A Wife And Mother: Becoming a Morning Person Does Not Require "Liking" Mornings

I am a former sleep-addict turned morning person. How did this happen? What do I do to force myself out of bed- regularly- in order to have my Bible Study before my kids awake? First and foremost, I pray. I commit myself to the Lord, ask His blessing and strength. And then I take real steps to overcoming my weaknesses and "just do it". Here is a list of ideas- some are my own, others I gleaned from some of the books and blogs that I mentioned in my last post. Not all of these apply directly to me right now, but are for future reference. A lot of these are variations of a main idea; I'm exhaustive when it comes to lists (weakness? or strength?). Lately my motto has been: "How can I turn any excuse into a challenge?" Which I think I covered with my tips below. I've put in bold the ideas that I am using currently, just so you know. I hope some of these help you too! If any of my Women's Bible Study ladies read my blog this list may seem familiar (wink, wink).

General Strategies*

Study first thing in the morning, work at getting up to do so.
Know when your kids get up and plan to be up 20 minutes before that- or know how much time you need to be out the door for work and get up 20 minutes before then. (Once this is a habit, consider increasing the time? So far I'm at 60 minutes.)
Do this every day of the week, not taking off Saturday or Sunday. This will help cement the schedule for your body- it’s always harder to get up the next day if you slept in the day before.
Have your Bible, study tools, pencils, and notebook already placed where you will study.
Set your alarm, turn off the snooze option, and place your alarm far enough away from your bed that you must stand up to turn it off.
Have a robe or sweatshirt ready by your alarm so you can snuggle in that for warmth instead of crawling back into the warm bed.
Immediately head towards the coffee pot (or tea kettle, or your favorite water glass).
Turn on at least one light!
Sit down and begin to study- pray first that God will teach you.
If your mind wanders, grab your attention and place it back on your study (if you’re like me, repeat as necessary!). Spend time studying your Bible and leave a few minutes to pray. Write down a thought or two, and the memory verse to carry with you throughout the day. Now, you can greet your day with God’s strength and joy in your heart!

Begin the night before*

Prepare your Bible study materials and set them out.
Lay out your clothes; and your kids’ clothes if necessary
Gather all those morning things (your kids’ backpacks, their lunches, your work report, etc) so that you are not distracted the next morning thinking of things you need to have before you walk out the door.
Place a really comfy blanket near your study place.
Set the coffee pot on a timer so it will be ready for you when you get up.
Have the table set for breakfast and any non-perishables already out. Write down a verse or two by your kids’ plates so if you randomly have an early riser they can serve themselves and read the verse quietly without interrupting you.
Set your alarm!
Go to bed 20 minutes earlier (or more) than you usually do to make up for the time in the morning.
Just before going to sleep, pray and ask God to give you the strength to rise in the morning and get out of bed.
Speak to your kids the night before and let them know that if they get up early to help themselves quietly to cereal and read their verse or Bible, but that they shouldn't disturb you.
If a child is suddenly & consistently rising earlier, do one of two things: 1) choose to get up a little earlier yourself so you are still up before your kids or 2) prepare a Bible study for them to do quietly near you (this needs to be something they can do on their own because if they keep seeking your help then you are not focusing on your own study. There is a delicate balance here, but God will help guide you to find it). 3) Treat the scenario the same with a husband, too, by respectfully requesting that he not disturb your Bible study if he is up. Note: My kids started waking up 20 minutes earlier than usual- while I was still studying my Bible. Because my two kids are 2 and younger (unable to even get out of their own beds, much less feed themselves, etc.), I had to get up 20 minutes earlier to compensate. This is really hard for me because it's hard enough to get up as it is, and now I have to wake up even sooner! But the pay-off is worth it!

