How I Drag Myself out of Bed for Sunrise

I am not a morning person. Not even close. But I somehow manage to prefer photographing sunrise over any other time of day. So here is what I do to drag myself out of bed on my one day to sleep in.

1. Set my alarm the day before. I find that if I set my alarm earlier in the day, I’m more ambitious and excited to go out the next morning. Whereas if I wait until bedtime to set it, I’m less likely to want to.
2. I get my clothes ready the night before. On sunrise eve, I tend to sleep in my base layer of clothing. That way, I’m still relatively warm from that night, and I won’t freeze while I’m changing. I also get my jeans and sweatshirt out so I don’t wake my husband up by looking through my dresser.
3. Skip the shower. There aren’t many people out and about at sunrise, so if I smell, I’m only offending myself. It might also be a deterrent for kidnappers.
4. Create a plan. I’m more likely to have success if I know where I want to go before it’s time to go. Driving around aimlessly never works for me, so I need to at least have a destination figured out the night before at the latest.
5. Coffee. I don’t bring coffee with me on my sunrise photo shoots. I don’t want to have the caffeine jitters while I’m trying to hold my camera steady. But I’ll turn my coffee maker on before I walk out the door, so it’s hot by the time I get home.

How do you drag yourself out of bed for sunrise? I’d love to hear your tips, and incorporate them into my own morning routine.