Wake Up Earlier And Learn How To Make The Morning The Best Time For Your Side Hustle

Running a business on the side of working full time, is not always easy. It often requires working early in the morning before going to your full-time job. Or late in the afternoon, after coming home. And if you’re not used to it, those early morning cans be rough. They can even be the reason some side hustles choose not to pursue their business any longer. However, they don’t need to be hard for long. Waking up earlier for your side hustle can actually become therapeutic once your body and mind are adjusted. Not to mention, giving your business the first couple of hours of your day can also be transformative and wildly productive! Here are 5 proven strategies to wake up earlier for your side hustle that anyone can do!

The Morning Side Hustler

I should note that these strategies are best used if you label yourself a morning person. If you feel the most energized and clear-minded in the morning, these strategies are for you! If you’ve ever felt like you get more done in just a couple of hours in the morning, than you do all day, then getting up even earlier and creating a morning routine for your side hustle, can be a game-changer! Here are a few powerful morning routine ideas for side hustlers to get you started!

So if you are a morning person, begin to create your side hustle routine and wake up a couple of hours earlier to roll up your sleeves and work on your business. You may surprise yourself with the amount of work you can get done. Plus, the couple of hours you carve out in the morning can prove to be peaceful and eventually something you look forward to!

My current side hustle routine gets me out of bed at 4:00 am. And although this sounds extreme, it’s the perfect amount of time for me and my business. By 4:30, I am awake, hydrated, stretched and at my desk with a fresh cup of coffee and a clear game plan. And for two hours, I can work uninterrupted when my brain is most productive and awake! This wasn’t always the easiest routine to follow, but once my body got used to it, it completely changed the amount of work I was able to get done for my business. By doing this routine 3-4 days a week, I can balance both rest and productivity in a custom routine, tailored perfectly for me.

01. Prep The Coffee Pot Before Bed

The first tip to wake up earlier for your side hustle is to prep the coffee pot before going to bed! This simple and seemingly unimportant task is the ultimate secret in my household for waking up earlier! This allows you to wake up to a treat, not a chore! Even though making a pot of coffee isn’t very complicated, knowing that something is already done for you when that early alarm goes off, can truly help motivate you to put your feet on the floor.

Now if you’re not a coffee drinker or don’t drink your coffee from a pot, you can still create a variation of this micro-routine. Perhaps layout your tea supplies for the next morning on the counter or even put it on a decorative tray like this, all prepped and waiting for you in the morning. This sounds cheesy, but believe me it works!

02. Go To Bed Earlier

This is a common tip because it works! Going to bed earlier can directly help up wake up earlier and wake up with more energy, If you’re a side hustler and you’re looking to create the ultimate power hour each morning for your business, consider an earlier bedtime. Going to bed just 30 minutes earlier than normal can make a big difference. One of the most common reasons why side hustlers struggle with not waking up early consistently is tiredness. Waking up groggy and sleepy is the worst. A simple fix to this, isn’t getting less sleep. It’s simply moving your sleep schedule a little to the left; going to bed earlier so you can wake up earlier!

HERE ARE SOME TIPS ON GOING TO BED EARLIER:

• Lay down even if you’re not tired
• Stretch before bed
• Read in bed
• Use a Himalayan Salt Lamp like this while you’re reading, stretching or meditating

03. Decrease or Eliminate Screen Time Before Bed

Along with going to bed earlier, how you go to bed can make a big difference in how you wake up. Eliminating screen time including Netflix and social media before bed can have a significant impact on your sleep quality. According to Sleep Foundation, using electronics before bed can suppress the amount of melatonin your body creates, making you actually more alert while going to bed instead of sleepy.

This may be challenging. Especially if you go to bed while watching Netflix. However, I dare you (double dare you!) to challenge yourself to fall asleep naturally without any electronics for one week and notice any differences. Go as far as to even charge your phone in another room. The quality of sleep you’re getting can give you energy when that early alarm goes off instead of not even hearing it.

Decreasing your screen time during the day can also help your body naturally create melatonin, causing you to sleep better when its time to go to sleep. If your full-time job requires a lot of screen time, then consider using blue light glasses to help protect your eyes. This $8 bundle of 3 glasses is my favorite that I use while working on the computer every day. Using these helps prevent screen headaches and my eyes don’t have that burning feeling after a couple of hours like they used to.

04. Have A Clear Morning To-Do List Waiting For You

The best thing you can do for an early-bird morning routine is to have a clear idea of what you’re working on, first thing! Nothing stops momentum faster than having to figure out what you should do. Instead, make a list the night before. Or devote your mornings to one specific task. You can organize this when you create your side hustle schedule each week. You can download my free routine and scheduling templates to start working on yours!

When you wake up early and put your feet on the floor, you want to be able to hit the ground running! Be sure to work on something that matches your morning energy level. If you’re more alert and creative in the morning, consider writing blog posts or working on product development. Avoid using your morning energy for admin tasks such as emails or invoicing.

05. Wake Up To An Alarm Clock Instead Of Your Phone

The final tip to wake up earlier for your side hustle is to use an alarm clock, not your cell phone. That’s right, an old-school alarm clock. There are a few reasons for this! One is that you touch your cell phone A LOT each day. Your body is to use to your cell phone, how it feels and how it sounds. When your cell phone goes off way too early in the morning, there is less emphasis and less urgency to pay attention. However, when a bulky, old-school, unusual alarm clock goes off… you pay attention! And you’re up!

Trust me, this sounds like a seemingly unimportant, less sexy detail of waking up early. However, it’s wildly effective! I use this alarm clock for all of my 4:00 am mornings. And I even put it out of reach. That way when it goes off, my brain isn’t as used to hearing it and my body knows it’s time to work. I even have to get out of bed to turn it off which forces me to literally put my feet on the floor. And when that happens, it’s a lot harder to admit defeat and get back in bed.

How To Start Making The Morning Your Side Hustle Time

Waking up earlier for your business can be a gift. Not only to your business but to yourself! As side hustlers, we have to get crafty on how we maximize our time. And even though it may seem impossible or out of reach now, the two hours we put into our business before going to our full-time job can actually become easy AND move the needle within our business! Imagine if those two hours directly affected the income you could make that day. Would seeing the cha-chings come in while you’re working your 9-5 make it worth it?

It’s important to note, that you also should not push your body to extremes. You can’t get much accomplished if you’re burnt out or completely defeated. Get a healthy goal in mind for how early you would like to wake up and how often. Slowly, work yourself to that goal. And women; remember that our bodies work on a 28-day cycle. What works for us one week, may not work next week. Our morning routines get to be even that much more custom 🙂

Make the mornings your 1:1 time with your business. You may surprise yourself by the bond you create with your business when doing so! Download my FREE Routine Templates & Scheduling Sheets to begin creating a truly custom morning routine for you and your side hustle! And remember, just because a side hustle requires less time than a 9-5 job, it doesn’t make it small – it makes it mighty!