I am not a morning person, at all.
This is something I aim to change.
The alarm goes off and I instinctively hit the snooze button … more than once. I drag myself out of bed and to the kettle for a coffee, a morning ritual that never changes.
That coffee is sipped slowly as I flick senselessly through social media on my phone. Before I know it, the mug is empty and I contemplate a refill, the day has well and truly begun but my body and mind are slow to acknowledge it.
Rewind a little to the night before, I am tired but can not switch off. My mind is racing with all that I did not achieve today, all that I know I need to do tomorrow, great ideas and grand plans. Time passes, the quietness of that time of night energizes me, I stay up way too late finally falling asleep from sheer overload.
It is a vicious circle, up late and slow to start the day, that needs to be broken, but how?
Searching for answers starts with the night’s before. Why does my mind kick into gear at this time? For me, it is the uninterrupted quiet that allows me to fully process my thoughts. I enjoy this time and a little bit of this at night is actually beneficial, I just need to shorten the process.
It’s like my brain is on overdrive, scrambling to remember everything. What did I do? What do I still need to do? Today I was frustrated when I did …. so must search for ideas to ease this frustration (insert a home organising project or two) and so on.
Why could I not or what prevented me from fully processing these thoughts throughout the day?
Like many, my day is full of demands from children, from the husband, from the neverending housework and work. It is sometimes not possible to finish a thought before being interrupted by something or everything else.
Before that thought slips away into the back of your mind, to resurface at quiet time, write it down! It can be one word or just a few, it can take just a few seconds now but will trigger those buried thoughts later as opposed to having your mind search through them all later, thus cutting down the time taken.
Now, this could cause a whole lot of other problems if not done correctly. Think numerous bits of paper, random words found weeks later and a whole lot of clutter. Make a specific place where you will record these thoughts, be it a notebook on the kitchen counter or as I am trialling, a notes clipboard on the fridge, easily removed to take with me for quiet time.
Once these thoughts have been processed, transferred to the ‘to do’ list/planner/pinterest board or however you manage your ideas, BIN your notes. Those thoughts have been unburied, dealt with and your mind is clearer. Your ‘to do’ list/planner/pinterest boards are fuller but that’s a whole other kettle of fish to deal with ..
With a clearer mind, an earlier bedtime and a good night’s sleep, I am well on my way to being a morning person!
How about you?
Are you a nightowl or a morning person?
Do you find your mind go into overdrive when you should be sleeping? What do you do to rid yourself of mind overload?
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I find that I’m a morning person – I love getting up earlier than everyone else and having the quiet of the house to focus my thoughts for the day. I can’t stand being woken up and forced into the day! But in saying that, I also find it hard to stop the thoughts when I try and settle down for the night. I try and journal for 15 minutes each night – which does help to slow the thoughts down and also do a ‘brain-dump’. I keep a notepad next to my bed for those random thoughts. One thing that I’ve found that keeps me awake is using the computer late at night – I need to set a time limit and switch off so that my brain can switch off before I go to sleep.
yes, I think I need to implement a shut off time for computer, thanks for the idea. My kidlets are up super early most days so getting up before them is tricky, hence why I enjoy my quiet time of a night
I am the same as you with the mind and the quiet of the evening. I tend to have bursts of morning oomph and nights where i retire early, but neither consistently! Good luck with transitioning- my best efforts were when my husband went to bed early and pushed me to shut down my computer etc – now he seems to have joined my late nights instead ugh!
oh no, I hate when my hubby stays up late cutting into my ‘me’ quiet time! I put myself to bed early last night (if you call 10pm early) and felt much better for it. But I am never consistent either!
I am SUCH a night owl. Thank goodness for people in WA is all I say. Loving that clipboard! just perfect and cute as heck to boot.
Thanks! I figure if I make it cute, I’ll actually use it .. time will tell
I’m afraid it’s going to take a lot more than a clip board to make me a morning person. Although I do use the notes app in my iPhone in a very similar fashion!! I think the only hope for me is some sort of internal clock transplant
Haha, me too, it’s the first of many changes to come . Stay tuned
I am not a morning person and since I had bub my life has been turned upside down. I’m getting up at times I didn’t know existed. Baby brain is making me forget everything! I definitely need to write things somewhere, I just need to remember to do it.
Babies sure do have a tendency to make us women forget things, bless em …. fortunately they grow up and hopefully out of introducing us to all hours of the night, but we still forget stuff!!
