1. “Chirp chirp!” –Mr. Bird and company.

Once your day gets started, so are a lot of other people's days. This means there are more cars, trains, planes, people, and overall noise. I love waking up to the sound of birds chirping because it sets my mood for the day. It's soothing, and it leaves me feeling that although a lot of other people may still be sleeping and letting me enjoy the early hours of my day, at least the birds are already up and moving too!

2. When I'm brave enough to open my shades, I can see the cotton candy sun-rise.

My general rule of thumb is that if I have to wake up before sunrise, it's too early to get up. This definitely becomes a challenge in the wintertime, but it's just so dang hard to convince my brain that I should be starting any task before the sun is even out to provide me some natural light. Looking out my window and seeing the sun slowly start to turn the sky lighter shades of pink and deeper shades of blue soothes my soul and kickstarts my day with a happy, positive attitude which is essential to waking up early when you're not a morning person.

3. All I hear is the sweet sound of nothingness.

There are times when I like to be alone with my thoughts, and the peace and quiet in the morning before people start moving around and talking helps me to do just that. I can prepare my mind for the day and be ready to tackle the day's challenges.

4. I can accomplish a task and alleviate some stress.

This one is probably obvious, but it's usually something I convince myself I don't actually need to do. While my brain is processing the fact that the loud repetitive noise isn't in my dreams but indeed my alarm clock and also that I'm insanely tired, there have been many mornings where I thought, "You know, I reeeeeally don't need to get up. I'll have time to get homework ABC done later and have time to type up paper XYZ." And you know what, sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. Those times when I don't actually have time later, I'm kicking myself in the pants for not just waking up and getting it done.

5. I am able to enjoy some “me-time.”

This one is super critical to a less stressed and more prepared me. It is not uncommon for me to calculate exactly how much time it will take me to get ready and wake up accordingly. When I'm feeling a little crazy and do wake up earlier than usual, this allows me to do more self-care activities to again place me in a positive and motivated place.