It’s 5:15 in the morning and it’s time to roll out of bed.
The vibrating alarm on my fitbit 
My husband is still sleeping, so I tip-toe out of our bedroom and slowly shut the door behind me. I head straight for the coffee pot.
The house is dark and quiet, and I’m at peace.
My boys get up at 7am, so I have an hour and forty-five minutes just for me…
When I tell people about my morning routine, they often give me strange looks and ask me why I’d choose such torture. They ask me why would I lose precious sleep just to have a few minutes by myself.
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There are lots of reasons why, but mainly it’s because…
Mornings are my time.
The morning is the only time of day that’s just for me.
As a Mom, I spend my day catering to other people’s needs, wiping boogers, or transporting kids all over town.
Once my boy’s feet hit the floor, it’s constant noise and busyness until their sweet heads hit their pillows at night.
The evenings are spent with my husband, and that time is special to both of us. Early mornings are the only time of day that’s mine.
While the rest of my family sleeps I get some well-deserved alone time.
I get to sit in peace and quiet.
When was the last time you found quiet time, in your own house, where no one is bothering you? Has it been a while?
Imagine drinking a full cup of coffee without heating it up in the microwave 3 times.
Maybe you craft the perfect blog post, or read a book, or fold laundry.
Whatever it is….you get to choose.
That’s why I love my mornings so much, I get to choose how I spend them.
I didn’t always get up early.
I used to wake up to the pitter patter of feet running into my bedroom. I’d be startled awake by little boys who wanted to play.
Before I could clear the nighttime cobwebs out of my head, I was forced to be up and running.
The first moments of the morning were spent in a squinty eyed haze, downing coffee, trying to wake up.
Bright lights, too much touching, and my children’s loud voices, even their giggles, assaulted my senses.
I prefer a slow wake-up with dim lights, little to no sound, and certainly not a lot of talking. But when I’m jolted out of bed by two little boys, there is no slow wake-up.
Because of my abrasive wake-up…
My mornings were hard.
I’d growl at my children and push them away on my journey to the coffee pot.
I’d plop them in front of the TV and head to the kitchen to infuse my body with coffee and spend a few minutes waking up.
This plan worked great unless my kids needed something or bothered me at all for that first half-hour in the morning.
They’d step into the kitchen and my body tensed up. Frustration took over.
All I needed was a few minutes. Why can’t they just watch TV without bugging me? Let me wake up, please!
I’d snap.
“What do you want!?” “Go back to the living room!”
Inevitably, I’d end up yelling at my kids within the first hour of them waking up. How’s that for good parenting?
I was ruining one of the most important times of our day.
There are three important times of the day for a parent and child to connect, first thing in the morning, after school or nap, and at bedtime.
Because I wasn’t at my best in the mornings, I was ruining one of the most important times of our day.
I wasn’t greeting my kids with kindness first thing in the morning. I didn’t love on them with cuddles and laughter. I didn’t help them start their day off with joy. Instead, I squashed their happiness with my bitter words because I was cranky.
It was time to make a change.
It started off small.
The first night, I set my alarm ten minutes before I expected my kids to wake up, and the next morning I was already in the kitchen ready to meet my boys when they got up.
As they came downstairs, giggling, running, and jumping, I was prepared. They rounded the corner into the kitchen and tackled me with hugs and kisses.
Instead of pushing them away, I embraced the chaos and we started our day with a tickle fight right there on the kitchen floor.
Ten minutes was all it took. Ten minutes of alone time, and I was ready to start my day with joy and laughter.
Now I wake up before my family does.
After that first morning, I knew I was onto something. Mornings can be happy. Mornings can be fun.
I got an email in my inbox two days after my first early wake-up about a program that helps mothers enjoy their mornings more.
Fate…it was one of those fate moments. This fell into my lap just when I needed it, so I took the chance. Plus, it’s super cheap, so I didn’t worry about wasting my money.
Man, was I pleasantly surprised.
This course isn’t just about how to wake up early, it’s real focus is how to make the best morning routine for your entire family.
It’s about how to start your day well so that you’re setting yourself up to have a good day. It’s perfect.
I discovered a lot in Makeover Your Mornings, but the biggest thing I learned about myself is that when I wake up early, my entire day is better.
Over time, ten minutes turned into the hour and forty-five minutes I now have in the morning.
I’m living a more intentional, organized, and efficient life
Yes, my mornings are better, but you know what? Because I spend those first few hours intentionally on things that matter to me, I’m a better version of myself.
I am a better mother, wife, and friend because of those early mornings.
You can enjoy your mornings too..
Start tomorrow. Set your alarm and just get up. Drink a cup of coffee and begin your day with intention.
Check out the Make Over Your Mornings Online Course, and start enjoying the mornings. It’s a life-changer!
