I think there’s this weird misconception that in order to be a morning person you need to be up and dressed at 6am and not a moment later. But morning technically ranges from, well, 12am till 12pm right? To me, being a morning person simply means you’re more productive in the morning. And to me, “the morning” means before lunch. I certainly don’t wake up before 7 every day any day; you won’t find me sipping a smoothie and going for an early morning run. But certainly since being self employed, I’ve learnt the value of the morning and learnt to utilize it to grow my productivity.

I’ve only grown to love the morning over the last few years; when I was in sixth form, I would often sleep in until gone midday (granted, I was hungover the majority of the time but not the point!) and when I was in school and had to get up at 7 every day, oh man I loathed it. Although I still love and cherish my sleep and my bed is my absolutely favourite place on Earth, I think as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more accustomed to getting up early and just sucking it up if I’m tired.

I’ve found that I am so much more productive in the morning than any other time of day. In fact, I think the middle slog of the day is when I’m least productive – my creative juices are running out and I just feel sluggish. Then again at around 7pm, I’ll start to perk up a bit again. I would continue work well into the night however due to my boyfriend’s work schedule, at night is the only time I can actually spend any time with him so obviously I don’t want to spend it working.

Therefore, that leaves the morning and the beginning of the day for me to get the majority of my sh*t done. And I’ve learnt to absolutely love it. Here’s some little tips and thingys on being a morning person. I realise that not everyone works from home like me, so if you only incorporate these tips into weekends or on certain days, cool!

Set your alarm for 10 minutes before you need to get up, so then you can lay there for an extra 10 minutes before jumping out of bed: And this gives you the chance to wake your mind up instead of jumping out of bed as soon as your alarm goes off and trying to put your tights on your face instead of your glasses.

Have the things you use first thing right next to you: Medications, water, lip balm – anything you use first thing, leave on your bedside table so you can do it as soon as you wake up. It’s one thing off your to-do list and the movements you’ll need to pick things up etc. will slowly wake your mind.

Have a to-do list ready the night before: Waking up knowing you’ve got a shed load to do but not actually knowing what any of that stuff is just doesn’t even register with me. Write your to-do list the night before, it’ll help, I promise.

And just be organised: Again, something else you might need to do the night before but just keep your stuff organised. If you work from home then keep your work stuff (notebooks, laptop etc) in an organised manner. If you’re going to work or going out, get your clothes, make-up, jewelry – everything ready the night before.

Make time for breakfast (if you can): I know some people can’t eat breakfast for whatever reason and that’s cool but if you’re the kinda person who skips breakfast for no reason, I urge you to make time for something! It’ll give you energy and get you going for the day.

Make time for exercise (again, if you can): I always do my Yoga every morning. If it gets past 1 in the afternoon and I haven’t done any yet then chances are I’m not going to. Doing Yoga in the morning always sets me up for a good day; physically because I’ve got some exercise and made time to move my body and mentally too!

Being productive now means you can do whatever you want later: This is another huge motivator for me. Being someone who really struggles to switch off and have down time, this encourages me to work super duper hard in the morning because I know by dinner-time, I do what I want without feeling guilty.

Do you have any of your own tips for being productive in the morning? Are you a morning person or a night owl? 

102 Comments

  1. Love this post – great advice. I’m definitely a morning person, but I’d like to be even more of a morning person, so I’ll try to utilise some of your advice in becoming so!

  2. I love this advice! When I was at uni, I used to go out for a morning run at 6am, and I would feel amazing for the rest of the day. Sadly I can’t do that anymore as I’m at work for 9am, but I always try and do some exercise at lunchtime, whether it be a run or walk. I always write down my to-do-list too, so that really helps.

    I always do all my best work in the morning too, my mind is sharper. I will take your point about waking up earlier into consideration.

    Amy | hookedonthemusic.com

  3. I have to get up every day at 6.30 for work and I’d much rather lie in until 8am. I always feel tired but have to put on a smile and be organised as I work as a receptionist. But my productive writing time is definitely the morning (when I’m off work!)

  4. I am all over the place when it comes to existing before 11am. Sometimes I wake up and I love the morning, others days I am like ‘ew, no thanks’

    I tend to wake up earlier in the summer, but I think that is because I am excited about the sun, hahaha!

