I’m not a morning person. I never have been and I probably never will be, however recently for work I’ve been having to wake up early, and as such, I’ve put together a few tips that help me get by.

• Don’t eat breakfast – Just grab a glass of juice, and eat lunch early if you get hungry. When I eat a full meal in the morning, I feel weighed down and groggy all afternoon.
• Reward yourself – Tell yourself if you go to sleep early, you’ll get up a little earlier and swing by Starbucks, or some kind of reward. Motivate yourself to go to sleep early, as that’s the key.
• Don’t hit that snooze button – I know it’s tempting, and I know “a few more minutes won’t hurt anything,” however you must resist. You set your alarm for that time last night for a reason, and the voice of reason is dulled when you first wake up.
• Take a Shower – I’ve tried taking a shower in the evenings before I go to sleep, and in the mornings when I wake up… and I’ve found taking one in the morning works much better for me. That kick-starts my energy for the day, and without it, I’d never wake up.
• Play music while you’re getting ready – Some might not have this convenience (roommates, etc), however if you turn on the radio or TV while you’re getting ready, it helps get your mind thinking for the day, rather than enjoying it’s grogginess.
• Open your blinds before you go to sleep – What seems to be one of the smallest things makes a huge difference. If you open your blinds before you go to sleep, when your alarm goes off in the morning, the sun beaming in through those slats might just give you enough energy to smile and want to get up.
• Cherish the morning – There’s a certain empowering energy in being up early… the birds chirping, the dew in the air, serene tranquility… cherish it. Walk outside and take a deep breath. Learn to enjoy mornings, not dread them. They really aren’t so bad.

Hopefully these help you as well. Good luck!

I use almost all of Google’s products, but there are a few things, that if added, would make my life much easier. Additionally, I’ve included some of my “I wish Google would make…” items.

1. An already heavily requested feature… search within Google Reader. I read almost a hundred RSS feeds a day, and often times I’m wishing I could find a story I skimmed over again to show a friend… but it’s quite difficult.
2. Adsense integration with Google Analytics. I don’t use PPC campaigns so Adwords is useless to me, however I would be VERY interested in tracking my earnings with the ability to drill down to a page level. Google Analytics is a great, powerful system, and Adwords integration would be a nice touch.
3. Google Gears integration with Gmail. I love Gmail, but I find myself often wishing I could access it offline. I’ve setup Outlook (POP downloads) setup on my laptop, but I really don’t like the feel of it nearly as much as the Gmail web interface.
4. Google Gears integration with Google Docs and Spreadsheets. It would be great to simply have a link icon on my desktop that opened Google Docs, and no matter where I am (home, Starbucks, on a plane, etc.), I can always work on my documents whenever I’d like.
5. GDrive. I’d love an XDrive-style storage system run by G, where I can quickly toss any files I’d like, from MP3s to EXEs. Also knowing Google, I’m sure they’d be generous with space as well.
6. GoogOS. Okay, maybe I’m getting a bit far out now, but I’d LOVE a simple AJAX web interface with icons where I can open Google applications in smaller Meebo-style draggable CSS/JS windows. I would like a site I can go to, hit F11 to make it full screen, and no matter what computer I’m on, have access to everything in single one place.
7. Google Music Identifier. All the cell companies are doing it now (Cingular, Verizon’s V Cast Phone, etc)…. it’d be awesome if Google made a 1-800 number I could call, hold my phone up in a store or in my car, and have Google identify the artist and song for me. Bonus points if they automatically add a link to that Google Music page to my Google Notebook.
8. Google Accounting. Most of my daily operations are handed with Google’s systems (email, word processing, chat, search, etc)… but I’m still using QuickBooks to manage my finances. I’m sure they could easily create an easy-to-use personal expense tracking system, and even tie it into Google Checkout. I’d definitely use it.
9. Expand Google Blog Search to add trends and popularity. Without much work, they could become a direct competitor of Technorati and finally give them a run for their money. Google Blog Search is very bland and underdeveloped right now in my opinion. A little dedication to it would do wonders.
10. Folders in Gmail. I understand Google’s ideas for labeling emails and archiving… but I still like folders better… just drag emails and drop them in the right place. Very intuitive. I think this is one of the only flaws in Gmail and would be a radical (they seem hard-set on labels), but progressive modification.

Thanks G… if I could get these all done in the next few days, that’d be great. :p