The Journey to Becoming A Morning Person: Six Months On

I have a confession to make. I sleep on a bed of lies. You may remember (you and I both know you don't remember, but that's ok) a few months ago I wrote a brilliant self help guide on finding and channeling your inner morning person. I truly believed in everything I was typing. Until I realised I was totally and utterly kidding myself.

I have never and will never be a morning person. Yes, I am now conscious (to put it loosely) during many more hours of the morning than I was back during my days as a student, but I do not enjoy it. Not even one iota of pleasure comes to me from being awake before the sun is up. Some people find it very spiritual and like to tell the world about it via any means possible. But in reality, I'm all: "the sky is not awake, therefore I should not be awake".

I'm not denying that utilising my mornings gives me time to be somewhat more productive and complete a few more thangs on my never-ending to-do list, but at what cost? AT WHAT COST?! Let me unravel some of my feelings for you:

1. Prepare the night before
Technically I still do this, but not quite how I'd once envisioned. My 'preparation' mostly involves throwing together a meager sandwich using a filling that requires the least amount of effort in the world (and then regretting it at lunchtime the next day when I have to scoff yet another Marmite sandwich - see honest food diary) and then throwing on some kind of outfit that probably doesn't match in a hurry each morning based on the weather report I checked before going to sleep...

2. Replace your alarm clock with Sleep Cycle

The sound of waves now makes me grimace and I swear I hear my alarm faintly during the course of the day. Plus, nothing sets you up for a long and mucho busy day quite like discovering that your sleep quality the previous night was a less than desirable percentage score. OH WAIT. I still love the app though so...

3. Let the light in
In the depths of winter, there is no light to 'let in'. Unless you count car headlights, which I don't...

4. Get that H2O and O2
Again, Winter = impossible. IT'S BLOODY FREEZING. EVERYTHING. ALWAYS. IT BURNS. IN A COLD WAY. WHICH SOMETIMES I THINK IS WORSE THAN IN THE HOT WAY.

5. Know your schedule
Knowing my schedule means I'm not so likely to turn up to work looking scruffy as hell so I suppose this is still a valid point.

6. Make time for breakfast
'Having breakfast' and 'making time for breakfast' are two very different things, I have learnt. Most mornings become a fun old game of 'how many Bitesize Shredded Wheat can I shove in my gob at one time so I can hurry this process up and ensure I'm not massively late?'. Not nearly as many as I'd like, is usually the answer.

7. All about that coffee
Oh coffee, you are the only constant thing in my life that I can depend on. Until it's a freezing day and my gloves mean the travel mug you are safely concealed inside slips from my hands and you are dropped all over the floor. A minute's silence for all the caffeine NEEDLESSLY LOST BECAUSE OF WINTER.

8. Pump some tunes
If I hear Jess Glynn's 'Don't be so hard on yourself' one more time I swear I am going to commit. Morning radio stations need to learn to mix it up, there's only so many times a girl can listen to 'Hotline Bling' before things get weird.

I'll tell you what is fun though: voluntarily waking up at 6:30am ON. A. SUNDAY.
HA. SO FUN.
~ Eleanor xo