How I beat the snooze button.
Welcome to today’s installment of How I Won the War on. I’ll tell you a little about today’s author at the end of his piece. For now, enjoy…
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As I write this, it’s 6:02 on Sunday morning. I’m at work right now but it’s quiet so I’m going to write this post.
That’s not a mis-type. While you’re snuggled up in bed, I’m busy providing one of the services that keeps Victoria (Australia) ticking over 24 hours a day. I know what you’re thinking : I’m a brave, courageous man. Yes, that I am. If for no other reason than admiration for my heroics, listen to me – I’m going to tell you how to beat the snooze button.
I started shift work in February of 2006. One of the requirements of my job is that every month I have to start at 5am, seven days in a row – Saturday through Friday. For a lesser man this would be considered a struggle! HA!
…Unfortunately, I am a lesser man, and it was a huge struggle.
My alarm would go off at 4am. I’d hit snooze at least once before finally getting on with it and then speeding to work. I can still remember how I felt those first few days. I really, absolutely, hated getting up at that time. I’ll even put it in italics. I really, absolutely, hated getting up at that time. I’d be whinging away to myself, thinking about how much it sucked to get up at 4am.
Then on the sixth day of morning shift – a Thursday – the other half of my mind responded, and in a fairly sarcastic manner too.
“Oh wow! You’re such a *biiig boooy* being able to get up at 4am, seven *whole* days in a row!”
Me : “Ok, fair point”.
But my conscience was on a roll: “Your life is easy if you think the definition of suffering is getting up at 4am.”
Ouch. My inner self hit me hard. I was being a sook and I had to stop. From that day on, I stopped sooking. And I stopped hitting the snooze button. So, that was the turning point: since then I have only hit the snooze button once on that shift in the past 16 months. What’s the key? The key is thinking. As in, don’t. When my alarm goes off, I am standing up instantly. I literally do not think at all.
If you want to beat the snooze button you MUST be ABSOLUTELY subservient to your alarm.
I’m not exaggerating. You really must react instantly to your alarm and get up straight away. Every second you waste, it becomes much harder to get out. From experience, the first second is the make or break time. After just three seconds, you’re getting into hot water. Not so hard, is it? But it seriously will change your life.
I’m thinking so much more positively these days and I’m not grumpy in the morning.
Some tips:
- Be subservient to your alarm.
- Don’t think negatively. Preferably, don’t think at all.
- Coffee doesn’t help. It’s a drug of dependence and every time you drink it to make one morning better, you’re making all the rest of your mornings worse. The trade off is simply not worth it. I drink lots of cold water instead and eat fruit. This works.
- If possible, find a job that you enjoy. For me, it’s not the actual work that’s important, it’s whether I enjoy the people I work with.
Finished at 6:32. Where’s that cold water….?
- Mat.
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Mat Newton is a young entrepreneur who is building a business while still working the “day job” he mentions above. Visit Mat’s blog or his other sites Newton Clothiers and Jonk’s Bargains for more…
I was hoping for a “Newton” post (Mat, Mark or otherwise), and I have not been disappointed. The alarm is a horrible bitch goddess, and she controls my life just so I can get up and exercise, ready for the day.
That said, 4am in Melbourne is crappy at any time of the year. Yuck. More power to you, Mat! Thanks for your entry – I really liked it!