Not even the most upbeat morning person wakes up singing with mice and birds like Cinderella.

Let’s start by accepting the fact that waking up will always be a bit difficult. Then again, what menial task hasn’t felt like a mountain of responsibility after disrupting your REM cycle? The good news is, it only takes a few minor adjustments to your routine to blossom into the morning person you want to become:

Set an Alarm

Courtesy of GIPHY

Oftentimes, our schedules are so tightly packed that we blink and, suddenly, it’s past midnight. Those of us juggling multiple obligations at once (which, let’s be honest, is most of us) usually go to bed wishing there were just a few more hours in the day to accomplish everything we have to do. On our busiest days, we need a reminder to get a good night’s sleep.

In addition to setting your alarm for the morning, perhaps you could benefit from setting an alarm to go to sleep, too! I know, it seems a bit ridiculous, but when properly enforced, you’ll begin to notice the additional burst of energy you have every morning after implementing a proper bedtime.

Get Out of Bed

In my opinion, this is the hardest hurdle to get over in the morning. Once I pull myself out of bed, it doesn’t take very long for the rest of me to wake up and get moving. That being said, the temptation I feel to fall back asleep in the first few minutes of waking up is exceptionally seductive. I think for most of us, it’s what convinces us to opt for the snooze button a few more times.

Fortunately, the solution isn’t to simply buy and sleep in a bed so uncomfortable you can’t wait to get out of it every morning. Instead, you’ll benefit from experimenting with the traditional methods we’ve all heard before, such as placing your alarm on the other side of the room—or at least in a place where you have to get out of bed to turn it off. Whatever it is, give yourself a literal reason to get out of bed in the morning to avoid falling victim (yet again) to the snooze button!

Take Care of Simple Chores in Advance

You're already sabotaging the rest of your day if you start off frantically running around in the morning trying to take care of what could’ve been done the night before. While showering can be a great go-to for waking yourself up, wasting so much time deciding what to wear that you have to skip breakfast will only leave you feeling stressed. Save yourself some hysteria by making time the night before to pick the next day’s outfit and organize what you need for work in a place it won’t be forgotten.

You can add a few more minutes to your morning routine by preparing your breakfast the night before. Overnight oats are often made up of healthy ingredients, take almost no time to prepare, and ensure that the most important meal of the day won’t get overlooked when you wake up in the morning!

Stay Hydrated and Manage Your Diet

Courtesy of GIPHY

We’re often dehydrated when we’ve just woken up. So you may find that starting every morning with a refreshing glass of water can help your body rejuvenate more quickly. In addition, overeating (or undereating) may be another reason you find yourself feeling particularly energetic when it’s time to go to bed. Either condition can be distracting enough to keep your body from resting when it needs to!

Exercise

Not all of us have the time, or energy, to make room for a morning jog before work—although, it doesn’t require a marathon to fight off your drowsiness. Engaging in any sort of physical activity upon waking up is a surefire way to build up a little energy to use going into the rest of your day. You can find plenty of exercises online aimed at getting an extra boost of energy every morning!

Are you a morning person? What helps you fight off your sleepiness throughout the day? Help out your fellow night owls by giving leaving your suggestions in the comments!