Hi Stacey-Lee, I have just finished reading my sisters blog “Team Friday” and she mentioned that you were taking over so I thought I’d come and look at your page. I LOVE your philosophy, finished is better than perfect! That is how I tend to live my life, who cares if its not done 100% perfectly, it just feels better gettting ‘it’ done and out of the way. I have just this week started to implement some running into my walking activity (in order to lose weight and get fitter) and I catch myself often putting myself down like, I can’t run, my boobs will hurt and get in the way, I haven’t run since high school (25 years ago!!) and I will look stupid. Anyway, I have bought some new running shoes and some sports brasa/crop tops and have started off very gently and slowly. I am challenging myself to try something new and keep up with my young sons and toyboy husband!! Cheers, Wendy
Hello Wendy. As I have always struggled with getting and having everything just perfect, the finished is better than perfect is my new mantra to get things done! Glad to hear it works for you. Remember, slow and steady wins the race – or so they say – so you are off to a great start, best of luck with the running
I never used to be a morning person. Before my son came along it was nothing to sleep until 10 or 11 am on weekends. And I’d hit the snooze button for an hour before work, always running late!
These days, 630-7 am is a sleep in for me. 2, sometimes 3 mornings a week I start work at 6:30 (that will be 6 in the summer). I’m finding I crash early and hard at night because I’ve been up for so long! Another thing that helps me sleep better and go straight to sleep is exercise. I try to exercise 5 days a week – running, personal training or tennis – and I think that really helps! I never thought I’d say it, but I really think sunrise/first thing in the mornings the best time of day!
Oh the before child sleep in’s how I used to love those too! Even if I do stay up late I am up most mornings before 7am, so very little sleep makes me slow to move but still I never learn and stay up way too late. It is improving with my little idea, but more work is needed! I must get back into the exercising, it went a little too far there for a while (which I will share another time) but am hoping to get back into it soon!
I am definitely a night person – don’t do mornings well at all which is difficult when I start work at 7.30 and have to drive 30 mins to get there !!!! We started to be night people when we were night filling as a second job and only got home at 1am 5 nights a week – we did that for 8 years. We haven’t packed for about 11 months now but we still very rarely go to bed before 11 or 12pm which makes mornings difficult for us. I have tried going to bed earlier but generally lie there or toss and turn until close to midnight or after before being able to sleep. For so many years we got used to 5 hrs sleep that it seems to be hard to get more now that we can !!!!
Thanks for taking over Team Friday – I will be here next week !
Have a great day.
Me
Night shift really does play with one’s body clock doesn’t it? For a while there, I had a job that required the 9pm-6am shift, I’d get home in time to get the kidlets ready for school/kindy and sleep till pick up time. Loved the work (merchandising supermarkets) but could not keep up that pace for very long. Look forward to seeing you for Team Friday
I used to be a night person. I had a very unhealthy lifestyle where i stayed up all night and slept all day. That is until my son come along over three years ago. Now I’m up early every day but I like it. I hate wasting time asleep. I still don’t go to bed til 11pm most nights because that is when I write my blog and I get time alone. When my head hits the pillow that is it. I’m out!
Hello Vanessa, it really does feel sometimes that sleep is wasted time however my body is soon to remind me it’s not
Hi Stacey-Lee and Congrats on running Team Friday! I always had a lot of difficulties to get up in the morning… And also, I always loved to go to bed early… I guess I was an afternoon person! But I found that things are changing… I, now, go to bed around midnight but stil can’t get up in the morning… My hubby always go to bed late. I think I have to find a new routine because I find it difficult to do everything I want to do in the day…
By the way, regarding Team Friday, I’m new into blogging and started to link my Friday’s post with B. but they are more about recipe and crafts, not really about fitness and health… I”d love to be able to continue to link because I met some fantastic bloggers through Team Friday.
Hi, I have decided my nightowl tendencies need to change for the very reason that I am not getting enough done in the day with my slow start. With Team Friday, If your recipe is somewhat healthy and your craft is remotely motivating in some way, then I guess it fits in
Thank you! Have a beautiful week-end!
Hello there, I am so late to comment from Team Friday, sorry. Many thanks for taking it on, I do love the community and reading the posts. The weekends are hectic for me as husband is away and I have four kids, so it’s only when they get to school that I have some headspace.
Anyway, I don’t want to be a morning person but… my 15 year old was always a super early riser and now my six year old twins are too. Mr15 is NO LONGER waking early, he wants to stay up late. Sigh… I am getting kids pestering me at all ends of the day!!
When I am an old lady I will sleep in until 10am every day!!
Comments welcome anytime Seana
I have three kids so understand just how busy time gets. Oh no, kids pestering at all ends of the day, glad you manage to get some ‘me’ time in there somewhere. Haha, when I am an old lady I want to sleep in until 10am every day too, by then I may be tired enough to actually go to bed early! Looking forward to seeing you around for Team Friday 
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