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I do this too but it was thanks to perimenopause that I found this morning time. I wake at 4 am most days, 3 am when my sleep is disrupted and I’m stressed. I get the dishes and laundry done, I read the paper, a book, I text with my mom who is on a time zone 2 hours earlier than mine. I enjoy my coffee. I remember when my mom was my age she would get up this early too and get things done. She still does now that she’s caring for her 90 year old mother. The problems I have are when my 2 year old sneaks his way into my hidden time, waking when he hears me up. It’s fine when he just wants to cuddle and fall asleep in my lap while I drink my coffee, not fine when he wants to play and I can’t do my own activities. Also when my husband and 8 year old get up (around 7) they are groggy and take a long time to be social. On weekends I wait for hours just for them to fully wake up and be able to talk to me. It gets lonely then- I’ve waited all week to finally have them home during the day and even once they are awake they don’t want to be a part until around lunch time when I’m ready for a nap.
What a great idea! I hope other mothers will take your advice about getting up earlier than their family and having some time for themselves.
This sounds wonderful as I’ve always been a morning person but my daughter wakes up without fail 5.15-5.30 and I’m cranky, every single day…hate it! X
Oh yes, that is especially hard with an early waker. I did just find out that the woman who runs the Makeover Your Mornings program, just launched a Makeover Your Evenings program too. I haven’t taken it yet, but it’s totally worth it if it’s anything like her morning one. It was a lifechanger for me. Check it out here.
Great post. You “get it.” My Mom would get back up after my Dad fell asleep. She would clean–it was faster then since my brother and I weren’t wanting her attention and Dad didn’t want her attention. And, the added incentive was as soon as it was done she had perfect quiet to enjoy her own time–to read, paint, sew, think, plan, or just BE. For her it was more rejuvenating than sleep.
You are doing it right. Hug yourself!
This is SUCH a well-written and well-organized post. The blogger in me can’t help but notice it. 🙂 🙂 Sharing later this week! Thanks for writing, Amanda!
I’ve tried so hard to do that quiet hour in the morning: like you I really need it. But the moment I settle into anything there’s the schlup-schlup, schlup-schlup sound of someone small coming down the stairs and wanting me. How do you get your children to stay in bed during ‘your’ time.
Yes, that can be a problem! We use nightlights like this one http://amzn.to/2mtRZUj to keep my boys in bed until 7am. It works great for my kids!
I always loved the sound of this idea, but don’t you just instead get cranky later in the day from being so tired? 5 am is really early!
I’m actually okay, I do go to bed no later than 10pm, so I’m still getting 7ish hours of sleep a night.
Everyone thinks I’m nuts when I tell them up up at 4:30, but once you do it a few times it’s not bad at all. I have 2 very time consuming energetic girls who like to get up early and a husband who does not. When I’m up at 4:30 I (usually) have time to have a little breakfast and hop on the treadmill for me time. My 4 year old still manages to sneak downstairs some mornings while I’m on the treadmill, even with the special alarm clock in her room. I guess right now it’s the best I can ask for.
If I tried this at this stage, I would have to get up at 4 am after my youngest goes back to sleep after his 3am bottle … so essentially get up at 3am and not go back to sleep. He wakes up again anywhere from 5 or 5:30. This may work for some though and maybe for me when the boys are older.
I’m seriously contemplating starting this, but it means I need to get to bed earlier. That time after bed has been the time I spend with my husband or use as “me time”. A bit torn.
I already get out of bed at 5:10 am but it’s because I need to get to work by 6:30 am. There’s not been a daycare option for us for a couple of years, so my husband and I shifted our work days. I go in early and do pickup and he does drop off and goes in later. I pretty much go until the kids are in bed at 9:00 pm and then there’s about a hour to try to get everything done before I should go to bed. I try to carve out timeout both kids have additional needs, so time is constantly taken up.
This sounds so tempting and it really is a well written post, but I am having so many problems with sleep. This is perfect articulation of how I feel, but I have to do 30 hours per week of work from home with my 2 boys and I’m already getting to sleep at around 12 or 1. I don’t think it’s physically possible for me to get up that early. 🙁
This is such a great idea! I’m going to set my fitbit to wake me up so my husband doesn’t hear my alarm and get up too! I can actually enjoy coffee instead of rushing the kids off to school spending money on Starbucks and rushing into work and throwing the $6 coffee out since I usually don’t get to coffee before I see my patients! Thank you!
I really enjoyed reading this article. I’m up early during term time, as I’m a Childminder and have a 4 1/2 year old daughter who is an early riser.
I get up at 6:15am so I can have time to get organised for the day ahead and have some “me” time. I also have a habit of going to bed late at night to get some extra time for myself.
(I’m not a morning person, as I’m more of a night owl).
However during school holiday’s my usual morning plans tend to go to pot, as it’s nice to have a lay in with my daughter. So I feel I don’t get as much done, but my daughter is happier for having my sole attention.