
Hi Nad,
I am glad to serve those tips for you. Thank you for the compliment and the comment.
Ivan
Thanks for a great article, I’m really keen to become more of a morning person. I sometimes work shifts though so my schedule is quite erratic. Do you have any advice for that situation?
Hi Amy,
I worked shift work for eight years. I found a couple of things to do if it is possible.
First, aim to sleep the same amount of time. For example, I sleep for 7 hours each day. That way I have a regular sleep, and it is enough for my body to regenerate. Sometimes if I felt tired and needed more rest, I take a 20 min power nap to energize. By implementing power naps in my daily routine I was able to do much more, plus I didn’t feel like I need more than seven hours of sleep when I rest.
Second, and I transformed my life when I started with it, is to create a morning ritual. Whenever you wake up try to perform the same morning ritual. You will create a powerful subconscious habit which will, as soon as you wake up, eliminate any form of negative thinking from your mind. Moreover, you will proactively start your day. You will be more productive and energized during the day, so your shift work will be much easier to bare.
I have a post about morning habits. Make sure you check it out. It can change your days forever.
I hope this helps you.
Ivan
As a lifelong morning person, I look forward to a fresh start. My sleep is very refreshing and therefore when I wake up, I’m relaxed and ready to face a new day. For me, a new day is an opportunity to get more done and be more productive. As the evening hours wear on, I think about all the things I didn’t do or could have done better and get down about it. I start wanting to close out the day and look forward to a fresh start. My mind mentally slows down in the evening too. If you think positively about your mornings, you’ll start looking forward to them more.
Hi Melinda,
All of us should be looking forward to a new day. Every day is a gift and the opportunity for a fresh start. I like your attitude and I think a lot of people can benefit from your example. I like to give my self a tap on the back for everything I have done for that day. I focus equally on the success and failure so I can learn from both.
So there are a lot of things which can be done in the evening to prepare yourself mentally for the next day.
A lot of people are struggling with falling asleep. The biggest mistake lies in thinking about all the negative stuff that happened that day. This form of thinking can cause insomnia in worst cases, later on, it can cause depression and a strong feeling of anxiety.
10 tips for becoming a morning person can help a lot to reverse this pattern of thinking so it can be easier to make a shift from night owl state of mind.
I like to thank you for your comment and wish you all the best.
Ivan
Hi Ivan,
I like the idea of being a morning person but as you know it old habits die hard. I don’t have the mojo to get out of this bad habit yet. And my excuse being, the only time I can learn marketing and blog is at night.
Hopefully someday I can change that.
By the way, that picture of yours is awesome! Did you have a pro take it?
Hi Khalfan,
Ohhh they die hard, but they die only if you want them to die. If you believe you are more productive at night, you are. My point with this post was not only productivity and work. Since I decided to become a morning person I experienced a lot more other benefits to my life. I got more energy, I move a lot more, my health (mental and physical) are getting better and better each day. I had fun, a lot of fun while I was a night owl. However, this was a lifetime change and I must say I would never go back to a night owl lifestyle.
Thank you man! That is not me on the pic, but I must admit we do look alike 🙂 I guess it was taken by a pro.
Your posts never cease to amaze me! I have been a night owl my whole life. I never thought there was such a big difference between being a morning person and being a night owl. I am going to proactively take your tips and become more of a morning person. I can’t wait for your next post, keep it up!
Hi Aj,
Thank you for your uplifting comment, I appreciate it. I was a semi-gamer or amateur while I was younger. The idea that I will do much better in life if I get up earlier and begin my day proactive was at least ridiculous. I had to have my 8-9-10 hours of sleep because I was tired of playing games until late at night. Things have changed since. I must admit I don’t miss those night anymore.
Go ahead and try, you can only benefit from them.
All the best,
Ivan
hi ivan,
Great to hear of the benefits you got from changing your life style. As for the picture, the guy really look like you.
Hi Khalfish,
You can change your bad habit whenever you want, the only thing you will have to do is decide. If you believe you can do your business only at night that is fine, keep that belief as long as it serves you. My intention with this article is to help those who wish to replace their habit. Hope you understand? Well, they say we all have a twin person somewhere in the world. Maybe I found mine hehe.
Wow! This was a great read!
Thank you for sharing your experiences, tips and your mentor’s amazing quote. I absolutely agree with you regarding benefits of being a morning person and this approach connection with success.
I’m pretty sure that every morning person was once a night type person, or a night owl, as you say… I was a night owl too, long time ago… But, I prefer my today waking up early and that beautiful feeling when you start your day fresh and with a cup of warm coffee.
Thanks again!
Vesna
Hi Vesna,
Thank you for commenting on my post. Happy to hear that you have changed your habits for good. There is no better thing than to start your day with something you love. Enjoy your mornings! 🙂
All the best,
Ivan
Hi Ivan,
I am afraid I am a night Owl. I find there is less distractions and I seem to get more done. However, I do miss the best part of the day and so too easy to feel out of sync with the rest of the world.
I don’t know if my desire is strong now to go from a night owl to a morning possible but of course it is possible.
My brain seems to be a live at night and I am able to type so fast in comparison to the day time.
However, it is a deeply unhealthy practice for sure as you do miss everything else in life. Not good! We definitely need to strike a balance as waking up after midnight we end up missing all manner of interactions and occasions.
I will have to give this articles advice some good thought and see how I can manage my day, minus the distractions, to find a healthy equilibrium.
Thanks Ivan and this is nothing short of insightful and excellent advice for those trapped in the Night Owl Syndrome.
All the best and looking forward to more insights going forward.
– Philip.
Hi Philip,
I believe you that your brain becomes alive at night. I tried it and I found some strange creativity during the night time.
As long as you Syndrome serves you well, there is no need for changing that. I don’t want you to lose your powers in the morning haha. Some people get better in the morning while others find their better versions at other times of the day.
It was a pleasure, as usual, to read your comment. Thank you man, and all the best to you.
Ivan