wake up...

start your day stress free

It’s 5am and you’re sleeping like a baby after going to bed at 11.  All of a sudden an extremely loud buzzing noise alarms you awake. 
It’s a noise that would frighten and startle you even if you weren’t sleeping like a baby.  You quickly shoot your arm over to hit snooze twice before finally turning off the alarming noise, get out of bed and turn on the bright lights.  Then, every room you walk into you immediately turn on the light and on your way to the bathroom, you even turn on the TV. While in the bathroom you quickly check your email on your phone or tablet, and make sure nothing too important happened on Facebook in the last 6 hours since you’ve been sleeping.  It didn’t.

That’s a lot of light and alarm within 20 minutes of waking.  This used to be a daily routine for me.  It’s not anymore and I’ve since felt a much more calm start to my days. Here is an example of a routine that might leave you feeling more relaxed and in control as your day begins:

It’s 5am and you’re beginning to wake on your own after going to bed at 9:30.  You peacefully hear the sound of a favorite song beginning to play on the radio.  You have it set just to make sure you wake up, not because you really need it.  You peacefully turn the sound off as you’re already awake anyway.  The light stays off as you open the door of your bedroom where you have some dim light just in case you needed it in the middle of the night.  
 
As you start your day you intentionally wake slowly, think about your day, what you’ll have for breakfast, when you’ll fit in your exercise, and maybe even what you’ll eat for lunch and dinner.  You’re committed to living a life that gets you what you want and dream of. 
 
The TV stays off.  
 
The lights stay dim as you make your way to the kitchen to make breakfast.  You turn on a sink light or a low counter light as you make your breakfast.  
 
Since you went to bed early enough to feel rested in the morning, you skipped the snooze button and can take your time and enjoy
the peacefulness of a quiet house.  Coffee brewed, lunch packed, you sit down at the table to enjoy your breakfast while thinking about the things that are most important to you and taking some time for yourself.  

Breakfast is done and you’re all packed up to leave.  You get in your car, and since you went to bed early, and woke up on time, you are able to follow the speed limit and beat the morning rush.  You arrive to work with 15-20 minutes early, finish your cup of coffee, and have a productive day.  

If we wake up alarmed and stressed, unless we do something to de-stress, it will affect our entire day. Wake up in peace and eliminate stress from your wake up routine! 

You’ll feel better, get more done, and make better decisions.  

Jon Howard - Husband and Father of 3 | Ultra Endurance Athlete | Owner - Training Edge Sports