How to act like a morning person even if you aren’t one

By Nicole Tinkham

If you haven’t noticed by now, there are two types of people in the office; the early birds and the morning zombies. The first group is full of people with energy pouring out of every inch of their being. They sometimes skip around the office and are always ready to start a conversation first thing. Then there are the zombies; the ones dragging their feet into work, serious expression on their face, and so not in the mood to talk until they’ve had their 5th cup of coffee. We have the feeling you know all too well the differences between the two personality types. Which category would you fall into? If you’re the zombie-like worker, there’s nothing wrong with that. Everyone has their peaks at different times of the day. But if it drives you nuts seeing the rest of the office in a cheerful mood when it’s just way too early, we’ve put together a few things you can do to act like a morning person even when you aren’t one.

1.    Be prepared
We understand that you’re not all there upon first waking up, but there are some things you can do to prepare yourself for the day that don’t require much effort on your part. Quickly check the news and weather forecast. You’ll be informed of any breaking news and you’ll know whether or not to grab an umbrella on your way out. Also read over your to do list so you know what’s on your agenda when you get into the office. Surprises first thing are never fun!

2.    Get ready the night before
We don’t expect you to sleep in your office attire, but you can lay out your clothes the night before. This allows you to just roll out of bed and throw it on without having to think. You can also prepare your lunch the night before and set your keys and anything else you need to take with you conveniently by the door. While you’re at it, set the timer on your coffee pot to start brewing automatically when you awake and have an easy breakfast ready that you can grab on the go. You’re basically setting yourself up so you have no thinking to do in the morning whatsoever!

3.    Reward yourself
If the only thing you have to look forward to is heading to work, there’s no wonder it’s so difficult to get out of that comfy bed. Reward yourself for getting up by doing something you enjoy but rarely have time for. Maybe it’s reading a book, watching TV, or playing games on your phone. Whatever it is, it has to be good in order to get your butt out of bed!

4.    Get into a routine
A nightly routine is just as important as a morning one when it comes to getting your act together in the AM. You’ll most likely have to train yourself to fall asleep earlier to feel refreshed in the morning. Practice shutting off all electronics at least 15 minutes before you plan to fall asleep, avoid caffeine late in the afternoon, and turn off your brain as it gets closer to bedtime. Aim to reach 7 hours of sleep per night as most people consider this the perfect amount of sleep to feel refreshed. As for your morning routine, we recommend waking up at the same time every single day- even on the weekends if possible!

5.     Wake up peacefully
Wouldn’t it be magical to wake up to the sunrise every morning? Unfortunately, most of us are expected to be up way before the sun rises. The thing about alarm clocks is they tend to wake you at the worst possible time in your sleep cycle which can leave you feeling groggy. To start waking up refreshed, we recommend getting an app (Sleep Cycle is one) or other device that is able to measure your sleep cycle. This type of alarm clock will wait until you’re out of that deep sleep before going off.

Now that you have some great tips, try practicing them to become a morning person for real. That’s a scary thought, isn’t it? There are some people who believe a component of success is rising early but others believe it doesn’t make a difference. We’re not sure which is accurate but we’d like to hear from you! Are you more productive in the morning? Do you tend to make more life changes at this time? Let us know in the comments!