How to wake up early (and keep doing it after the first week)

Waking up early starts the night before

There's no trick that turns six hours of sleep into eight. If you move your alarm earlier without moving your bedtime, you're simply sleeping less, and that rarely lasts. Many health bodies suggest that most adults need around seven or more hours a night, and sleep researchers often point out that a regular schedule, waking at roughly the same time every day, matters as much as the total.

So the real plan is: decide your wake-up time, count back seven to eight hours, and that's your bedtime. If going to bed earlier is the hard part, pair this page with our sleep schedule habit, which reminds you before bed. People also differ: some are naturally early, others naturally late. You can shift your rhythm gradually, but if you have ongoing sleep problems or feel exhausted whatever you do, talk to a doctor.

Move the alarm in small steps

If you usually get up at 7:30 and want to be up at 6:00, don't jump straight there. Move your wake-up time 15 minutes earlier every three or four days, and move bedtime by the same amount. In two to three weeks you're there, and each step felt almost unnoticeable.

In DailyWall, change the Wake-up time on the habit as you go. The paper always shows your current target, not a heroic number you set once in a burst of motivation.

Make the first ten minutes easy

The template asks First thing after waking, because a clear first action beats lying in bed deciding whether to get up. Choose one:

Tick the steps as you go

1. A glass of water. Leave a full glass by your bed or by the kettle. It's the smallest possible win, and it gets you standing.
2. Stretching. Two or three minutes of gentle stretching beside the bed is enough to wake up stiff muscles.
3. Daylight. Open the curtains or step outside for a few minutes. Many people find morning light helps them feel awake, and sleep researchers often link it to a steadier daily rhythm.
4. Free choice. Your own first step: making coffee, a short walk, reading a page, praying, journaling. The point is that it's decided before the alarm rings.

Set up your wake-up habit in DailyWall

The reminder is a gentle notification, not an alarm clock, so keep using your normal alarm to actually wake up. The paper comes with its own three sunrise-themed washi tapes and three stickers that only appear on habit papers.

Tick the steps as you go

1. Open DailyWall, tap + and choose Set up a habit.
2. In the Productivity category, choose Wake up early.
3. Set your Wake-up time (6:30 by default). This is the habit's own time, so there's no separate time-of-day picker.
4. Choose First thing after waking: A glass of water, Stretching, Daylight or Free choice.
5. Keep the days on Weekdays (the default) or include weekends if you want a fully regular rhythm.
6. Decide whether you want a reminder, choose a paper look and, if you like, an end date for a three-week early-rising challenge.

The first thing you see in the morning

For most of us, the first thing we look at in the morning is the phone. Because your DailyWall wall is your Lock Screen wallpaper, the Wake up early paper is waiting under the clock when you switch off the alarm, along with today's other notes. Instead of opening messages in bed, you see your plan: up, glass of water, curtains open.

Once you're up, open DailyWall and tap + on the paper. That small tick is your first done thing of the day. New to the Lock Screen wall? Here's how to put notes on your iPhone Lock Screen.

Slept in? No streak to rescue

Late nights, sick children, jet lag and dark winter mornings will all win sometimes. When they do, DailyWall doesn't carry the paper over to tomorrow or show a broken streak. The morning simply stays faded on its own day.

What matters is that the next morning you return to the same wake-up time rather than trying to make up for it with an extra-early alarm. If you keep missing, your target is probably too ambitious for your current bedtime: move it 15 minutes later and build from there.

A 14-day early rising starter plan

Tick the steps as you go

1. Day 1: Note when you naturally get up. Set the Wake-up time 15 minutes earlier.
2. Day 2: Count back eight hours and set a matching bedtime.
3. Day 3: Move your alarm across the room.
4. Day 4: Prepare your first thing the night before: a glass of water, a mat, open curtains.
5. Day 5: If the first step felt fine, move the wake-up time another 15 minutes earlier.
6. Days 6–7: Weekend: try to stay within an hour of your weekday time.
7. Days 8–13: Keep moving in 15-minute steps every few days until you reach your goal.
8. Day 14: Look at your filled and faded mornings and settle on the time you can keep.