Solutions to Common Obstacles*

If you have a really hard time getting your brain in gear, don’t give up! Remember you are training yourself to be alert at a time when you are normally sleeping.
Most of us need to use the bathroom first thing in the morning so try splashing cool water on your face while you’re in there.
Do a few jumping jacks or run in place (seriously).
Drink a glass of ice water before sitting down to study.
If you like to exercise, consider doing it first- get up even earlier and do your workout.
Take a quick shower. But, keep in mind that the goal is to study before the house is awake or your concentration will be diverted. So you may have to get up 30 minutes earlier to take a 10 minute shower first (10 min shower + 20 min Bible Study = 30 min earlier). Just experiment a little to adjust the time. And shower only! Don’t do other things like style your hair, and so on.
Take a load of things to the car, to wake yourself up. If your purse is ready the night before, walk it to the car to stimulate your brain (don’t accidentally lock yourself out!).
Read and say your memory verse aloud a few times to wake up your brain.
Read your Bible aloud to keep your focus and wake up your brain.
Soon, you should notice that you are alert more quickly each morning. Keep it up!
What do you do if you are a night owl? Realize that getting up and giving God the first fruits of your day is following Christ’s example. He was often up late and always rose early the next morning before his disciples were up to spend time alone with God.
Also imagine the benefit of getting up, waking up, and having your mind focused on God, all before your family is awake. How much better to greet your family with the love of Christ when you have just sat at His feet and studied His words.
Remember that you are only changing things a little bit. If you’re usually up till midnight or later you don’t have to suddenly go to bed at 9. Only go to bed 20 minutes earlier to match getting up 20 minutes earlier.
If you truly have a hard time falling asleep pray about it. Ask God to give you wisdom to know what is keeping you awake?
If it is physical, seek ways to help that. I have been falling asleep quicker and sleeping better since I began to daily exercise (see post here). Maybe you need some physical exertion added to your day?
Perhaps its pain- pray, seek your husband’s blessing and ask God to direct you to the right Dr. and the right medication for a solution.
Or maybe you need to invest in a different bed, or pillow?
Seek natural remedies to help you sleep (warm tea, natural sleep aids, a warm bath, etc).
Does your mind take a while to relax? Practice getting in bed with paper and a calendar. Think through your day tomorrow and write down any notes/to do’s and mark up your calendar. Capture every thought and write it down so that your brain can release those thoughts. Pray briefly over that list and ask God to direct your day tomorrow.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” Phil. 4:6.
Read a Psalm or several Psalms just before turning in to settle your mind.
If you lie down and suddenly have a thought (to-do, reminder, note-to-self) then write it down.
Avoid intense/deep reading, playing computer (Facebook), or watching television right before bed. These things activate the mind.
Keep the room as dark as possible, light stimulates your brain even if your eyes are closed.
If your husband keeps different hours than you, then pray about speaking to him about it. After praying, approach your husband humbly and tell him your heart about getting up and spending time in the Word. Let him know that he wakes you up when he goes to bed after you do (or whatever the disturbance may be) and ask him to consider solutions with you. Always speak respectfully and seek his answers. Work out a solution together, and pray for extra strength & diligence through the transition.
If your children (excluding nursing babies, of course) keep you up at night, then pray with your husband about how to parent them in this situation. Decide on acceptable and unacceptable behavior (getting up constantly for drinks, or bathroom, etc) and choose appropriate consequences for disobedience. In a way, you are training your household to help you keep your Bible study time.

Transitioning from Bible Study to your day*

We do not want to develop the habit of getting up early to study and pray only to spend the rest of the morning stressed, frazzled, and shouting to get everyone out the door on time.
Know what it takes to get out the door with your family. Write down everything, in order, in detail, with approximate times next to each one: Wake up kids: 5 min, Fix breakfast: 5 min, Eat breakfast: 15 min, Clean up breakfast: 10 min, Supervise kids’ chores: 10 min, etc. Now you know how to plan.
Add up the minutes and you know how much time you need before you leave, and you know when you must begin (after Bible study, of course).
Look for areas to tweak (see some examples in #5, #6, and #7)
Do your kids fight over time in the bathroom? Perhaps one child should wake up and immediately do their bathroom-getting-ready-things and then eat breakfast, while another child does the opposite. Staggering what the kids do might ease your mornings.
Does one child wake up with difficulty and with a lot of stress on both them and you? Pray with your husband and come up with solutions. Perhaps this child needs an earlier bedtime? Or maybe he/she just needs to learn the life skill of waking up right away despite wanting to stay in bed. Decide if a consequence needs to be added, or maybe they just need you to take a moment to come in, turn on the light, sit next to them in bed, and rub their back (or something).
Do you struggle with getting kids dressed? Whether you choose, the child chooses, or you both select, pick out everyone’s clothes the night before. Set them out and have them ready- this can eliminate a lot of wasted time in the morning!
Gather all items needed and have them packed and ready the night before (bags, sports equipment, school forms, etc). Turn this into a required chore and make it a nightly habit. Your morning self will thank you.
Prepare for “little things” like: who gets to sit up front? Erase that fight by making a schedule, or picking the person the day before.
Pray and think about your morning and identify all struggles and stresses, talk with your husband about solutions, and decide consequences for unacceptable behavior. Be prepared.
Then gather your family and spend time discussing these new systems so that they understand what they are and are not supposed to do. Even ask them for suggestions for making mornings easier. You can make lists for your reading children that detail the new system to help them remember everything and take responsibility for themselves. And you can make pictures of the steps for your non-readers (picture of a toothbrush to remind them to brush, picture of their bed to remind them to make it, etc).
If you show enthusiasm, it will eventually rub off on them. Oh, and don’t forget to praise your kids when they do what they are supposed to, when they are supposed to, all with a good attitude!
Also, consider implementing one thing at a time. Add one new element and let it sink in for a few days/a week before adding the next one.

*In no particular order

I am so thankful that I have been giving God my first-fruits. There has been a lot of spiritual growth in my life because of it. In no way am I perfect, or better than anyone because of this. I simply find a lot of joy and satisfaction in my days. Also, my ability to obey God in the daily-life-things is stronger (i.e. more patience, less annoyance, etc.).

What tips/ideas make your study time better? I'd love to hear them!