I’m here to help even the toughest night owl become an early bird.
If you told me 10 months ago that I would go viral teaching people how to wake up at 5am I’d call you crazy…because that would mean I would have to get up at 5am… and that in itself seemed impossible.
I am a night owl by nature. It used to be easier for me to stay up until 5am than it was to wake up that early. It still kind of is.
I spent the past year reading tons of books on everything from psychology (my favorite) to entrepreneurship to religion and everything in between. A common theme among them was the habits of the elites, one of them being the habit of waking up before sunrise.
So I learned to do it. It was a slow and sometimes disappointing process. But through it, I learned humility and discipline. I fixed my mental health and became the best version of myself. I want to help you to! That’s why I created this simple 5 step mindset plan to ease your way into waking up at 5am.
Step 1: Get Out of a Perfectionistic Mindset
You will most likely fail here and there through this process. This will be especially true in the beginning. It’s ok. Remind yourself that this is hard. You WILL NOT be perfect at it. Oversleep one day? Or two? Or ten? It’s ok. Just relax and get yourself in a mindset so that you will enjoy doing it. Give yourself the grace to keep going.
Step 2: Start By Doing It 1-2 Times Per Week
You wouldn’t be able to start running at your peak every morning from day 1. You’d get tired, groggy, and burnt out. Just like any other lifestyle change, waking up at 5am is the same process. You CANNOT go from going to sleep at 5am to waking up at 5am overnight. Start slow. Don’t get burnt out. By focusing on sustainability, you’ll be able to ease your body into it. Can’t fall asleep early enough? When you’re only doing it once or twice a week you can go to sleep at your normal time and just get a little less sleep. It’s ok. One night of less sleep won’t kill you. Play with your body to see what time it can go to bed. For help falling asleep, here’s a link to Valerian Root Natural Supplement. Valerian Root is a natural relaxant and it’s popular in Poland. My Polish Grandma uses it, my mom uses it, and I use it. It can also be used as a natural anxiety reliever.
Step 3: Find Your Why
This is important. You need to find a reason to get out of bed at 5am. Just getting up for the sake of getting up isn’t enough. When I started, I was studying for the GRE while working at a human trafficking safe house for minor female victims of human trafficking. My shifts at the safe house were from 7pm on Thursday until 7pm on Sunday and I slept at the house. I had to be awake from 8am until 12am so I never had time to study. The girls had my full attention during the day. I was getting stressed out, so one of the other caregivers suggested that I wake up earlier for some “me” time. Even though I had to stay up until 12am, I tried waking up at 5am a couple of the days that I was there so I could get some studying in.
As a former night owl, I always thought I studied best at night. I didn’t think there was any way I would be able to absorb information at 5am. To my surprise, it actually absorbed easier at 5am than it did at 8pm! At the time, my “why” was studying. Now my “why” is to have time for myself while living at home. Sometimes my “why” is to workout and feel good in my body. And sometimes my “why” is to just get my work out of the way so I can spend the rest of the day with my 7-month old golden retriever. Find your why. It can be anything.
Step 4: Be Genuinely Excited
This is the most important step for success. The moment you start seeing waking up at 5am as a chore you will hate your life (and that stupid girl on TikTok who told you to do it). This is where your mindset comes in to change your whole perspective. Remember it is a PRIVILEGE to wake up early. You are GIFTED with an extra hour or two in your day to be relaxed before the rest of the world around you wakes up. There’s something super special about being awake before the birds and the sun. You get to wish them good morning and listen to the world wake up. Feel the magic and peace of the early morning. Just breathe. If all you do during this time in the morning is breathe, that is enough.
Step 5: Realize that this is YOU time
Finally, step 5 combines the last two points together. You need to realize that you are doing this for you. This is YOUR time to do whatever YOU want with it. Do you want to do a 30 minute workout? Do you want to read a book? Do you want to pray a rosary? Or do you just want to lay in bed and listen to your favorite playlist while sitting in a positive mindset? Whatever you want to do you can do it. YOU are in charge. I don’t care if someone else dictates the rest of your day, whether its your kids, your spouse, your boss, or your parents. No one gets to tell you what you can and can’t do during this time. Heck, scroll TikTok for an hour. I sometimes do that in the morning! While you’re at it go give me a follow and like some of my posts.
I hope these baby steps help. I’ll be with you on this journey every step of the way. These graphics are linked on my Instagram @toritalkspodcast where you can save them and reference them forever. Feel free to comment your progress on one of my posts! I really want to read how everyone is doing!!
Thanks for walking this journey with me! I’m glad you’re here.
Tori Talks Podcast 