I love personal development "anything" - books, podcasts, instagram accounts, etc.  You name it, I follow it.  And one of my greatest personal development goals for years has been to get up earlier.  That's what "everyone" says the successful people do, right?  I listen to this stuff and totally buy into it - hook, line and sinker.   Unfortunately, I also believe that if I don't do that, I'm a failure.  It's all or nothing with me.  Oh sure, I can do the occasional day here and there.  But it's not a routine or habit.  I mean, look at my alarms...it's a joke.  

The problem is this......I do get up an hour earlier.  I get up an hour earlier than I did 10 years ago.  Does that count?  I'm starting to think that it has to count because moving it up any earlier has been a colossal failure.  I've bought Rachel Hollis' Start Today journal.  I've tried Mel Robbins' 5-4-3-2-1.  I've moved my phone across the room.  I've programmed Alexa to play some kick-ass tunes.  I've set multiple alarms at various intervals.  Nothing has worked.

Hello 5:00 am - I am sorry, but you and I are just not friends.  But friends often come and go with the seasons of our life.  So, maybe one day, 5:00 am, we will be the best of buds.  But, for now, I might just need to get a little closer to 5:45 or 6:00 am.  They fill my cup better than you. 

But does that mean I have to give up the idea of the morning routine?  I don't think so.  Good habits can be established any time of day.  They don't have to happen in the morning to make them legit. Maybe, for now, that routine needs to happen before I go to bed.  And I need to be ok staying up a little later.  That works for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm no night owl.  By "late", I mean 10:30 pm.  But right now, I'm trying to get to bed by 9 or 9:30 so that I can get up at 5:00 am.  Essentially, I'm cheating myself out of time in my day that might be productive because I'm going to bed early and not getting up early.  Time wasted.

So, as I begin my new life as an entrepreneur (good bye school counselor), I going to try something different.  All those routines of writing in my journal, meal planning, goal-setting, kitchen cleaning and laundry folding will take place before I go to bed. And I will change that daily alarm to a time later than 5:00 am and I will quit starting my day by berating myself for not getting up earlier and following the plan.  I love you Rachel Hollis, but I hope you are ok with this change in your plan. 

How about you?  Morning or night person?  If you've successfully moved up your morning alarm, how did you do it?