*whispers* morning!
it's been getting a lot easier to wake up
I'm doing pretty good on time
hey guys!
welcome back
this..
this video is the video that I've been wanting to make for years now
but I haven't because I haven't been living the dream of what this video entails
which is waking up super early
because I have been waking up at 4:00 AM
consecutively for the past 3 weeks..
it's time for this video to see the day of light
just a little background.. I'm an epic snooze queen
I'm the worst with waking up in the morning
because.. I don't know.. I
I know snoozing for 2 hours with the alarm going off every 10 minutes
is really poor quality of sleep
but in my head, because it's instant gratification..
alarm goes off, turn it off right away..
go back to sleep for like 5 minutes, wake up again..
repeat, repeat, repeat...
that's just, you know..
that's the way I prefer to live my life for most of my life
this week's video I want to share with you guys 4 real ways..
non-hacky, non-gimmicky ways to really wake up in the morning
because as much as it makes sense
to trick yourself into waking up early
you don't want to trick yourself.. you just want to know like..
I'm going to wake up everyday at this time
and like you just naturally do it
because from personal experience
no matter how far away I put my phone or my alarm
or no matter if I put it like in a pot, in a drawer, in like the oven
I still will wake up turn it off
and just go back to bed and go back to sleep
the first thing that I wanna talk about
and I think this is one of the most important things that's helped me a lot
is minimize the time spent making decisions in the morning to combat decision fatigue
so what this means is pack your bags the night before
your backpack, school bag, work bag, food bag
cause I have all those bags because I'm a bag lady
and lay out your clothes the night before
so you don't have to think about what you have to wear
you just wake up and you put your clothes on
this is what what a lot of people d with like working out in the morning
laying out your gym clothes the night before
and..
having a couple of go-to quick breakfast recipes that you can whip up
for me it's either turmeric latte which I just heat up milk
add in some turmeric powder
and maple syrup
a little bit of peppers, some salt
it's really filling
or I'll make lotus root powder
which I won't get into right now
because it's kind of difficult but I will show you guys
it looks really gross but it's really good
you mix it with cold water first
and then you pour in hot water
and then it turns into this gelatinous thing
and I add in black sesame and maple syrup
👌👌
so to give you guys a little more..
a little bit more context on what decision fatigue is
basically our brain has a limited capacity to make decisions
and wunch we... once..
omg I can't talk
once we meh...
mmh
once we meet that threshold in making decisions
our decisions become a lot more impulsive
mostly out of self-defense
so it's like..
if you already made a million decisions in the morning
of like.. omg like..
you know I need to wake up
I need to brush my teeth
I need to pick out what to wear
I need to pack my bags
I need to do all these things
like just thinking about it
it's already so stressful that you're like..
you just won't wake up because you're like..
I need to do all these 10 things before I can actually walk out the door
so if you have everything laid out for you
everything is ready to go
boom *snaps*
that's all you need
this is actually something that's been backed by the scientific community
a research was done with about 1,000 judges
who were deciding whether criminals can go out on parole
and it was found that beginning of the day
that acceptance rates where criminals were granted parole was about like 65%
and it dips down significantly towards 0% by the time it's like right before lunch
and then right after lunch it goes back up to 65%
and by the end of the day it drops back down to 0% so..
it has very little to do with
what the criminals are.. why there in jail
and has more to do with the judges having breakfast in the morning
and the more decisions they make throughout the day..
they get like really overwhelmed and tired
and their brain stops working
so they're just like no no no no
it drops down to zero
after they eat lunch they come back like..
"mmh! stomach's full! I'm happy let's make more decisions!"
so this is one of the more important
one of the most important things
I think that has really helped me just like get up
get out the door in less than 30 minutes
getting up early..
great habit to have but even more important
prepping everything the night before
so that you can get up in the morning
and just be like okay everything's already laid out
let me just.. I don't have to think
I just autopilot, do everything, and then out the door
alrighty
numero dos
your day* starts the night before
this is something that my mom's told me countless times
this is something that blog posts and the interwebs has told me
many many many years now
but..
I've just now learned the importance that like..
yes, if I want to wake up early
I definitely need to sleep a lot earlier...
duh...
so know how much time you need
to sleep to be a normal functioning human
and plan your evenings and your days around that
so let's say you need..
historically I've needed 8-9 hours of sleep
but that is a..
that is a past life now
I'm trying to test and push my limits
to see if I can get about like 5½-6 hours a night of sleep
so if I need to wake up at 4:00 AM
then that means I need to be in bed by 10:00 PM
10, 11, 12, 1, 2, 3, 4, yes..
ideally I'll be in bed by 10:00 PM
usually it's been like 10:30-11:00 PM
which is why I've been like a straight-up zombie most of the days
*zombie Rowena* uh.. I've fallen.. uh..
and I can't seem to get back up
help...
send help.....
it's really important to plan your evenings around your bedtime
so let's say you need to be in bed..
for me I need be in bed by 10:00 PM or I should be in bed by 10:00 PM
then that means I need to be home at the latest by 9:00 PM
so that I can come home
prep everything, shower, get ready
do my skin stuff
like make sure, like.. clean the apartment
pack my bags, make my food for the next day
and one thing that I do is I set up..
my phone's do not disturb
this thing
do not disturb
it won't allow any calls or texts or notifications to come on
do not disturb right?
another thing is make sure your night shift which is this thing
make sure it's on
the thing with..
mobile.. mobile devices and laptop screens is like
they emit a lot of blue light
which is something that will wake you up a lot
and will mess your circa...
will mess up your circadian clock
what it does is it throws a layer of yellow tint light
on top of your screen so that
your eyes and your body is not being tricked
that it is daytime when it is actually nighttime
ok, number three
when you wake up in the morning
a lot of us..
some people's alarm sound like..
