5 Insanely Easy Steps to Make Waking Up Early an Irresistible Habit

For a new habit to stick, it needs to be enjoyable.

And let’s be honest, most of us do not find it remotely enjoyable to wake up in the morning, let alone earlier than we need to…

But there’s hope for us yet.

By using “temptation bundling” – a strategy developed by the behavioral economist, Katherine Milkman – I will show you how you can make a habit that is difficult to form (i.e., waking up early) more enjoyable, thus increasing the odds that you’ll do it over and over again.

Okay, let’s dive in before you hit the “snooze” button!

What is Temptation Bundling?

Temptation bundling is when you link an action that you want to do with one you need to do. The rationale is that pairing something unappealing with something you enjoy increases the odds that you will do it. Eventually, you may even form a positive association with waking up early (although it may be hard to believe it right now).

First, you’ll need to identify your reward, and this will be different for everyone.

Step 1: Identify your reward

To become an early riser, you’ll need to identify the one thing that you would rather be doing than staying in bed after your alarm goes off. Playing detective, ask yourself: What part of my morning routine do I look forward to most?

Is it…

• the smell of coffee brewing while you’re getting ready;
• the anticipation of eating your favorite breakfast;
• journaling;
• your skincare routine;
• the quietness outside your window;
• the satisfaction of feeling you’re ahead of everyone else?

 

Now, it’s time to take stock.

On a piece of paper, write down all the things you enjoy doing every morning.

Here’s my list to guide you and help get your ideas flowing:

1. The satisfaction of getting out of bed before my husband and annoying him once he finally wakes up
2. Listening to a true crime or daily news podcast
3. Cueing up my YouTube playlists
4. Looking out the window to enjoy the stillness
5. Taking a long shower
6. Avoiding rush hour traffic
7. Playing with my cat, Malleus
8. Making an iced drink to bring to work

 

The next step is to go through your list and highlight the activity you most enjoy.

For over two years now, I have been turning on YouTube each morning to listen to relaxing music, watch Mikey Chen, a popular food vlogger on YouTube, or catch up on one of my favorite podcasts while I’m getting ready.

1. The satisfaction of getting out of bed before my husband and annoying him once he finally wakes up
2. Listening to a true crime or daily news podcast
3. Cueing up my YouTube playlists
4. Looking out the window to enjoy the stillness
5. Taking a long shower
6. Avoiding rush hour traffic
7. Playing with my cat, Malleus
8. Making an iced drink to bring to work

 

You’re done with Step 1!  We will refer back to this point later in Step 3, but, for now, let’s move on to Step 2.

Step 2: Make sure you always have a game-plan by using the habit stacking strategy

Habit stacking  is when you strategically pair your new habit with one you’re already doing. By taking advantage of the momentum you’ve already built up, it’s easier to add a new behavior or task into your existing routine (i.e., form a new habit). With time, you’ll find that the behavior that precedes your new task (i.e., your desired habit) will serve as a cue – triggering you to stick with it and form a new habit.

Let’s break this down.

Let’s say you want to develop the habit of putting your shoes away once you arrive home at the end of the day. You’ll want to “stack” your new habit of putting your shoes away after you take them off.

Walk into the house > take shoes off > immediately put shoes away in the closet or hang them up on your shoe rack

Now I’m going to show you exactly how to use this strategy.

2.1: Use the habit stacking formula

According to James Clear (the author of Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones), the habit stacking formula is:

After I [habit I already do], I will [habit I need to do].

From here, it’s plug and chug.

If you plan to wake up early tomorrow, your habit stack will end up looking something like this:

After I [turn off my phone alarm (which is something you likely already do)], I will [get out of bed (this is something you need to do)].

Easy, right?

Next step.

Step 3: Use the temptation bundling formula to make your habit stack more appealing to do

This is where temptation bundling comes into play.

The temptation bundling formula is:

After I [habit I need to do], I will [habit I want to do].

From Step 1, I determined that my favorite thing to do every morning is listen to YouTube music or podcasts. So my temptation bundle looks like this:

1. After I [get out of bed], I will [get to turn on YouTube to watch my favorite videos]. Or,
2. After I [get out of bed and walk into the living room], I will get to [listen to a true crime podcast while I get ready]
   

 

Next step.

Step 4: Combine your habit stack and temptation bundling formulas

This step is the easiest of all!

1. Habit Stack: After I [habit I already do], I will [habit I need to do].
2. Temptation Bundling: After I [have completed the habit I need to do], I will [habit I want to do].

 

When you combine your A) habit stack with your B) temptation bundle, you’ll end up with something like this:

1. After I [turn off my alarm], I will [get out of bed].
2. After I [get out of bed], I will [get to turn on YouTube to listen to my relaxing music playlist].
   

 

In my case, I bundled listening to YouTube every morning (the thing I want to do) with waking up and getting out of bed early (the thing I need to do).

Once you finish mapping out your habit stack and temptation bundling, you’re done!

Next step.

Step 5: Execute your plan

Having done Step 4, you now have a step-by-step plan that provides clear instructions on how and when you’ll carry out this habit. Now, the only thing left to do is follow through with your predetermined plan when your alarm goes off tomorrow morning!

Ready, set, go!

What Did You Think?

Now I’d love to hear from you! What do you look forward to the most every morning? What do you think about using the temptation bundling strategy to make a difficult-to-form habit easier to do? Email me to let me know.