Word wakker met… Lienke de Jong
There was a time when her dinner consisted of popcorn and she rolled out of bed after snoozing six times with exploded hair. That was in a past life. Now, Lienke de Jong is Mrs. early riser herself. She represents the gospel of setting the alarm just a half hour (or two hours, that’s fine too) earlier so you live happier, more stable, and healthier. With her platform, Dear Good Morning, she inspires more than a hundred thousand early birds every day and recently there’s also a book; Dear Good Morning. Of course.
Lienke, congratulations. You must be one of the few writers who didn’t write her book in the small hours of the night?
Hahaha, now that you mention it! Neatly during the day and sometimes I swapped my morning activity for writing, so I crawled right behind my laptop. But I kept my sleep completely intact. I found it really important that while writing Dear Good Morning, I also truly lived according to the success formula.
What time does your alarm go off? Or do you no longer need an alarm?
I always set an alarm just in case, but by now I wake up just before the alarm. That’s around 06:00.
I understand that you enjoy getting up early. But where did that fascination to convert others come from?
To convert even, ha! That’s how it feels because I think every time: Oh people, just try it! You will feel so much fitter, happier, and ultimately more successful. It’s very simple: Get up a little earlier than usual and do something that gives you energy. So take the morning back for yourself. Society already pulls you out of bed for work or duty. First, do something for yourself. That gives you euphoria, peace, self-knowledge, and creativity. You start the day cheerfully and that feeling ensures that you are already four steps ahead of the rest for the rest of the day.
Can you briefly explain why getting up early is so blissful?
You get more energy when you have more rhythm. If you immediately do something active that makes you happy, you feel much better. Logically: you become cheerful from your activity. Additionally, a kind of euphoric feeling washes over you. You succeeded in jumping out of bed because YOU want to. That makes you mentally stronger. You are ahead of the world, have control in your hands, are not yet distracted by anyone, and ultimately an active morning also leads to better sleep at night. I could go on with the benefits, but really, when you experience it yourself, you’ll notice how much better you go through life.
I’m so curious about your morning ritual. Take me to the de Jong bedroom on a weekday around 05:30. What happens?
During the corona period, I indeed got up at 5:30 because I could work out with two friends at a physiotherapy practice. In my normal rhythm, I get up at 06:00. Within 15 seconds, I jump out of bed. That’s my first challenge and victory. I say out loud what I want to achieve and give myself a pat on the back that I’ve already achieved a success (jumping out of bed). Then I hurry into my sports clothes to get to my workout as quickly as possible.
Now I know that you, like me have the Philips Diamond Clean that brushes for exactly two minutes. You’ve mentioned that your tooth brushing moment is also a little ritual. Tell me?
Yes, I use brushing my teeth as a warm-up. During the two minutes of brushing, I do a wall sit, squats, or lunges, for example. It’s so easy to make your standard rituals more active and fun.
How do you ideally wake up (by light and birds, without an alarm, with a wake-up light, etc.)?
It would be amazing if the world could work without alarms. That everyone could live according to their biological clock. Then you would naturally wake up rested and could go to work. Unfortunately, we have alarms and I think the world would also become a mess. So ideally without an alarm, but in a society with alarms, and then preferably throw open the windows to see the sunrise and really say out loud to the world: Good morning, we’re going for it and making something beautiful out of it!
When is your morning really perfect?
When I jump out of bed within 15 seconds and celebrate this, then get to the gym as quickly as possible, have a super nice workout, and then enjoy a delicious cappuccino on a terrace.
And why should people buy your book?
Because both night owls, doubters, and morning people are convinced to really take the morning for themselves. From one minute to a whole hour. You discover how your biological clock works, how to maintain good sleep, and how to have an energetic morning, and you also discover what motivates you and how to double your motivation. After this book, you’ll never want to do anything other than jump out of bed, just wait and see!
Photographer: Lonneke Noordeloos
