I love The Everygirl’s 30 Day Challenge series. I read The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin a few years ago and loved the idea of focusing on small, measurable, resolutions. Gretchen would select three or four resolutions to focus on each month. She’d fill out a Resolution Chart to track and measure her progress. I’m going to combine The Everygirl’s 30 Day Challenge with Gretchen’s Resolution Chart. This month I’m going to wake up one hour earlier every weekday. I almost always wake up at 6:30 am but there are days when I wake up at 7:30 am so I’m going to set my goal for waking up at 6:30 am (because, honestly, 5:30 am is way too early). I’m going to make a chart to track the days that I woke up early and what I did with my “newfound time.” I’ve even come up with some tips for waking up early.

A few of my top tips for waking up early:

1. Go to bed early.

2. Studies have shown that artificial light from computers, tablets, phones, televisions and other electronics interferes with melatonin levels, making it harder to sleep. If you’re having difficulty sleeping stay off electronics before bed.

2. Keep your alarm clock/phone on the other side of your room so you have to get up to turn it off.

3. Keep a glass of cold water by your bed and drink it first thing in the morning.

4. Know what you want to do with your time. I started to get excited about going to the gym, getting breakfast with family or friends, or seeing the sunrise and taking long walks in the park. Planning out something fun and rewarding to do with your time makes it much easier to crawl out of bed.

5. SAY NO TO THE SNOOZE BUTTON.

6. Open your curtains. Natural light helps cue that it is time to get up.

If you’re going to join me in the challenge, comment below! I’d also love to know one (or more) of your tips for waking up early.

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