  5. I find I’m a morning person during the working week, and at the weekend I usually try to wake up early too. I used to wake really late on the weekends, but then I felt like I was wasting my day! I think I’m kind of both a night owl and morning person.

  6. I have been feeling so sluggish in the mornings at the moment – I really peak and trough between being a morning person. I really need to bear in mind what the time I’ll have later is, if I get more done in the morning! Fabulous post and I love that flatlay!
    Kate x
    http://www.findingkate.co

  7. i really need to follow this spectacular lifestyle advice!! i am way too regularly a night owl, resulting in a zombie mind throughout the day! 🤦🏼‍♀️

  8. Great post! I’m not a morning person in any sense of the word, I’ve always been a night owl but as I’m getting older I am starting to go to sleep a little earlier and waking up a little earlier so maybe I’m turning into a morning person a bit? I find it’s always the most productive time of day too x

    Em ~ http://thisisemsworld.com

  9. I’m so not a morning person however my boyfriend is. He said that he’s now become one just because I can be terrible in the mornings!!

  10. lol I have no choice but to get up early everyday because I have to be in by 8/8:30 and I dread it everyday 😩😩 lol like rn I just woke from a nap cause I’m forever tired. I’m like a sleep queen, I love sleep so much but sometimes it just doesn’t love me haha so when I get to sleep good I dread riding early. But I can say an early start can lift the mood of productivity and it really does mean before lunch & not necessarily 6 am. Great post Jenny! 💤💕

    xx Lena | https://lenadeexo.com

    1. Oh no! Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much you sleep though does it, it’s never enough! Although sleeping too much gives me a headache and makes me feel so groggy for the rest of the day x

  11. I really loved this post, Jenny, and you’re so right. People think in order to be a ‘morning person’ you need to be an early riser when this isn’t the case at all!

    Some great tips here about making it that little bit easier to motivate yourself to get up and moving in the morning. To-do-lists help me a lot, too, and I also do the setting the alarm trick 10 mins before!

    Fabulous post chicken poppet!

    Charlene McElhinney
    http://www.charlenemcelhinney.co.uk

    1. Thanks gorgeous! I don’t understand this “morning person = 5a.m” mentality like the morning is long! There’s plenty of time! The 10 minute trick is wicked, definitely works! x

  12. Great article!
    I always set my alarm a bit early, so I can wake up a bit before I have to get up. I’m still not a morning person, but lately I enjoy reading in the morning.

  13. I am also a morning person! I have to wake up early for work in the week but even at the weekends I want to wake up early as there is so much I want to do!

  14. I’m definitely a morning person too. I find having a set routine makes me look forward to getting out of bed. I also love getting a workout in in the morning it really gives me the energy to push through the day. I loved this post, especially the idea of setting your alarm 10 minutes early, that’s a great tip!

  15. The morning also means before lunch for me as well! Haha, I’ve tried to exercise first thing in the morning and I don’t seem to burn as much as exercising in the pm’s. (duh, where is the energy).

    Glad you’ve grown to love the am’s! I totally agree with these tips to become a morning person. I have a series of alarms in the morning to get me up at the right time. And YES! Being productive now means you get to do everything later!

    exquisitely.me

  16. I’ve definitely never been a morning person, but ever since I started work again after unemployment, my body wakes itself up at 8am! (Annoying on weekends, lol) I feel so much more productive now! x

  17. I’m so bad at mornings but omg I think you may have just saved my life. I work during the week so I don’t have time to be productive in terms of writing but come Saturday, I just sleep when I know I should be working. Let’s see how well this works next week!

