We will admit…
In yesterday’s morning meeting, we found out that the most groggy of us at Boldist are chronic snooze alarm pushers who might slap the ringing alarm up to four times before slumping out of bed.
This is not the right way to start the morning.
But the snooze-peddlers in our office know this. And you know this. So why are so many of us still refusing to hop out of bed and face the morning? What’s the big deal? What is so significant about an extra fifteen minutes of sleep?
Quit Messing With Your Own Head.
In that extra fifteen minutes, especially repeated throughout an hour, you don’t come close to a REM cycle. You confuse your brain about what it’s supposed to be doing, and when your brain is confused, silly things happen. For instance, you might try brushing your teeth with the shaving cream. We’ve seen it happen.
By the time you wake up after a snooze alarm or two, you actually feel more tired than you would have if you just got up the first time around. That’s what that dizzy feeling is when you first step onto your feet. It’s not that you didn’t get enough sleep. It’s that you got greedy. And what have all those fairy tales taught us about greed? It still doesn’t satisfy the soul.
We know that many people, us especially, cherish our sleep. Our beds are often our sanctuaries. Sleep is often our most valuable personal time. But, as the cliché goes, too much of a good thing can be no good at all.
Don’t think.
Decisions are constantly made throughout the day whether you realize it or not. Not making a decision is still a decision. Triumphing over the snooze alarm takes one thing. And despite what you may think, it’s not will power. If you leave it to your brain to decide whether you’re going to get up or not, you will almost always side with going back to sleep because it’s easier, and you are not alert enough to be making wise decisions. So decide before you go to bed at night that you will get up immediately when the alarm goes off in the morning. And then when it comes and the ringing infiltrates your sleep, don’t think at all. Just get up.
Repetition is the key. Hitting the snooze alarm is a habit. And it can be broken, or in this case, replaced with a new one. Be a habitual waker-upper. You will notice a world of difference in your mood, your energy level, and your quality of work.
The Challenge.
If you’re a chronic snooze alarm pusher and you need a little help getting motivated, join us in our new office competition: Who of our reluctant awakeners can go the longest without hitting the snooze alarm? Today was Day One. Three have failed. One has risen. The alarm clock is a worthy adversary, but it can be beat. So Day One starts tomorrow again. We will prosper. We will not be defeated.
… aren’t you glad we didn’t make a “you snooze, you loose” joke?
