11 Life Hacks To Get Up, Get Out, Do Something

12/05/2016
Ailsa Fineron

(Credit: Ailsa Fineron) I know your bed is comfy but there’s a world outside that window

Struggling to get up in the morning? Ailsa provides some tips to help you awaken and embrace the day ahead like the morning sun come the sweet, sweet ringing of your alarm clock.

Most mornings, I am a hideously cheery and chipper person. I bounce out of bed, brew coffee, make porridge, have a dance, smile lots at housemates and then get concerned when they don’t respond with the same enthusiasm. Upon asking them why I always get the same disgruntled response, ‘It’s the morning, Ailsa’.

Over the years I have come to accept that not everyone has the same energy levels as me come the rising of the sun. This lesson was reinforced by my first major depressive episode which, amongst many other things, left me struggling to get out of bed for the first time in my life. It was then that I developed various tricks to prise myself out of my nest of duvets, my favourite one being drinking lots of water the night before so that, come morning, I had to get out of bed or face the damp consequences. Thankfully my depression was never so bad that the latter happened and that episode did pass. But those three months left me with a lot of hacks to get up and out and about and friends have found them very useful so I thought I’d share them a bit wider. So…

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1. Make Sure You Get Enough Sleep The Night Before.

It’s obvious, but actually getting enough rest is the most important thing when it comes to being able to wake up the next day ready for life. Getting up is going to be made inexorably harder if you’re sleep-deprived so rest up, my friends.

2. Put Your Alarm Clock/Phone On The Other Side Of The Room.

This one’s a pretty basic one: when I know I haven’t had enough sleep the night before I make sure to put my alarm out of arm’s reach of my bed. Once I’ve dragged my body out from under the duvet and across the other side of the room, I then think I may as well stumble to the bathroom and splash my face with water and get the day going.

(Credit: Ailsa Fineron) Sometimes it's easier to get up by pretending you're artiser than you actually are and are in a dramatic film of your life.

(Credit: Ailsa Fineron) Sometimes it’s easier to get up by pretending you’re artiser than you actually are and in a dramatic, black and white biopic of your inspiring life.

3. Drink Lots Of Water The Night Before So You Have To Get Up Out Of Bed.

My housemate told me the other night that this is a Native American technique and there was me thinking I had come up with something truly original for once. It’s as simple as it sounds: drink a few glasses of water before bed and come morning your bladder will commence a battle with your brain about which is a better option: the bed or bathroom.

4. Chuck Uncomfy Stuff On Your Bed As Soon As You’re Out Of It.

A load of books, hairdryer, your pet cacti: anything to stop you falling back into that billowy comforting cloud of blankets and pillows.

5. Write Yourself A Nice Note Encouraging You To Get Up.

Whether it’s naming your phone alarm, or sticking a paper note above your bed, or writing something on your hand in biro for the morning, starting off the day with some encouragement can be the boost you need to get going. Here are some examples from my phone alarms.

some examples of notes I write myself in my alarms. I’m so cute.

6. Ask A Friend To Ring You (Preferably One Who’s A Morning Person, Who Will Be Chirpy And Chipper And All The Other Things You Hate Early In The Day).

If this friend is anything like me, they will love having an excuse to spread the love in the morning and having someone you care about waking you up is a wonderful thing.

7. Ask A Housemate To Knock On Your Door With A Cuppa.

One of my techniques for waking up my friends is to make them coffee, wave it under their nose and then place it out of reach. The option to slowly unfurl into the day over your beverage of choice and a chat is always a nice one to have too. (You can repay them later- maybe they need you to make them coffee to help them stay up later.)

(Credit: Ailsa Fineron) Anya & Hannah having their morning coffee and chat and making each other happy. N’aww.

8. Set Yourself A Task Like Making A Cup Of Tea And Then Sending A Pic Of It To Your Friend (Who’s Expecting It).

This gives you some motivation to get going. How can you possibly lie in bed for another half hour when you said to your bestie that you’d snapchat them a pic of your brekkie at 8am? Or that you’d at least venture outside – however briefly– before 9am and let them know by sending them a selfie.

(Credit: Ailsa Fineron) Getting outside of a morning is a great way to wake up. Here, Ailsa’s mum shows how it’s done.

9. Write Down The Reason You Want To/Have To Get Up In The Morning To Remind You Why You’re Doing It When Bleary-Eyed And Oh So Comfy In Your Duvet.

It’s very hard to get up when you’re still half asleep and nothing in the world seems to matter so much as that extra ten minutes of shut eye. Giving yourself a tangible reminder of what you want to achieve in the day is a great way of providing some extra motivation in the morning.

10. Sleep With Curtains Open/Turn On Lights When Your Alarm Goes Off

Light is very important to getting up. There’s nothing quite like waking up slowly and naturally as the sun rises. Well, there is, and it’s clocks like these that mimic the sun if you don’t have access to natural light because it’s winter or you don’t want to wake up at 5am come summer.

(Credit: Ailsa Fineron) Having your bed flooded with natural light is a wonderful way to wake up in the morning.

11. Prep Breakfast Before You Go To Bed.

This can be soaking oats overnight so you can just chuck in some bananas come morning and wolf it down; putting your teabag in your mug/coffee in your cafetiere so you just need to boil the kettle and pour the hot water on; pre chopping fruit ready for munching straight away… Prepping your morning nourishment the night before gives you a little less to do in your dazed, still asleep state plus you get that little boost of smugness at how organised you are and get to start your day with the energy you need.

(Credit: Ailsa Fineron) Coffee, oats and fruit mmmmmm

This is by no means an all inclusive list so let us know on Facebook or Twitter if you have any other tips on how to make that first big step out of bed in the morning.

And now you’ve mastered mornings why not make the most of it and head along to these free music sessions at Merchants’ Academy Sports Centre on Saturdays starting from the 4th of June?