I have always admired early risers. The fact that you can get so much done before the whole world wakes up is such an advantage! But, no matter how much I wanted to wake up early, it just felt impossible for me to achieve it.

Until one day, when I was scrolling on Tik Tok, I saw a video sharing tips on how to wake up earlier. I thought, I may as well try something new because my wishful thinking was not cutting it!

So now I am excited to share those tips with you on how I became a morning person and why. Your 'why' is very important. If there is no reason to change or form a new habit, that habit will not stick. In the beginning, you will be coming back to your 'why' many times especially when you need the motivation and push to keep going!

Keep reading for my top tips for becoming a morning person and my favourite morning rituals.

1. Waking up early allows you to run your day instead letting your day run you. Having those extra minutes in the morning allows you to set the tone for your day and for you to do what you need to do to show up as your best self. For me, waking up early gives me my quiet time. No emails, no calls, no Instagram, no rush. I use my minutes in the morning to do my skincare routine, pray, light my Palo Santo, drink my water with lemon, read and slowly sip on my beloved coffee. All of these rituals help me. They give me my calmness and fuel. It feels amazing to checkmark your self care needs before you give to others. We cannot pour from an empty cup.

2. Wake up 5 minutes earlier than the day before week over week. Building a habit takes time, especially in the morning when all we want to do is stay in bed! Telling yourself you'll wake up an hour earlier tomorrow is like signing up for a marathon the night before. What you want to do is teach and train your body and mind to wake up a little bit earlier each day. After a few weeks of waking up earlier and earlier day day, your body will be conditioned and ready to wake up earlier and earlier!

3. Build a healthy (and reasonable) night time routine. Trust me, I know how easy it is to get sucked into social media keeping us up for hours in bed. But, if you truly want to wake up earlier, you need to set yourself up for success the night before. Create a reasonable wind down routine to signal your mind and body that it's time for rest. I personally aim to be in bed by 10:30pm the latest, which allows me to naturally and happily wake up at 7:15am. A few things I do to unwind are: drink a cup of the WelleCo Calm Tea with a touch of honey, turn on my Vitruvi Diffuser with their Quiet Essential Oil in my bedroom for a zen vibe, read a few pages of a book and do my full nighttime skincare routine.

4. Find an exercise routine you genuinely enjoy. As you already know, working out is essential for a healthy mind and body. Notice I put mind before the word body. I personally workout for my mental health first, physical body second. I recently started doing Rachel Fitness Workouts on Instagram live, and I cannot begin to tell you how Rachel's workouts have changed my life. I aim to do Rachel's workouts 4x a week and I honour the privilege of being able to workout and move my body at the beginning of my day. Her workouts are challenging, motivating, sweaty and exhilarating, all things we need during a time where we have little control of our external world. I immediately feel happier and more confident once the 30 minutes high intensity / strength workout is done. I encourage you to exercise in the morning so you have the benefit of the incredible endorphins released during and continuously after you move your body. You never regret a good workout!