    Great post! 💕

  18. I’m both, like you lol, there’s just something about the afternoon.. I work better in the morning and in the evening 🙂

    Perrine

  19. I’m beginning to accept the fact that I’ll never be one of those girls that gets up at 7am, and goes for a million mile run, and drinks a smoothie and eats quinoa for lunch – that just isn’t me, and that’s totally fine! I completely agree with setting your alarm ten-fifteen minutes before you need to wake up, because I love to have a little scroll of social media and wake up properly.. 🤷🏼‍♀️ I will always be a night owl though, without a doubt! 🖤

  20. I like to think I’m a hibernating bear because I want to sleep all the time xD
    I really want to become a morning person though! Whenever I do wake up in the morning early and get lots of stuff done, it feels great! But the next day, it’s back to saying “five more minutes…” and going to sleep for another hour <_<
    Kanra Khan

  21. I wish I was a morning person but I’m the completed opposite! The majority of my work gets done between about 10pm and 2am. If I ever try to do anything more challenging than emails in the am I end up hating it and doing it again. At least there’s no distractions at night 😂. Totally agree with the being prepared the night before thing though. And I love a to-do list! x

    Sophie
    http://www.glowsteady.co.uk

  22. I should ask my kids this they’re definitely morning people 🤣 I used to be but since neither of my kids were great sleepers I’ve had so much sleep deprivation I think it zaps you a lot, I do like the solitude and sunrises of an early start though. Yoga and tea are definitely required, as is organising as much as possible the night before. Love this topic for getting discussion & everyone thinking xx

  23. I do the first one, and agree it’s fab. I love staying cosy in bed fir a little longer and not getting up right away 🙂
    I also always eat breakfast too, though I think I tend to work better mid morning- afternoon.
    Amy xx

  24. Great tips! I’ve been turning into a morning person more and more these past few months but I always feel like I need a little push to really optimize my morning time productivity.

  25. Most of the time my day usually doesn’t start until after lunch, but mostly because I get up around 10 and my roommate is home. I find it really hard to get work done when my roommate is home so it’s kind of hard. I’m mostly productive in the evening anyway, but whenever I start my day productive, I end up having an awesome day so I really wouldn’t mind becoming a morning person. Great post!

    Megan xx insidemegansmind.com

  26. Love this! I’m learning to be more of a morning person, I used to always stay up too late and it was hard to wake up. I got an Echo dot for my room with a Smart plug, so if I set up my coffee machine the night before, I can turn on my coffee pot without leaving my bed 😉 quite lazy, but SO WORTH IT!!!

  27. I am definitely not a morning person myself. I’m most productive between 6pm and 12am. Sadly working those hours just isn’t an option with the stage of life I’m in so I’ve had to adapt to imitating a morning person! I love these tips and will definitely be trying some of them out. Especially the making a to do list the night before and focusing on doing more now so I can do whatever later.

    1. Ah that’s a shame that you’re not able to utilise the time where you’re more productive! Making a to do list for the following day can be helpful for anyone though so hope that helps! x

  28. I would not call myself a morning person, but I find that I’m also the most productive in the morning. Like you, I want to get things out of the way so I can do fun things for the rest of the day! I also find it easiest to stay motivated in the morning. If I use the morning to watch TV, then I’m not going to be motivated to do anything OTHER than watch TV for the rest of the day.

    I wouldn’t call myself a morning person though, because I just go through the morning in this fog of tired. I can focus and work through it, but it’s obnoxious for sure! I’m a night owl, which is frankly frustrating. I can be completely exhausted, and then as soon as the sun goes down I’m suddenly wide awake and can’t fall asleep! Which just makes getting up at 5:30 the next morning that much harder…

  29. This is great advice Jenny. I for one am a night owl no matter how hard I try to change it. I seem to get more done at night than I ever do during the day. In a way it sucks because I usually have all kinds of errands during the day and end up exhausted. Great post as always 😊😊

    1. Ah well if you’re super productive at night then that’s great! I feel my energy runs out and I need to do something that doesn’t require a lot of thinking by the evening!

  30. I’m definitely a morning person, but I really don’t know if I have a choice. Most of the time my shifts start at 7am which means a beautiful 5am wake up call. In the winter it means the evenings are awful, as I get tired as soon as it gets dark but it’s definitely getting better!

    Tori | JustTheBeginning-x.com
    Latest blog post: Fun April Fool’s Day Pranks!

  31. I agree with all your advice Jenny 💖. I study at home and find getting up early starts the day in a positive way. Doing yoga or some kinda exercise first thing is such a good mood booster and helps me to get motivated. Writing a to-do list the night before is a fab tip, it really helps with staying organised and productive. Great post! 😘 xx

    Bexa | http://www.hellobexa.com

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