Getting up in the morning can be hard. Motivating yourself for the day ahead can be difficult. If you live in a place that experiences the horrors of winter you will no doubt be feeling worse due to low light levels. Part of the problem is that darkness encourages the production of sleep hormones. If we are to wake up we need brighter light. I try and look at something bright, such as a clear patch of sky for about thirty seconds. Obviously don’t stare at the sun or something stupid like that !

The next step I take, usually when I don’t want to get out of bed, is to start asking myself questions. I can’t stress enough the power of questions. Questions help motivate us in amazing ways. Whenever you ask yourself a question you will find an answer is returned even if that answer is garbage. When the questions are sensible we often give ourselves a useful answer.

By asking questions at key times we force ourselves to choose options and see potiential consequences. It is the power of these imagine potential consequences that really helps to ready us for the day ahead.

So – what questions should you ask. Perhaps look at things like ‘If I don’t get up now will I really feel pleased with myself later today’ or ‘If I stay in bed what will I not get done today’ or even better ‘How much better will getting up now make my day’. You might be worried about negative responses to these questions but even on really dark days I have been surprised how motivating these questions are.

The next step is breakfast. Don’t miss out on breakfast. You know this already, I’m not going to press the issue !

Once I am out of the house I start listening to audio books about various subjects as I begin my commute to work. Once at the office I start by examining my previous day’s todo list. Taking items from this list I construct a new list for the day and spread the tasks out over eight to ten hours in my plannner.

Using these few methods I have seen a real and significant improvment in both the way I feel and my performance level in the morning. Give them a go and see if they help you too !