If you got up 45 mins earlier

[Draconis]

What would you do with time?
I want to do this (when we get back to our normal routine) and fit in 20 mins of exercise and 20 mins of reading.

If my toddler stayed asleep, I would have a cup of tea alone and plan the day/week/organise life admin...

I would like to do this to get some exercise and a proper breakfast in, but I already get up at 5:15 and just can't do any earlier 😭

Say my prayers
Have a cup of tea
Feed the cats
Go into the back garden for some fresh air

Go for a walk in the woods, but I'd probably need 1h15m to make it worthwhile, due to walking there and back too.

I already need to be up at 4:45am some mornings to get to work on time so wouldn't be able to get up any earlier. 🤣

Other mornings when I can, I like to leave plenty of time to just do everything slower and have a relaxing breakfast. It leaves me feeling much better than rushing around. In the summer I love sitting in the garden early mornings.

If I didn’t have a dog that demanded to go out for a quick walk as soon as she knows I’m awake I’d do some yoga/Pilates, as I suffer with a bad back and never seem to get around to it the rest of the day.

I'd just drink more coffee. I have to be up at 6.30 for work as it is.

Oh no, please think carefully before doing this.

There seems to be a whole 'miracle morning' type movement of people getting up and hour (or two!) earlier to do value-added stuff. It sounds great but I think it's really aimed at young adults who would otherwise be lounging in bed til noon.

Do you get enough sleep? Will you be able to move your bedtime forward to accommodate the earlier start?

Sleep is not a waste of time when you could be doing something more productive . It's so, so important for your physical and mental health. Read The Importance of Sleep if you don't prioritise it.

If you're someone who lazes in bed til lunchtime I apologise! Crack on and live your best life.

at those with really early mornings! 4.45??!!
If I got up 45 mins earlier, it would be at 6am which I don't think is too early.

I was inspired by a friend who gets up at 5.30 to watch her Netflix show and do a well practiced weights and exercise routine at the same time. She looks great and seems very sorted.

Sleep is my number 1 priority to be honest. 45 minutes earlier for me would be 5:15am. I like the idea of maybe 5:30am and half an hour if yoga to start the day but in reality I would probably be exhausted by evening.

Would you lose this time from am evening by being more tired? It seems pointless if so.
I agree with pp if you work full time and have time of an evening you could be tiring yourself out. So for me I would sleep as that's more important and I don't want to go to bed to sleep at 8pm.

Honestly? Nothing, because I'd have to go to bed 45 mins earlier in the evening to compensate. I love my sleep and only feel truly rested with 9 hours.

If I didn't need to worry about sleep I'd read.

General pottering around the house with a cup of coffee and silence but DH always ruins it for me as he's been up since the crack of dawn and is a brightly spark and won't leave me alone first thing so I stay in bed pretend to be asleep just to get some peace and quiet in the morning.

I would be miserably tired. I don't get enough sleep as it is.

pre children I would get up early to exercise and sit in peace for a bit. Now I have small children and they can wake up any time from 5.00-6.30 - if they wake at 5.00 I can get them back to sleep with a cuddle but if I were up and about then they would be too, completely destroying the whole point of being able to get a little bit of peace and time for myself. So for now I don’t try. I’m sure I will get that time back when they are older

I do this for most of the year and I bloody love it. I do 20 mins exercise, a short meditation and calmly plan my day, fitting in in all the things I need to do and then a few wants and goal tasks so I’m always moving forward on them. If I have time, like in the summer when I find it much easier to get up even earlier (c.5am), I’ll read too.

Knowing that I have this time to work on myself helps me spring out of bed and get to it, and I feel like I’ve accomplished something before everyone else gets up. My mood is noticeably better and I always have a great start to the day.

When I don’t have the time, even five/ten minutes where I sit and intentionally breathe, do a mini meditation and do some stretches has the same effect. And when I read a single page in the morning, I tend to then pick the book up later in the day at break or lunch time, so it’s still worth doing if I’m short on time.

It’s weird that I can feel so different by just making focussing my mind and getting in tune with my body the first thing I do rather than necking a cuppa on my feet and rushing around.

I’ve struggled with my sleep a bit and been ill quite a bit this winter, so I’m out of the habit as I’m needing more rest but I’m looking forward to getting back to it after the Christmas break.

Time over a cup of tea (or coffee) quietly to think and plan the day ahead is in my experience time well spent.

Realistically probably play on my phone 🤣

I'm a night person and already wake up at 5.45 am to get to work by 7 am. I wouldn't want to get up earlier. I know some friends at work who wake up at 4.30 am and think they're insane.

I already get up at 515 to exercise. I really enjoy doing this BUT I am always tired as due to DC sports & activities I can't get to bed early enough.

I can also only get up for a specific purpose like this - when I've had days off work without a specific plan, I'm brutal - if I do get up early, I faff around. I need a very clear objective eg exercise / work / kids to motivate me.

I either go for a run or do yoga. I sleep terribly anyway so losing 45 minutes in the morning doesn't make much difference...but exercising every day does.

That being said I don't start my day before 5.30am unless necessary (work etc).

I’d love to be able to go for a short walk by myself if I got up earlier. But it’s not possible since DH leaves for work very early and if I had to bundle up all the kids to come it would sort of go against the point of a quiet walk by myself!

Or maybe extra reading, just a cup of tea and a chapter of my book.

Yawn and regret my choices.

At this time of year I find it difficult to be energetic and fully awake in the dark. Come summer, it's not been unknown for me to be in the allotment at 4:30

Fine if you are a naturally early riser but huge stress if you are not. Quality sleep is as important as time to do other things.
I would do the reading at bedtime, go to bed earlier for it.