Learn to Get Up

Episode #4 of the course How to get up and conquer the morning by Matt Sandrini

 

What’s the first thing you do when the alarm clock goes off?

Some people ignore it.
Some people hit snooze.
Some people say “just five minutes.”
And then “just another five.”
Few get up straight away.

You can be one of those few. There’s no use setting an earlier alarm if you’re going to stay in bed, missing out on sleep AND active time. Epic fail.

Yet, every time you stay in bed those extra five minutes, you are training yourself to keep doing so. You are accepting it as normal and associating a snooze response to the sound of your alarm clock.

Feeling groggy, guilty, and late is not the best way to start the day.

The reason why this keeps happening every single morning without exception is that your brain has created a habit: an automatic behavior in response to a particular trigger (the sound of the alarm clock).

It doesn’t matter how many times you lie to yourself in the evening, saying that tomorrow it will be different. It’s virtually impossible for your foggy, sleepy brain to override the fast and automated power of an ingrained habit.

But I have good news! You can train yourself to internalize a new habit to replace the snooze blues.

To start, what you need is to be in your bedroom at a time when you wouldn’t usually go to bed yet.

Next, get your PJs on.

Actually, set the whole room up as if you were about to get a proper good night’s sleep.

Now, set your alarm clock to 10 minutes from now. Make sure you’re using the same tune or alarm clock you would normally use.

Now go to bed, close your eyes, and relax. You can count sheep if you’d like. Or just focus on your breathing. Relax.

Zzz. (optional)

After 10 minutes, the all-too-familiar sound will start filling the room. Push your covers to the side and promptly jump out of bed like a jack-in-the-box.

Now that you’re out of bed, you can turn your alarm clock off. How did that feel?

Let’s do it again.

This time, set the alarm clock to go off in five minutes.

Snuggle under the covers and relax once again. Follow your breath in and out of your nose. Chill.

When the alarm clock goes off, do it again: throw your bedding to the side and spring up, ready to start the day!

How did that feel?

Do it at least one more time, and only turn the alarm clock off once you’re out of bed. Remember, you are rewiring a well-established automated response, so don’t get sloppy now!

It will pay off for the foreseeable future.

 

Tomorrow, we will go through why it’s important to track your sleep and how to do so.

— Matt

 

Recommended book

“The Early To Rise Experience: Learn To Rise Early in 30 Days” by Andy Traub

 

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