If you’ve ever dreamed of becoming a morning person but can’t imagine dragging yourself out of bed at 5am, you’re not alone. We’re all busy, and whether you’re working, managing the kids, or juggling life’s endless demands, it can feel impossible to carve out any time for yourself. Maybe you don’t even have time to watch TV in the evenings, let alone focus on your personal goals. So if you’re looking to create more time in your day, getting up earlier might just be the key.

Now, before you think “there’s no way I can do that,” hear me out. Even as an early bird myself, I don’t always leap out of bed feeling like sunshine. There are days when the snooze button absolutely calls my name, but having a solid plan and genuinely knowing why you’re doing it makes all the difference.

Ready to give it a try? Here are seven tips to make those early mornings a bit easier.

Prefer listening to reading? Click here for the episode.

1. Know Your Why

Before you decide to wake up at the crack of dawn, figure out why you actually want to get up early in the first place. If you’re doing it just because it sounds productive, you won’t stick with it, trust me on this. Instead, think about what you’ll actually do with that extra hour. Write it down, visualise it, and really feel how it’ll improve your day. Maybe you want time to yourself for a morning coffee in peace, to finally tackle that never-ending pile of admin, or to fit in a workout before the day begins. Whatever it is, your “why” will be your motivation to crawl out of bed when it’s still dark outside.

This connects to something much bigger than morning routines, by the way. Knowing your “why” across every area of your life – your home, your habits, your standards, is the foundation of the kind of identity shift that makes lasting change actually possible rather than just another thing you tried for two weeks. If you want to dig into that more broadly, The Life Upgrade Audit is the best place to start… I mean, it will literally change your life when you take it seriously. No biggie.

2. Add a Little Self-Care

Let’s be real, getting up early purely out of necessity is not going to cut it long-term. If you want to make this a habit, you need to add something genuinely enjoyable to your morning routine. It could be as simple as having a peaceful coffee in the garden, reading a book, or sitting in silence for five whole minutes without anyone needing anything from you. It’s your reward for getting up, and I promise it helps. When you wake up and feel yourself about to hit snooze, remind yourself of that little treat waiting for you. You’ll be amazed at how motivating it can be!

3. No Negotiations, Jump Straight Out of Bed

We’ve all done it: “Just two more minutes…” which somehow turns into 20. The best way to avoid this trap is to not even start the negotiation. The moment your alarm goes off, jump out of bed. It sounds simple and it really does work, and I learned a brilliant tip from Mel Robbins’ book The 5 Second Rule years ago where she suggests counting down from 5 to 1 and then just going. Don’t think, just move! It’s amazing how much easier it is to get up when you don’t give yourself the option to stay in bed and start talking yourself out of it.

4. Create a Morning Routine

A solid morning routine makes all the difference. Knowing exactly what you’re going to do as soon as you wake up means fewer decisions (and fewer excuses) to make while you’re still half asleep. Your routine doesn’t need to be complicated, it could be as simple as drinking water, washing your face, doing a quick stretch, and making your bed. If you don’t have any kind of a routine yet, don’t create a 33 step, fully elite-life optimised one straight of the bat. You WILL fail and then put yourself off for life! The point is to create something that works for you, knowing it can always evolve over time, but having a set plan to start the day makes those early mornings so much easier.

If you haven’t read or listened to The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod, I’d highly recommend it. It might just change your life, and it’s a great companion to developing an early morning practice that actually sticks.

5. Invest in a Lumie Lamp

This one is a bit of a game-changer, and no, I’m not being paid to say this! Although Lumie, if you’re reading this… My Lumie lamp has completely transformed how I wake up. It mimics a sunrise by gradually brightening the room over the course of 30 minutes, which helps you wake up naturally rather than being jolted awake by a blaring iPhone alarm. I haven’t used a phone alarm in years! It’s a much nicer way to start your day and it’s especially brilliant in the winter months when it’s pitch black outside at 5am. It’s also much less stressful for your mind and body, when you’re jolted awake by a loud alarm, your cortisol spikes immediately, which is not exactly a calm way to begin your morning.

One of my clients who also has the lamp told me recently that the reviews online are a bit mixed because it’s a faff to set up initially, which reminded me that yes, it was. But she made a really good point: we’re all so used to everything being instant these days (I mean, our iPhones update their time zones automatically when we land in another country) that we’ve completely lost patience with anything that takes a few minutes to figure out. As long as you read the instructions and keep your wig on, it’s absolutely fine — and once it’s set up it’s sensational.

6. Don’t Sabotage Your Early Mornings with Late Nights

Darling, don’t do this! If you want to get up early, you have to go to bed early. Scrolling through Instagram or watching “just one more” episode of whatever you’re currently watching is a surefire way to ruin your early wake-up plan. Time disappears when you’re doom-scrolling, and before you know it it’s midnight and you’re setting yourself up for a positively resentful morning. Decide on a bedtime that gives you enough rest and actually stick to it. Research says that women may need more sleep than men due to hormonal fluctuations, higher rates of insomnia, and the sheer cognitive load of literally * everything * we have to do, so be generous with yourself when you’re calculating what time you need to be in bed. For me it’s all about being in bed by 9 and asleep by 9:30/10. I won’t pretend that always happens, but I feel glorious when it does!

7. Create an Evening Routine

Your morning actually starts the night before, and a calming evening routine makes an enormous difference to how well you sleep and how easily you wake up. Avoid screens at least an hour before bed, yes, that means no scrolling, I know, and try reading a book, listening to a calming podcast, or scripting about your life goals instead. I love listening to guided visualisations before bed to help me focus on gratitude and positive thoughts rather than ruminating on whatever stressed me out during the day. It’s a gorgeous way to wind down and it sets me up for a much more peaceful sleep. If you’ve never heard of scripting, and want to manifest your deepest desires, you must read this post. 

Final Thoughts

Getting up early isn’t always easy, but with some planning and a few solid habits, you’ll find it’s absolutely worth it. Whether you’re looking for more time for self-care, finally making a dent in your gigantic, never-ending to-do list, or just starting your day with a sense of calm before the life or mum-chaos begins, these tips will help you make early mornings your new normal. Progress over perfection always, so if you miss a day, don’t spiral about it. Just jump back in the next day and keep going.

Are you going to give this a try?! I had so many lovely emails and Instagram messages after the podcast episode saying this really helped, and I’d love to know if any of these tips inspired you too!

Want to Go Further?

An early morning practice is just one piece of the puzzle, and truly, one of the most powerful things I’ve seen is what happens to women’s mornings once they’ve sorted their environment and cleared the physical and mental weight of their homes. When you’re not spending the first 20 minutes of your day looking at chaos and feeling behind before you’ve even started, everything shifts.

If that resonates and you want to look at the bigger picture, not just your morning routine but your entire life setup, Why You Can’t Break Up With Sentimental Clutter is free and a brilliant place to begin. 

And if you’re ready to go all in on becoming someone who genuinely lives this way rather than just trying to, Break Up With Your Stuff is for you. Join the interest list here and I’ll be in touch when the next round opens.