Welcome to the Peaceful Power Podcast I’m Andrea Claassen the host of the show. Today I’m talking about how early to bed, & early to rise can make you more productive.
Today I want to chat about my Peaceful Power Practice #4 early to bed, early to rise.
Evening Routine
To truly grasp this concept we need to implement both evening & morning routines into our lives. We need to finish the day strong so we can set up tomorrow. Ideally we are in bed sleeping by 10pm. Now I probably already lost a few of you when I said that, but hear me out. Have you ever gotten that second wind where suddenly you were no longer tired around midnight? Then you were up until 2am and the alarm went off at 6am? You start the day tired, groggy, cranky, and wanting to caffeinate yourself. This is all to common of a theme. I myself have always been a morning person even in college I would prefer to go to bed around 9/9:30pm. I love morning time. In order for myself to truly love the evenings I needed to adapt an evening routine. My evening routine has pretty much stayed the same since I was in middle school. I would wash my face, journal & read. I still do that now.
One thing that has changed slightly is I set up an alarm on my phone to let me know I need to stop working an hour before bed so I can start to wind down. I found without the alarm I was staying up way to late as between 7-bedtime is my time to work on the admin side of my business after my son is asleep. So I take full advantage of it. Now in the summer time I’ve found it is a lot more difficult to go to bed when I should. The sun is still out and I feel like I should be up doing something. Noticing the change of seasons and the change of mood is something to pay attention to when you put in routines into your life. They will play a factor in what is going on.
Ideas of where to start with an evening routine
- Set a phone alarm to remind you to go to bed
- Pay attention to the seasons and how your body responds to different season changes
- Make sure you eat at least 2 hours before bedtime
- Avoid caffeine & alcohol for a good nights sleep
- Use dim lighting
- Read or journal to unwind the mind
- Take a warm bath
Morning Routine
When you start your day you want to start strong not on your phone, but being present to what’s going on with you and your body. Now I would be a hypocrite to say I don’t start my day that way as I am usually checking things on my phone, and listening to a podcast as I get ready for my day. I’m just sharing ideals. Next have a morning meditation and movement practice. I do spend a few minutes in either a meditation, or prayer, 1 minute journal and a reading passage most mornings. Then trying to add in 20 minutes of movement into your morning. This could be jumping on the a rebounder, yoga, going for a walk, or squats, kettlebell swings, pushup routine. Whatever sounds like something you would look forward to doing. Next you should have a morning bowel movement as well. Ideally coffee isn’t needed to make that happen. Paying attention to what your body needs and craves to eat and ideally not coffee. Again these are ideals and not everyone is perfect you have to decide what will work for you.
Ideas of where to start with your morning routine
- Develop a morning stillness practice
- Try to not dive into technology first thing in the morning
- Add in a few minutes of movement to start your day
- Try to avoid caffeine
- Have a morning bowel movement
- Wake up with the sunrise around 5-6am
Again some of these will take work and others might never happen for you. Some you may get for a few months and then the seasons change and it throws you off your game and your back to square one. Just notice what makes you feel good and where you really want things to stick in your routine. Stay consisent, yet give yourself grace. Ultimately these are all habits that are created to help you live a healthier life. Again maybe I’m just introducing them to you today and a few years from now they might stick. Take what feels good and incorporate that into your daily routine tomorrow.
Let me know how it goes over on instagram at andreaclaassen21 or in our private Facebook group which has been popping with people checking in weekly and full of women wanting to develop better habits this year.
Finally everyone go out there & spread your Peaceful Power.
Where to connect with Andrea
- Instagram- @andreaclaassen21
- Facebook- @andreaclaassen21
- Website- andreaclaassen.com
- Facebook Group- facebook.com/groups/peacefulpower
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