EP 149: How to Stop Feeling Tired and Rise Energized With Early Morning Habit™ Star Alison Kelley
Jun 18, 2024Season 3
Ahna Fulmer
ABOUT THIS EPISODE:
Transform your mornings and your life! Alison reveals how the Early Morning Habit program turned her chaotic mornings into serene, productive times. With the help of a solid bedtime routine, community support, and practical tools like gratitude journaling and sleep checklists, she transitioned from waking up frazzled at 7:30 am to enjoying calm mornings beginning at 6:00 am. Discover how these small, gradual changes helped her become more present and effective in her daily life.
Transform your mornings and your life! Alison reveals how the Early Morning Habit program turned her chaotic mornings into serene, productive times. With the help of a solid bedtime routine, community support, and practical tools like gratitude journaling and sleep checklists, she transitioned from waking up frazzled at 7:30 am to enjoying calm mornings beginning at 6:00 am. Discover how these small, gradual changes helped her become more present and effective in her daily life.
Good morning Allison. Hi Anna, how are you Good? Thank you so much for being willing to share about early morning habit your experience, how it renewed your morning, how it impacted your life and, yeah, your feedback for other women who are considering it. I would love to just start with. I would love to just start with why you initially signed up for early morning habit and then what kind of impact you saw it having, even from the beginning, on your morning and, ultimately, your day.
Speaker 2:
Yeah Well, I ultimately signed up because I did not have any kind of morning routine established at all. It's always been something that I've tried to do but had failed. So, um, kind of investing in a program and doing something with the community felt like maybe that would be the thing that would help. Um, so initially, I mean right off the bat, it was helpful just to have like a program to follow, have a community to chat with, and the weekly meetings were always very motivating to stick with it. I think before not having that accountability, it was just easier not to stick with it. So yeah, that was just the initial thing that really helped.
Speaker 1:
And I'm curious because everyone's perspective is different here why did you want a morning routine? Because I think this is true. I mean, this was my story. For anyone who has not heard it, I won't go into it now, but I mean, I always wanted to be that early morning riser but I was not by nature. And be that early morning riser but I was not by nature, and so it felt so impossible and there literally was no program teaching me how to rise earlier. And then I didn't want to sacrifice my sleep, because I love sleep and need sleep. So talk to me a little bit about what you felt like was keeping you back from starting your own morning routine and then specific ways that early morning habit helped you overcome that.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I think the main thing for me is I went into this, I just didn't have any kind of like solid bedtime routine which you wouldn't think would affect the morning as much, but I feel like that was the missing piece for me. So I'm naturally like a night owl. I would stay up later. I work from home with my own business, so I would end up working, you know, when my kids were in bed later at night and just all of that like stimulation and the blue screens and blue light and all of that, I feel like it was really hard for me to wind down and get to bed at a decent time. And then I feel like my sweet sleep quality wasn't as good.
Speaker 2:
But once I you know there's a there's a sleep unit in the program, and once I kind of learned more about that and followed the checklist, adopted some of those small things, that's what really helped me, I think, get better sleep, which helps with a morning routine, which I felt like I needed because my mornings were chaotic before, Like I would wake up with my kids and I would spend my morning getting them ready, getting them dressed, getting them fed, and then you know myself, I wouldn't spend any time on myself, which I think just didn't help me be, you know, the parent and the person that I wanted to be that day, because I wasn't taking care of myself first. So that's really the main thing that I was trying to fix was taking care of myself in the morning so that I can take care of everybody else better.
Speaker 1:
I love that. And then, of course, the follow-up question is what was the most impactful way that early morning habit helped you do that?
Speaker 2:
Um, well, the restore your sleep unit was big for me. Um, the gratitude journaling was really helpful in helping me be more present, um with my kids, Um, kind of like I'm a very much a planner and a warrior by nature, so just it helps me be more in the present Um, so that was a big part of the program for me too. Um, and yeah, I just think getting better sleep and just adopting those like little changes really helped me get a better morning routine going.
Speaker 1:
Would you say that you, like before the program, would you have called yourself a morning person by nature? No, no way, not at all. So funny. I mean girl preach, I hear that. Yeah, what time? Because this is a really common concern. When I'm in conversation with women, they hear early morning habit and they're like part of them is like okay, yes, if you can tell me that I can become an early morning riser and love it, okay, I'm in. But that's not happening. No one believes that that's possible. So tell me what time you were getting up and, because of the program, what time you started to get up and was it miserable?
