I constantly wonder to myself whether people are born to be morning people or night people, or if training yourself to be a morning person is easier said than done.

Last week I woke up (in the morning – I’m a morning person and always have been) and turned on NPR news to hear a story on how the host made herself into a morning person. I thought to myself- if it’s that easy to trick your mind to wake up earlier, how much of life is choice vs. destiny, and can being more specific with your choices enable you more than letting the world choose your path regardless of how early you get up and how many hours you work?

I’ve always been a morning person ever since I was a little kid. I remember being so excited (still am!) to wake up in the morning vs. go to bed at night. Recently, I started tracking my sleep patterns in a journal and have found that my ideal hours to sleep are between 9 PM and 7 AM. I’m rare because most people I know barely start winding down their day at 9 PM. I sleep better, feel more alert the next day, and suffer with very little exhaustion if I stay to that routine as much as possible.

Though I’m not sure whether you can be born a morning person, I do believe strongly in routines and being very particular about your routine in order to lead the most fulfilling life.  Here is my morning routine that may inspire you to get up a little bit earlier and go to bed earlier:

I’d like to say that I turn off my phone 30-60 minutes prior to going to bed but that’d be a lie. I don’t notice a huge difference between being on my phone before bed and not being on my phone, but studies will suggest you turn off as early as possible. You should try it, or at least wear blue light glasses before bed.

Pre-made water with lemon in the morning, and my coffee mug already on the Nespresso machine, so that I don’t have to think about anything when I wake up besides water and coffee. You won’t ever catch me drinking anything besides water when I first wake up – I’ve implemented 1-2 glasses of lemon water with apple cider vinegar into my routine for over 1 year now and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Blackout curtains. Not only do blackout curtains allow you to get into your deepest state of sleep, I feel way more rested when my alarm goes off even though the sun may be just coming up outside. I hate being woken up by sunlight. I rely on my alarm to tell me when it’s time to get up (unless it’s a weekend or I’m sleeping in and don’t care) and therefore I know it’s not 3 AM when I’m getting up.

Honestly, being a morning person is 100% your routine outside of your bedroom. If you find yourself enjoying staying up late and being more creative at night, why would you go to bed earlier or wake up earlier if you don’t want to? I just want to get as much done in a day and never feel like crap the next day. Correct me if I’m wrong: but mornings are so damn fun.