Blog Appétit

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I’ve never really been a morning person. If you ask me I think mornings should be spent with no alarms and coffee enjoyed in bed while watching the TODAY show and easing into our morning work. 

Wouldn’t that be the life? 

As much as I would love for that to be every morning, the reality goes a little more like this: wake up with before the sunrise, head to the gym with eyes still shut, head home to shower and get ready for work, work on a blog post or photo editing while hair dries, make a quick breakfast and then run to catch the train for work. 

Yup, that’s more like it.

While it may not be breakfast in bed while laughing with Kathie Lee and Hoda, it’s a little more productive of a morning and a morning that is well needed to survive the week. 

Finding the motivation to get so much done in the morning has always been a struggle and when I talk to fellow co-workers about their morning routines, I’ve found I’m not alone with the “wanting to snooze the alarm a few more times” feeling, but here are my top tips for getting your behind out of bed bright and early to get a healthy head start to your day.

1. Prep the Night Before. Every night before going to bed, I look through my planner to see what I have the next day so I can plan as much as I can the night before; what I will wear, what time I need to get up, if I need to work on something or answer e-mails before work, etc. I also make my lunch every night for the next day and pack my work bag so when I’m heading out it’s an easy grab and go kind of deal.

2. Clock the ZZzz’s. The most important part and the one I’m still working on, is getting enough hours of sleep to allow your body to become a morning person. I’m still on the 5 hour average, but working my way towards a good 7 hours each night. Make a plan to get in bed at a decent time and set your alarm when you actually need to get up, not for when you can snooze it two more times. 

3. Get Up and Going. No more snoozing that alarm, it’s time to get up and get started. I’ve found that if I get up as soon as the alarm goes off it really helps give me that extra boost of motivation to not linger under the covers a few more minutes. So instead of taking a few seconds to think about how you are going to get up, get up and get going.

4. Reward Yourself. Hey it’s not easy getting up when it’s still dark out, so be sure to reward yourself for your early start. Plus, this will help continue to motivate you each morning. For me it’s reaping the benefits of feeling healthy. When I get up early, I get in a better workout and more time for a little self pampering because when you’re an avid coffee drinker and sweets eater like me, taking good care of your skin and teeth are a must. I actually recently started whitening my teeth again, but found my gums to be sensitive so when at Walmart the other day, I picked up the new Colgate Total® Daily Repairâ„¢. Since I’m a nerd and like to read all the labels to compare which one I should buy, I grabbed this one after seeing this toothpaste helps reverse early tooth and gum damage and helps to fight bad breath. My co-workers can thank me later when I don’t knock them out with my morning breath;)

5. Pack on the Protein. Whether you have 5 or 15 minutes for you breakfast, it’s important to have your first meal of the day packed with good proteins. These will help fight off hunger until lunch and give you the energy needed to get through the day. A few of my favorites are plain oatmeal mixed with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter and a drizzle of honey or plain greek yogurt, topped with berries and homemade granola.

6. Turn off Electronics. Although I love my TODAY show and social media checking at night and in the morning, it’s much better to turn off all electronics 30 minutes before bed and wait about 30 minutes before using in the morning. You’ll find that you not only get a better sleep when you don’t have background noise and light, but you also will be a much more productive person in the morning because if you’re getting up early after all, you’ll surely not want to waste that time on social media or watching tv.

Any tips you’ve found helpful to getting a jump start to your morning? How about a healthy reward you give yourself for getting up? If you’re a teeth person like me, be sure to check out more ways to a better and healthy smile here or follow along with Colgate on their Facebook and Twitter page.