Thursday 2 April 2015

Waking up...

Dear Aphrodite, 

This morning I woke up at 6:30am - early for even the most well slept individual I think, and I had six and a half hours sleep , so I am not the most rested I could ever be. However there is a nack with waking up I've found so I thought I would share it. 

1. If you need a soundtrack to wake up - don't set it as your alarm tone, it will make you hate it. Also if you listen to the same song over and over, again you'll just end up hating it. To battle this I have my default alarm (which yes I hate) but then after I had opened my eyes and sat up I started listening to the Mood Booster playlist on Spotify, which this morning played Wake Me Up by Avicii - basically the best song for this morning as it was upbeat and said all the right things. 

I think playlists which randomly shuffle of all the songs that could lift your mood (or just wake you up) mean that you don't listen to the same song constantly so your brain shouldn't negatively link it to waking up early but still cheer you up (only at least from personal experience - I have no science to this thinking). 

2. Eat. And have a drink - you need it. When I wake up I feel empty most of the time - but the kitchen is downstairs and it forces me to get up. Even if by the time I get into work the food has evaporated and I have to eat a banana at my desk, I feel more ready to take on the day with some food inside me.

And I can't really function without a cup of tea in the morning (I wish I could drink coffee but I can't) but if I can't have tea, water is a good alternative especially with lemon in to make it zingy! It just leaves you all hydrated and ready to set off for the day - or preps your voice to sing in the shower if that's your thing (yes I do that it's great!).

3. Give yourself plenty of time to get ready to be early. This is a tricky one. If you have to leave the house at 8 and it takes you an hour and a half to get ready - wake up at 6. That way if you have to fight for the bathroom, your outfit doesn't look the way you wanted, or you have a disaster with your hair or makeup; you have a spare thirty minutes to fix it. 

I am really bad at this, but I do find it makes me more calm as I know if I have no energy to get ready fast then I can take my time (to some extent). Mornings are so much better if you don't have to rush - and that extra time can come in handy if you have something to do that you don't want to do when you get in. 

4. Pack your bag the night before. It just helps. Or if you don't know what you are wearing so haven't thought if your bag will go (I do worry about this) at least if you have all the stuff to go in it ready then you can just chuck it in when you do know what you are wearing. 

5. Most importantly: SMILE! It makes you feel better, it makes everyone else feel better. 

I commute so I understand that some mornings are more trying than others - and I do have a good rant from time to time, it's healthy I think, but at some point you have to just draw a line and have a good day, and a simple smile can help that. You can even accompany it with a upbeat mantra which you recite to yourself - mine is "Today is going to be a good day" - which is simple and to the point, also works wonders on your outlook on life. 

So that's it my tips for waking up and having a lovely morning. 

"It's a beautiful day" - Michael Buble

Have a super day readers! 

Lots of love,
Amber xx