How to wake up earlier and start smashing your day

I found that once I started waking up earlier I was more productive. Here is how to start waking up earlier and smashing your day.

Slowly start waking up earlier

It's really tough trying to go from sleeping in to waking up at 6am. I recommend waking up 5 mins earlier each day until you're at your perfect wakeup time.

Put your phone on the other side of the room

This will stop you from snoozing your alarm. Once you're out of bed you're much less likely to snooze. The other benefit is you won't keep checking your phone before you fall asleep or before getting out of bed.

Put a glass of water next to your bed

Science tells us that if you drink some water you activate your digestive system which suppresses melatonin. Basically it wakes you up. So if you struggle to wake up, down a glass of water which is not only good for you but will make you more alert.

Create a Streak

By aiming to create a streak (aka the number of days in a row you can complete waking up earlier), you're gamifying your productivity. It's surprisingly effective as a motivator. The longer the streak goes on, the more motivated you'll be to keep it going. If you fail, you need to start again from 0. Being able to start again when you fail is what successful people do best.

Set a task list the night before

I like to come up with a set of tasks to complete the following day as my final work for that day. It's a good way to finish things up and reflect on what to do next. I highlight one task that I want to complete right away...

Complete a task first thing

After waking up, don't check your email (don't even check the price of crypto ;) ). The best thing you can do is complete a task. I find that if I get one task done first thing in the morning, then the rest of my day is more productive. If I however do mindless emails or Twitter or something, then i'll put off doing real work.

Keep your mind in the present

I'm a daydreamer. I could spend the entire day off in the clouds thinking about random things in the future. So I make a real effort to stop myself from daydreaming and keep my mind fixed on what is happening now and what I should be doing. To do this I....

Go for a morning walk

Walking is underrated. But it's the perfect opportunity to focus your mind and really think about what tasks you want to complete. It's also good for you and by having a morning walk you'll get the blood flowing ready to do some serious work.