Speaker 2:
Well, I think, yeah, the main thing is, you know the program says to wake up 30 minutes earlier than you normally do. So there's no specific time like oh, you have to get up at 5am or anything like drastic, and then you just gradually start, you know, increasing that earlier time, so it's not like a big jump from what you're used to. So I would normally my kids would wake up anywhere between like 7, 7.30 am normally, and that's when I would get up with them. So then I would start at 630, you know, at the beginning of this program, which like isn't crazy and it was doable, and then just slowly increased, you know, to earlier and earlier, and now it's anywhere between like six and 615. So it wasn't a huge jump and if you do it gradually it becomes much easier. And there isn't anything in the program that tells you you have to wake up at a certain time. It's just whatever works for you in your life. What will give you the time that you need.
Speaker 1:
I love that, yeah, and I love you know the perspective that you shared, which is what we teach in the program If you're not sleeping well, you're not going to rise well and, as you said, the morning routine actually starts the night before. So until we rehab that process, it is really hard to get up, and that was my own experience as well. So I really appreciate that If you could use kind of two words, if you could say before early morning habit, my morning was described in this way, or my life, the way I felt, and then now it feels like this. How would you describe that?
Speaker 2:
I'd say before I was more tired, I was more tired and now I feel like I can have more energy. So I guess, more tired, more energy which you wouldn't think because I am getting up earlier but I just think the quality of sleep has improved. And mental health, physical health I mean just starting your day working out reading a Bible all of that combined, I felt like, has just given me more energy. I felt like has just given me more energy.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, and it's such a beautiful concept. And I love what you just said because I think, as women, what's so hard to put into words is that the tiredness is not just physical, yeah, it's mental, it's emotional, it's like sometimes there's just a soul weary tiredness that we don't really have one word for. And then, on the flip side, when you are able to renew, that, it's not just a physical energy, there's literally like a sense of almost whole person renewal that does energize, sort of from the inside out. And so I love how you said that, because I think that's just so true of many of us as women and it was for myself what kept me rising earlier was that sense of like. It was really like a deeper level sense of renewal and energy. Um, so what would you say in your experience, sets early morning habit apart from other health and fitness programs? In your experience, what makes it unique and why should a woman try it?
Speaker 2:
the ease of use. Just the app was really user-friendly. And then I think the community aspect really sets it apart. I have not personally done a lot of different programs, but I feel like I don't know if they all have weekly calls, but the weekly calls were very motivating. You know, there were times that I, like, wasn't really feeling it and then I would like get on the weekly call and I'd feel like, okay, I can do this, Like, like it's fine, Like I can do this. So I think they were really encouraging. And just like the support from the chat room there's a chat room in the app with the other members and just getting to know others going through the same program I think was really helpful too.
Speaker 1:
I love that and for those of you listening and watching, what she's referring to is, I mean, the chat room is pretty obvious in the app, but we do a live weekly Zoom meeting and um. It's one of the most encouraging things to me too, because I love hearing the people's perspectives and feedback. You know it's everyone's in different positions and for some people they can wake up earlier and get their workout, um and quiet time done before their kids wake up. For other people that's not as doable, and so they prioritize their quiet time first, but then they get their workout done after, you know, their kids are settled, and so it's just neat to hear other people's perspectives and encouragement and feel absolutely like you're rising together, literally and figuratively together literally, and figuratively, yeah.
Speaker 1:
What is one piece of encouragement to a woman who you know, who says well, I don't know if I have the money for it, I don't know if I have the time for it. What would you say?
Speaker 2:
I would say. I mean, I think anything that can improve your health, both mentally, physically, spiritually, I think that's worth the price. The information is so valuable that I mean it can be life changing honestly. So I would say it is a solid investment if you want to make a positive change in your life. Um, and then, as far as time, I mean I would say there really isn't a loss of time because, um, but at least for me like I just kind of shifted my whole sleep schedule slightly, so I'm just going to bed slightly earlier and waking up slightly earlier I mean there really wasn't a loss of time for me.
Speaker 1:
So I love that. What I'm hearing you say is there's no loss of time, there's a shift of priorities right, yeah, and if this is a priority, then it'll happen.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, and, like you just said, the idea is to rise well in order to serve your family better. So if we can help you do that without sacrificing time improving your sleep, then most people would be willing to pay for that. So I'm so grateful for you. You guys, if you are interested in signing up, we would absolutely love to help you rise well, thrive with more energy, freedom and joy. In the show notes you will see a um, I'm sorry. In the show notes you will see a link to sign up for early morning habit. It is specifically Alison's um referral partner link. She will get a small commission If you sign up through this link. If her story resonates with you, please use her link to sign up so she gets that. Thank you, you and so grateful for you sharing your story. Allison, such an honor to have you. Thank you for sharing your story. You're an inspiration. Grateful to have you in our community. Ladies, let's rise.