Every single day I’m pretty much thinking to myself “I wish I had more time”. There never seem to be enough hours in a day for me to do everything I want to do and have to do. I used to think of ways to somehow get more done in the time I had available such as working faster or maybe moving deadlines back. But I didn’t want to just get more done in the time I had available, I actually wanted more time for myself. Therefore, I set out to find ways to create more time in my day.
The Urge For More Time
I felt stuck for many years and the feeling intensified even more in 2022. I increasingly felt stressed out, unhappy and also unfulfilled with the things that filled or better took up my time. And since the pandemic, both my partner and I have become homeworkers. This means we are both at home at the same time every single day, almost 24/7. Consequently, we don’t have any alone time anymore, which is a good and a bad thing at the same time.
I was desperate for some me time and this year reached a point where I knew something needed to change. Thus, I decided to find, make or somehow create more time in my life. The mornings seemed my best bet as my partner is a night owl and stays up late at night. Hence, it was time for me to become a lark.
Let me tell you, I am not a morning person by all means and I still don’t consider myself as one. However, I managed to gradually get up earlier minute by minute. I am now at the point where I have at least one hour to myself or even more every morning before my partner gets up, before I start work and life catches up with me.
To give you some background, I used to be one of those people who would get up 10 min before work, because I liked staying in bed and sleeping in just that little bit too much. You may ask, how did you manage to carve out this extra time?
And I can tell you this – It took practice and gradual adjustments over time. It wasn’t an overnight change by all means and not a quick fix. Here’s the step by step process I used to create more time in my day and I know you can, too.
Week 1: Get Up 5 Min Earlier
I started to train my body gradually to wake up earlier over time, bit by bit and minute by minute.
I began with getting up 5 min earlier. I used to wake up 8:50 am, 10 min before work. For one week I would get up at 8:45 am. This was an instant win and easy for me to achieve. Everyone can get up 5 min earlier than they usually do. Also, starting with small changes and nailing them is really motivating and makes you want to keep on going and improving.
Week 2: Get Up 15 – 20 Min Earlier
After I successfully managed to get up 5 min earlier for the first week, I increased the time to 20 min in total for the second week. I would set my alarm to 8:30 am and try to get up every day at that time adding an extra 15 min to my 5 min from the week before.
Again, getting up 20 min earlier than you usually do is still manageable. However, at the same time it’s a bit more challenging, because you’re starting to dip into your sleeping hours, taking away some of that precious snooze time.
Week 3 + 4: Increase To Half An Hour
During the third and fourth week, I woke up 35 min earlier every day and set my alarm to 8:15 am. And after one month following this strategy, I managed to create an additional 35 min every day I now could use however I felt like. In other words, I had an extra 245 min or 4 hours and 5 min every week to myself.
It’s important to gradually increase the time you’re prepared to wake up early. That’s why I woke up 35 min earlier for two weeks and not just one. It’s all about getting used to the change gently and in a way that is sustainable so you’ll stick with it and make it part of your life permanently.
Week 5: Increase To One Hour
After successfully managing to get up 35 min earlier for one month, it was time to raise the bar and create some real extra time. On week five I started to get up one hour earlier. There are a few things you can do in 15 min or so, but having an extra hour a day can make all the difference.
The jump from 35 min to one hour is of course more of a challenge. However, once you’ve claimed the mornings for yourself and see what you can use them for, you’ll never want to sleep in again and waste that invaluable time. Being a morning person will become part of your life and new identify.
The All Important Question
Will you be able to get up every single day when your alarm rings? No, of course not. Will you sleep in from time to time? Yes, you will. And that’s okay and normal.
I had days while I was training myself to wake up and get up early and still have those days even now, when I turn the alarm off and turn around to sleep some more. That’s my body telling me I need to dial down and get some sleep in order for my body to rest and recover. And on those days I listen to my body and don’t beat myself up for pressing snooze.
The bottom line is, I tried and failed multiple times trying to change a habit on an ad hoc basis. I tried to wake up one hour earlier from one day to the next. It just doesn’t work.
But by making small and gradual time adjustments over a period of time, my body got used to waking up earlier bit by bit. I essentially reprogrammed my body clock. Now I often wake up on my own just before the alarm goes off. And we all know waking up naturally is the best way to wake up and start the day.
I am so much happier now as I have that me time in the morning where no one is bothering or interrupting me. I get some peace and quiet and am finally able to work on the things that bring me joy and are fun, such as writing this blog post or reading a book.
If you enjoyed reading this post all about How To Create More Time In Your Day – An Extra One Hour, you might also enjoy reading my post The Best Tip To Manage Your Time Effectively.
And lastly, don’t forget to sign up to my 30 Day Productivity Challenge inside the Freebie Library!
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