How to Wake Up Early

Discover tips, tricks, and proven strategies for developing a habit of waking up early. Transform your mornings and maximize your productivity.

Tips and strategies to help you become an early riser

Tip #1: To Wake Up Early, Go to Bed Early

As simple as it seems, this tip can be hard to stick to, which is why we put it as number one. Having enough sleep is important not only for waking up early, but also for feeling energized, productive and focused the next day. It may easily be the best technique to solve your waking up problems.

Tip #2: Go to Bed and Get Up at the Same Time Every Day

It’s a good habit that you must acquire – not just to help you wake up early easier, but also to fall asleep faster.

Tip #3: It Takes 3 Weeks to Form a Habit

Some sources say it takes 21 days to form a habit, some say it’s 24 days, and some say it’s 30. It doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you do not need to commit yourself to waking up early every day until the end of your life. Just commit to waking up early for … 3 weeks. That’s all. Yes, building a habit takes some time, but 3 weeks will definitely be enough to build a basic early waking habit.

Tip #4: Let the Music Wake You Up

Did you know that the NASA program has a long-standing tradition of greeting the crew each day during a mission with an appropriate musical interlude? It’s time for you to join the space crew!

Tip #5: Take a Nap in the Afternoon

If you struggle to wake up early in the morning, chances are your body doesn’t get enough sleep. Try taking a nap for 20–30 minutes during the day, and it will help reduce stress and make you feel refreshed.

Tip #6: Sleep with Fresh Air

Your ability to wake up early is heavily influenced by the quality of your sleep. Freshen the air in your room before you go to sleep (or just sleep with the windows open if the temperature outside allows), and you will have more relaxed and deeper sleep. In addition to that, this will also help you fall asleep faster!

Tip #7: Create a Reward System for Yourself

An excellent waking-up technique that works very well not only for waking up, but also whenever you want to do something you don’t like or keep procrastinating on, is promising yourself a reward. This tip can often be seen in various self-improvement materials, and it really does wonders.

Tip #8: Have Important Things Planned for the Morning

If you want to wake up earlier, make sure you have something important planned for the morning—something that you really want to do first thing when you get up, and something more important than taking an extra hour of sleep.

Tip #9: Do Not Eat Before Going to Bed

This tip is not so much about how to wake up early, but about how to fall asleep faster. Don’t eat too much right before bedtime—it’s that simple. You may have a light snack two hours before bedtime, but not later.

Tip #10: Give a Promise

Give a promise to someone that you will start waking up earlier. This works best with family members, close friends, or anyone whose opinion matters to you. Once a promise is given, it should be kept. Otherwise, you risk losing respect in the eyes of those people—and in your own eyes as well.