Morning Routine for the 1 Hour Snoozer (Hi, It Me)

“I ONLY LOVE MY BED AND MY MAMA, I’M SORRY” -DRAKE

We’re in our late 20s, and it’s time to get our shit together. I don’t know if I ever will, but Team Freck was recently talking about our favorite morning hacks and routines before we tackle day-to-day startup life. The way you wake up sets the tone for your day, so we thought we’d compose a little morning routine for you snoozers. Here are some of Me, Des, Zina & Jasmine’s (Team Freck) fav routines to squeeze some productivity into our mornings, and maybe finally get outta bed.

Disclaimer: These suggestions won’t turn you into a superhuman in the a.m. right off the bat, but maybe help you roll out of bed a little easier and happier. We’re not saying we’re experts, but this is what we do to run a growing business, have our own social lives, work out on the reg & still have time for a full 8 hours. : )

IMPLEMENT A ROUTINE

We all know that balancing your personal and professional responsibilities can be overwhelming and we’ve all heard taking on less evening plans can help block some “you” time before bed.. but it’s a struggle. Easier said than done, so make it easy.

Maintaining an evening routine will help let your mind know that it’s time to fall asleep. It can be anything from 10 minutes of meditation to taking a walk around your block. My routine is drinking a cup of ginger tea and a cup of water before bed. A recent study by The National Sleep Foundation shows that being even slightly dehydrated can disrupt your sleep cycle.

My personal theory is that hydration, sleep & avoiding caffeine is going to keep me alive until I’m 100. Don’t down 2-3 cups of water before bed & think it’s going to save you, keep that shit up throughout the day. Also, hello, you skin is an organ that is MADE OF WATER. If you’re regularly dehydrated, guess what’s going to happen.. dry and tight skin that results in premature aging, wrinkles, loss of collagen, everything you’re trying to avoid with your beauty routine. Do it for yourself, babe, 8 glasses a day.

POWER DOWN

If you’re constantly plugged in, you’re less likely to doze off right away. Research has shown that the blue light that comes from our laptops and cell phones disturbs our sleep cycle more than we even realize. Turning off those screens for an hour before bed can make it a little easier to go to bed but that ain’t gonna happen, amirite? If you still wanna scroll through the IG (like we do) switch your phone to Night Shift Mode. If you have an iPhone go to your Settings > Display & Brightness > Night Shift and you’ll be able to turn your iPhone screen into Night Shift mode every night at the same time. You’ll know when it’s time to hit the hay… or when you should be done scrolling. For you Android users, we heard that the Twilight: Blue light filter app is the best to help reduce eye strain and help you get a better night’s sleep.

PREP BEFORE BED  ON SUNDAY

Let’s get some breakfast prepped… on Sunday because there’s no way I have an extra 10 minutes every morning or night. My fav solution is these To-Go Breakfast Bars from the Thug Kitchen Cookbook (honestly I love this cookbook it’s so easy & veg-focused, definitely worth a read).

This goes with any change but, it’s important to have a purpose for waking up on time. I like to use Sundays to recalibrate & set an intention for the week, which usually is simply starting the day like an adult rather than a college student who’s 15 minutes late to class.

Zina (our social media maven) is super into Miracle Mornings: a 6 step habit stacking morning routine, implemented from Hal Elrod’s book Miracle Mornings. This morning routine is supposed to get your ass out of bed early and straight into a sequence of all the habits you have stacked.. silence, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading and scribing (writing in your journal). The reason why some of us hate mornings so much is because we’re doing things we hate, like waking up 15 mins before we have to leave, rushing to get ready and skipping breakfast (Zina hates missing breakfast).

BITE THE BULLET

This is the hardest part for me. Everyone says “you just have to get up”. F*cking duh dude, except for I can’t. I subconsciously grab my phone, and every time the snooze goes off I jolt and hit the volume button so the snooze keeps going. Put a physical alarm across the room you say? Ok great, now I’m in the bathroom waiting for the shower to warm up & I’ve fallen asleep on the toilet. Or in the shower. Now we’re wasting water.

It takes me 45 minutes of snoozing for my brain to turn on enough to remember that I have responsibilities. I’ve chosen to accept myself on this one and just say, “Remi, this is you and I love you even though you can’t seem to figure out the basic human function of waking up”. I follow my obnoxious amount of snoozing by spending 45 minutes on my phone in bed: reviewing my calendar, chatting with you guys on IG, and taking a glance over emails so I know what’s in store for the day. I’m 100% aware that this isn’t the best way to get up, but it’s what works for me. Accept yourself & your flaws and find a system that works for you.

Side note: If you are someone who can just get up, I am so insanely jealous of you. Your bedside partners better love you- I’ve gotten into arguments with all of mine because I’m that annoying to wake up next to.

THE FAIL-SAFE ALARM

This is if you’re a serious snoozer like me and honestly don’t trust yourself to wake up on time. If you legit need to get up for something like a flight, try the app FreakyAlarm. This app get’s you up because you can’t snooze it & you turn off your alarm by answering math problems (and tons of other features like games, and music). It turns your brain on, which is great for someone like me who is completely unphased by sound or light. But trust, it’s annoying as hell.

FIGURE OUT WHAT WORKS FOR YOU

Again- I’m not saying this is what you should do, this is just what works for me & my team. I can’t tell you how many years I killed myself trying to wake up before work, missing my alarm and then feeling like a lazy jerk all day. I’ve accepted that that’s not my reality (at least not at this phase of my life) and I let myself take it slow in the morning and work out after work when I have time. It seems silly that it took me years to realize that, but it did.

Anyway, the point I’m making is that figure out what your brain & body need and do that. Don’t beat yourself up for not being able to conform to someone else’s routine. Do you, bb.

xo Remi (Freck Founder)

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