For the first time since my freshmen year of college, I have an 8:00am class. I managed to weasel my way out of every early morning class my entire college career until now. I’m in my last semester of college and I have a class at the bright and early time of 8:00am. It’s not even bright outside at that time!

So how did I transition from a grumpy morning person to an early riser? It’s actually not as hard as you think. It’s a combination of self-discipline and a secret that I will reveal later in this article. In fact, getting up early was a lot easier than I thought it would be. If I can change, anyone can – trust me.

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Knowing that I had to prepare for my early morning class I decided to practice waking up early before the semester started. I did plenty of research on different early rising techniques and finally decided on the simplest one, which actually works the best.

To help you understand how this technique works, I will walk you through my morning routine before and after the change.

Before

It’s 6:30am. My alarm goes off. I immediately slam the snooze button on my alarm clock. I yell a few choice words, and then start that little head conversation that everyone has:

• This is way too early. I deserve a few more minuets of sleep.
• It’s so warm under the covers, if I get up it’s going to be cold and that will be unpleasant.
• I will just skip breakfast, then I can sleep in a little longer.
• I promise I will get up at the next alarm

Ten minutes later, my alarm goes off again. This time I have to hold myself back from throwing my alarm clock across the room. However, I start the exact same head conversation and usually end up falling asleep again.

Once I realize I’m going to be late, I finally get out of bed and stumble into the bathroom where I brush my teeth and get angry at myself for not getting up at the first alarm.

This is how I functioned for most of my college career. It was inefficient, and on most days I found myself showing up late to work or class.

After

It’s 6:30am. My alarm goes off. I immediately turn it off instead of snooze. I take a deep breath in, making sure to fill my entire lung capacity. I spend a few seconds stretching and sit up in bed. The deep breath gives your body oxygen to send to your muscles while the stretching physically stimulates the muscles to prepare them for moving.

Within seconds of my alarm going off, my feet hit the floor. I stumble into the bathroom and brush my teeth. Next, I make my way to the kitchen to cook breakfast.

How and Why This Works

The secret here is keeping your brain off while running through your morning routine. As soon as you turn your brain on, that’s when you run into problems. Subconsciously, your body knows it’s time to get up and start the day, however, your conscious mind has feelings and desires such as, warmth, being comfortable, and sleeping in.

So how do you train your body to do these tasks without thinking? Practice. You must be able to wake up at the same time for several days before this method works. Also, your morning routine needs to stay the same every morning.

This method works because, with practice, we are able to train our bodies to do tasks subconsciously. Have you ever had to think about tying your shoes, brushing your teeth, or making a pot of coffee? These tasks are routine and can be done with your brain off. That’s the idea behind this method.

The Most Important Part

In order for this technique to work, you must wake up at the same time every day. That means that even on days you’re able to sleep in, you must wake up at the same time.

Also, you must get an adequate amount of sleep every night. To do this, simply go to bed when you are tired. I usually give myself an hour to wind down and remove myself from stimulating activities such as Television, Computer, and Video games. Instead I spend the last hour before sleep reading. Reading is a great way to gauge how tired you are. If you’re unable to keep your eyes open, it’s time to go to sleep. On days when I’m not tired, I will keep reading till I get sleepy.

The great aspect of this technique is that, if you end up staying up too late one night, you will be able to fall asleep sooner the next night because you are getting up at the same time everyday. Your mind knows this and will allow you to get sleepy sooner.

In Conclusion

This technique works great if you are willing to give it a try. Keep these two short rules in mind:

• Go to sleep when you’re tired.
• Wake up every morning at the same time, no matter what.