by Jared Goralnick
Like many, I find getting out of bed the worst part of the day. Over the years I’ve tried a few ways to make the process easier, and here are my findings. I owe most of this advice to Steve Pavlina (this post, in particular), but I’m going to reiterate it (since it was years ago) and add my own notes.
I’ve always wanted to be a morning person: I’m most productive in the morning (especially since I don’t check email), no task seems too large when the day’s ahead of me, and it’s the most practical time for me to exercise. A note about that last part–working out in the morning means only one shower/getting-ready per day (since it’s post-workout) and an early run almost never gets in the way of other commitments (whereas lunch and early evening are cluttered with various activities). So my goal has always been to get up early enough to run, eat, and start or arrive at work by 9:00.
Steve Pavlina’s advice is the key: get up at the same time every day, and go to sleep when you’re tired. And, equally important, get out of bed right away with no snooze button. For me that works out to a 6:30am start, and heading to bed 11-11:30ish . It also means turning off the CD wakeup music in exchange for the irritating buzzer . After about a week of trying this approach again, it’s getting easier to wake up and get right out of bed. Last year when I practiced this I eventually woke up at the same time even without the alarm.
I’m not sure why I gave up on this before, but it probably had to do with later evenings and occasional early mornings. There are a few factors that have changed my need for those (less dancing, leaving parties earlier, more work at home, not being single, more early-evening events, less email checking), so I hope that I can stick with it this time. After all, I’m a much happier person when my day is structured…and I hate the sad looks my dog gives when she doesn’t get to run.
Here are some other useful discussions on getting the right amount of sleep:
- Jay White (“Dumb Little Man”): Sleep Adjustment – Gain 10 days per year
- Tim Ferriss: Relax Like a Pro: 5 Steps to Hacking your Sleep
- WikiHow: How to Wake Up Without an Alarm Clock
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