How to Become a Morning Person!

Given how busy the legal profession is, by the time we get to the evening portion of our day, we’re completely exhausted. Our evenings are rarely as productive as our mornings because we naturally run out of energy throughout the day. To get the most out of your day, it’s important to start prioritizing your morning tasks and getting the most out of your day. Here are some tips for making your mornings productive and enjoyable:

1. Get a full night’s sleep

That sounds easy, right? But how many hours is a full night’s sleep? Health experts recommend that you strive for at least eight hours of sleep each night. Most law students and attorneys fluctuate in their sleep schedule and likely don’t get their full eight hours. That’s okay!

Part of wellness is figuring out what works best for you. If you’re one of those people that feels fantastic after six hours of sleep and it works for you, that’s completely fine. Just make sure to focus on consistency and try to get around the same amount of sleep each night, to make sure that you don’t throw your sleep cycle out of balance.

2. Don’t hit that snooze button

We’re all guilty of “waking up” for the gym and then getting up an hour later after four attempts to snooze your alarm. In reality, the few minutes of sleep you’re getting between your alarms isn’t good sleep quality. You’re better off getting up immediately and trying to walk around in order to wake up your mind and body.

If you rely on an alarm clock or on the alarm on your phone, try to move the alarm further away from the bed. Try putting it just far enough to where you can’t reach over to snooze your alarm, and have to get up from the bed instead.

3. Eliminate decision-making tasks in the morning

Plan out everything you need to do in the morning by making a mental checklist the night before. Try to pick out your clothes, your breakfast options, and write down the important things you need to get done in the mornings.

Eliminating decision-making tasks will save you the mental energy you need to complete those tasks quickly. Then, after your morning caffeine boost, you’ll have plenty of energy to tackle the difficult parts of your day.

4. Make sure to plan time for breakfast

You want to avoid having to run into your morning meeting or class on an empty stomach. Hunger can pull focus away from the important things you need to accomplish throughout your day. Try to plan your breakfast the night before, or even try to make something easy like overnight oats so you can just grab and go.

Breakfast really is one of the most important meals of the day and it can serve as an effective treat for not snoozing your alarm that morning. Plus, coffee usually accompanies breakfast and we all know that we can’t live without that!