How to Have a Productive Day Even When You Wake Up Late

by - April 17, 2021

 *Beep* *Snooze* *Beep* *Snooze* *Beep* Have you ever been stuck in this cycle? Sometimes, it's really hard to get up when your alarm goes off, especially when you went to bed late the night before, but if you sleep in, then it throws your entire daily routine off. So what can you do to still have a productive day, when you sleep in? Here are some simple ways you can have a productive day even when you wake up late!

How to Have a Productive Day Even When You Wake Up Late

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Updated for 2024

It would be nice if we could all wake up at the time we need to wake up to get to work or school on time and have plenty of energy too! Sometimes though, you just simply need more sleep, so you end up waking up late and then feel like you wasted some of your day. You don't have to feel this way! Today, I have some tips you can use to get your day back on track, but first I wanted to mention two other very popular productivity posts that you might also like to read.



When you go to bed late the night before, you have two options: waking up early the day afterward feeling tired and maybe you have to take a nap during the day, or sleeping in and feeling like you wasted part of your day, but not feeling as tired.

There are plenty of posts online on how to wake up early, but when I looked for how to be productive when you wake up late, I had trouble finding anything. For all of you out there who woke up late today, here are some tips on how you can have a productive day today!

How to Have a Productive Day Even When You Wake Up Late

1. Get Out of Bed Without Procrastinating

Okay, so first up when you wake up late, get out of bed! Don't sit there in your bed and think of how much time you just wasted. Instead, just get up out of bed.

And don't even think of turning on your phone while sitting in your bed. In fact, if you can, don't turn on your phone right when you get out of bed either. If you have a problem with procrastinating in the mornings, you can read How to Stop Procrastinating + Be More Productive to help you!

If you really want to stay in your bed for five more minutes, you can think about what you have to do for the day, and decide on your most important task.

If you want a quick win right at the beginning of your day, you can make your bed, and/or you can say, "today is going to be a great day". This is an idea found in the book Tiny Habits, which I entirely recommend.

How to Have a Productive Day Even When You Wake Up Late

2. Get Dressed Right Away

Now you might just feel like staying in your pajamas if you slept in and you don't have anywhere to go right away, but if you get dressed right away, that will be one thing you won't have to do later and it will put you in the right mood to be productive because hey, you sleep in your pajamas, so if you stay in them, then you will feel like (surprise! surprise!) sleeping.

While you do this, you can also think about what you have to do for the day, if you haven't already.

3. Have a Good Breakfast

Since you woke up late, it might be tempting to skip breakfast altogether and just waiting to have lunch, but if you eat breakfast now, it will give you some energy and help you be more productive, rather than just waiting until lunch.

Plus, now would be a good time to make your to-do list for the day, even if you don't look at it later, it will help you know what you need to do for the day, and you can just use this to-do list to put your thoughts in order.

I usually make my to-do list for the day, while I eat breakfast. Even if you have to grab something to eat while on the go, it is still a good idea.

4. Don't Turn on Your Tech Until You Actually Have To

Now it might be tempting to turn your phone on during breakfast if you have some extra time, but that will probably be distracting. Instead, you might choose to make your to-do list, read a chapter of a book you have been wanting to read, or take a few minutes to think of what you are grateful for, etc.

Notifications are always distracting and can take up large chunks of your day. Besides your phone, this includes your laptop, your tablet, and any other electronic devices you might have.

Checking notifications and emails is not a good excuse to turn on your tech because most likely you will get sucked into spending more time on it than you thought you were going to.

5. Use Timers

Then when you do turn on your tech to check something, you can turn on a timer to see how long it actually takes to complete. It might be longer than you actually think!

You can use time-blocking to see how much time it takes for you to complete the tasks on your list.

How to Have a Productive Day Even When You Wake Up Late

6. Cut Out Distractions

Even though you woke up late, you might still be able to get everything done and you might be surprised at how much time you actually have when you cut out all distractions!

Time-blocking and using tip #5 will help you do this because if you get distracted when your timer goes off, you will realize that you were distracted, and you can get right back on track.

Here are some ways to cut out distractions...

  • Turn off your phone and put it in another room
  • Maximize your browser window so you can only have one tab open at a time
  • Sit in a room where you can have silence (or music of your choice, that will not distract you)
  • Have an organized workspace so you can be efficient
  • Avoid multi-tasking
  • Don't sit in a room where food is available, but have water nearby

Planned breaks are important though. You might choose to get up and walk around the room a few times or something similar that will relax you.

How to Have a Productive Day Even When You Wake Up Late


How to Have a Productive Day Even When You Wake Up Late

Even when you wake up later than you wanted to and are behind on your usual daily routine, you can still have a productive day! At the end of the day, if you still don't feel like you were productive enough, you can grab a piece of paper, and make a done list so you can see how much you completed during the day. And remember, you always have tomorrow to try again and do better!

If you liked this post, you can also read these ones...

Even if you woke up late this morning, you can still be productive! Good luck and have a great week!
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How to Have a Productive Day Even When You Wake Up Late

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