Win The Morning, Win The Day
Author: Joelle Gilligan
I can’t remember where I first heard this – win the morning, win the day - but I do know it stuck with me. It was around the time my husband started working on a new project in Brisbane.
It was a great opportunity, but the early mornings were a big change to our family routine. He was now needing to be up at 4am to get to work on time, and because I could hear him creeping about the house, I just started getting up early as well.
In my 20’s (and some of my 30’s) 4am was the time you came home from the club, not the time you woke up and started your day. I would see joggers out and about and eye the “day people” with the contempt and arrogance of a 20-year-old who lived on 2-minute noodles and potato chips but was still a size 8.
Now just a decade (or 2) later here I was starting my day at 4am by choice – sort of.
At first, I hated it (and honestly, I resented my husband a little too), but then I started to realise it was so quiet and peaceful at that time of day. With two young children and 2 energetic dogs our house was rarely peaceful and calm.
As I adjusted to the early morning wake up’s I started to enjoy parts of it. Hubby would make me a coffee before he left so I would just sit and drink my coffee while it was still hot, I’d be listening to a podcast and scrolling Instagram and not feeling guilty because there was not much else to do.
Then I started adding things to my routine, a 15 minute stretch on YouTube, 10 minutes on my Shakti mat, prepping dinner for the afternoon (a huge time saver as I cook from scratch most of the time), checking emails, catching up on work.
I felt so much start to shift in my day. By the time I’d leave for work I felt like I’d done so much already, and I started to realise I didn’t hate the early mornings anymore….and good news for my husband, I didn’t resent him anymore!
I felt like I had more energy, I felt like I had more time in my day.
While it meant I was going to bed earlier, it just felt more productive being awake earlier. If I stayed up later it just meant more time watching tv, stuck on the couch.
The mornings gave me time for ME, or time to get ahead on things that I needed to do that would make my day easier (getting my work out done so I didn’t skip it in later in the day and making my dinner routine easier). As a mum who works full time this was huge!
My routine changes and adapts, I’m not perfect, some mornings I do little else other than mindlessly scroll Instagram while I drink my coffee and I don’t feel bad about it all!
So, when I heard the saying “win the morning, win the day”, it really hit home how important that start to your day is. Whatever it is that improves your mood or helps you get ahead for the day you really do have a better chance to win the day if you win the morning.
Research trends towards those who wake up early having better mental health symptoms. Generally, people who wake up early will feel more positive and optimistic, and for me I can really testify to that. Data from a study on 840 000 people in Europe also suggested that earlier sleep timing patterns reduces the risk of major depressive disorder (1).
Plus, our bodies are wired to rise with the sun and sleep when it’s dark. Your circadian clock responds to light as a time to wake up and in turn when it’s dark it signals it to go to sleep. So of course, we feel better when we are following the natural rhythm of life.
Start small if you need, just set that alarm clock 15 minutes earlier than normal (and don’t hit the snooze!) and see what you can add to your morning. Maybe it means getting time to read the news while you sip your coffee, maybe it’s taking your dog for a walk, maybe it means sitting down for breakfast instead of eating on the run. Whatever it is that adds joy to your day or makes life easier. I promise it’s worth it.
Here are some of my fav’s to get you thinking about what you might like to add to better your start to your day:
Start small – just 15 minutes earlier, then increase that every week or 2 as you adjust to the new times. Aim to wake up at least 1 hr earlier than when you started.
Drink water – before you have any food or coffee have a big glass of room temperature water, add some lemon if you want, but drink at least 300-400 mls. You are already ticking off a big part of your daily water intake.
Morning stretch – not everyone likes working out (I get it) so maybe you could just start with a 15 minute stretch. This one here is my fave!
Have breakfast – some coconut yogurt with blueberries and loving earth buckinis – eat like you love yourself. Sit down, enjoy, with extra time you don’t need to eat on the run.
Do you have time to meal prep – coming home after working all day it’s easy to just want a quick fix for dinner, but might not be the healthiest choice. Chop up the veggies for a stir fry, mix up a salad, peel the potatoes and store them in water for the day so when you get home it’s easy to make a nutritious meal.
With a little practise and some persistence, you will find yourself looking forward to an early night so you can get up and win your day.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. The author and publisher make no guarantees or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this article, and any reliance on the information is strictly at your own risk. You can find our full Disclaimer here.
(1). Daghlas I, Lane JM, Saxena R, Vetter C. Genetically Proxied Diurnal Preference, Sleep Timing, and Risk of Major Depressive Disorder. JAMA Psychiatry. 2021;78(8):903–910. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.0959