*loud obnoxious alarm sound*
it's like.. it's the first thing you wake up to every morning
you don't want to be woken up and be like..
*frantic Rowena*
gotta go somewhere gotta go somewhere
something's going on, bright lights are flashing
and like things are flooding and you're like running out the door right?
so what I have been using is..
*birds chirping*
it's called bird song
and it slowly builds up
from like very quiet to like..
louder birds chirping
and I feel like this gradual..
build-up of noise..
it's just so much more pleasant
and it like gently wakes you up
as opposed to..
*loud obnoxious alarm sound repeat*
alright, so that's just like a little fun one
last but not least, this is..
I would say the most important thing you need to do
know why you need to wake up
how early you need to wake up
and why you can't wake up any later than that
by now you guys are probably like
why in the world does this girl wake up at 4:00 AM in the morning..
what does she do..
why does she need to wake up that early..
so I've always known the importance of waking up early
I've always known the benefits of waking up early
your days are actually much longer
you actually get a lot more done
you're far more productive
you feel a lot better about yourself because it's like..
you accumulate these little wins along the way
and waking up early is actually a really big win
I've known the importance of waking up early
I've known importance of meditating
I've known the importance of doing Qi Gong practice
which is something that I do within my spiritual practice
and I've known the importance of reading
so all of these things like..
I've been trying to incorporate some way somehow into my life
but it just.. it hasn't stuck around
like hasn't.. it hasn't stuck
and so I've been trying ever since..
2-3 years ago to like wake up at 4:00 AM
and do all these things before work
and I've done it maybe like 3 or 4 times, it's always like..
ooo! I'm going to do it tomorrow!
I do it once.. and I don't do it for the rest of the year
and I'll do it again one time.. and I won't do it for the rest of the year
so.. what I'm doing
what I've been doing is wake up at 4:00 AM
get to work around 5:00 AM
from 5:00-6:00 AM meditate for an hour
6:00-7:00 AM Qi Gong exercise for an hour
and then I read for about 1½ hours before work starts
and this just... it..
it sets such a good momentum and tone to my days
that I got all the most important things to me done
like right at the beginning
so that throughout the day.. it's like
I don't have to worry about
having not done any of those things
and when I go home I can just enjoy my time at home
and not be like..
omg Rowena.. you're supposed to do this..
and then you have to do this like you don't have time for anything
so it's important to really sit yourself down and ask yourself
why must I wake up early
and why can I not wake up any later
and.. be honest with yourself..
you know, if it's..
if you don't wanna wake up early then like don't
if there's no reason for you to be up that early.. then don't
but let's say if you do want to think of all the ways..
think of all the ways..
but if you want to.. really think about why and why..
~why why why why why~
and why you can't wake up any later
at the core of it it's just knowing what is important to you
what you value, what your priorities are so..
~priorities~
what your priorities are.. I mean..
*sings* ai dai dai dai dahh...haha
haaaa..
ok
I've been talking for too long
it's important to know what your priorities are because
if you know what your priorities are, you know what's important to you
it will be a lot easier for you to not..
let yourself off easy
so if being fit is important to you
if getting more of your personal passion project done is important to you
if...
just you know making more time
for what's important to you is important to you
or like having me-time or you know waking up early
so that you can make a cup of coffee or a cup of tea
sit.. you know..
on your couch, read a book
and...
not be rushed in everything that you do which has been so like..
central to my life
it's like I wake up rushed
I brush my teeth rushed
I eat breakfast rushed
I run out the ru..
~duh dd duh dd~ dooor rushed
and then like I get to work
and I'm just like omg.. like
everything's just so..
*frantic Rowena* mhmhmh, right?
soo...
know what's important to you
aand... uhhh..
don't compromise, you know just..
we know what's important to us and we just have to do it
all right.. sooo..
again..
first thing is minimize decisions you have to make in the morning
the second point is..
what is it second point?...
the second point is your morning starts the night before
third, set an alarm that you'll actually be excited waking up to
and the fourth one..
know why you have to wake up this early
and know why you can't wake up any later
than the time that you want to set for yourself
so I hope you guys found this helpful
let me know what you guys think
and give it a thumbs up
*finger dancing*
*laughs at self*
give it a thumbs up if..
*sings gibberish*
if you found this helpful
and...
let me know if you guys have any
questions, thoughts, comments, feedback
if you wanna get in touch you know where to find me
Instagram or my email
I will see you guys next time ~