Most people face the biggest obstacle of their day first thing in the morning. I’ll admit, as an early bird, I still struggle with it from time to time myself. Between the way too comfortable bed and the never ending shriek of the alarm clock, everyone has to make the ultimate decision: do I or do I not get out of bed right now? However, you can make your morning routine more bearable by taking the following advice:

 

Try setting your first alarm to go off thirty minutes before you have to get up and set a second alarm for the time you actually need to start your morning routine. The first alarm will wake your mind up a little but give you time to continue resting until your second alarm goes off.

 

Put the second alarm somewhere close enough so you can hear it in the morning, but far enough away that you have to get out of bed to turn it off. This forces you to get moving, which will help you wake up.

 

Food is a great motivator for many people. Wake yourself up early enough to have time for breakfast. Once you get in the habit of eating in the morning you’ll want to get up, if anything, for the food.

 

It may seem difficult to find something exciting every day of your life, but it’s not. It could be something small, like continuing watching your favorite TV show after work, or getting to converse with your favorite coworker. There’s always something to look forward to! Use it to your advantage and get into a positive mindset about your day.

 

Sometimes you just need that extra kick, and if you’re not a coffee person, green tea is a great alternative. There’s less caffeine in green tea than coffee and it wakes up your metabolism. If you have a coffee maker with a timer, set it to start brewing when you’re supposed to wake up. Coffee has a strong scent and it can help get you out of bed.

 

Getting active is one of the quickest ways to stay awake in the morning. A short ten-minute routine is all it takes to get your body and mind warmed up for the day.

 

Incorporating music into your mornings is a great way to get your mind moving. You can put together a playlist beforehand, or put on your favorite artist while you go about getting reading for the day. Not only will it help wake you up, it can also help you get motivated for your day.

 

There are many apps out there that are designed to help people stop snoozing. Walk Up Alarm Clock app for iPhone and Walk Me Up! for Android wake the user up by requiring them to take a set number of steps in order to turn the alarm off.

 

Try going about your morning routine alone. A little bit of me time is a very relaxing way to start the day. Have everything prepared the night before — clothes, food, etc. — so you don’t have to struggle trying to figure out what to do.

 

Meet up with someone in the morning before you go to work. Catch up at a local coffee shop or the park. Conversing will get your mind moving and you’ll be expected to be up by someone other than yourself. If you don’t want to meet your buddy in person every day you can always text or Skype them.

 

Getting an appropriate amount of sleep may seem like the most obvious thing to do, but you’d be surprised by how many people who refuse to give this one a shot. Not only is it going to be hard for you to get up in the morning if you don’t get enough sleep, but it’s dangerous to your health. It’s as simple as that. If you get at least seven hours of sleep at night, your fight to stop snoozing will be significantly less difficult.