How To Get Up Early When You Don’t Have To
No. 2 Drink a glass of water the night before
I consider myself a self-disciplined person.
And yet, there’s one thing that has been a torment for me throughout my life. Getting up early, especially when I don’t have to. Funnily enough, by saying “early”, I don’t mean damn 5 or 6 a.m.
I mean 7:30. Yes, you heard me right.
To be fair, it did work for about a week. However, a few days ago, something broke. I had to go to sleep later than usual and thought, “The duration of my sleep is more important than the waking-up time, right?”.
And so, I woke up at 11 or so. Yet, a few days have passed, and I still cannot return to that 7:30 a.m. Hell. I admit I was wrong; can somebody fix my sleep cycle now?
If you had a similar situation, then, despite everything, strive to wake up at an hour you normally do. You will be waaay better off with this than if you woke up later the next day. We’ll fight that sleep deprivation another way.
I suggest you to either go to bed earlier or take a nap during midday (for < 30 minutes or a full cycle of 90 minutes). If you can keep it this way, your energy will thrive.
How to establish a routine or go back to it after an unfortunate event.
The question is how to get back on track and wake up at your target hour when nobody forces you. For me, it’s 7:30.
When my alarm starts ringing, I get up from bed, turn it off, and immediately go back to sleep. Yes, there are apps forcing you to complete simple tasks before turning off the alarm. My app has it too. But it doesn’t work!
Listen, I’m a tough guy (well, a girl actually), and their little tricks are of no obstacle in my return to bed. If you’re like me, you need some serious artillery to prevent you from falling asleep again. To succeed, we must first understand our enemy.
If you did this “turn off the alarm → go back to bed” thing many times, congratulations. It is now a habit. Unfortunately, you can’t break a habit and erase it from existence. The neurons have intertwined, and there’s no separating them. The solution is to design a new habit(s) that will be stronger than the previous one.
I’m going to share some alternative behaviors, and your task will be to experiment to find what works best for you. Don’t assume, however, that your first pick will be the winning one. No, you need to be your own scientist to fight what prevents you from growing.
Here’s how to wake up and not just get out of bed:
Quick disclaimer: I didn’t include the most obvious, for example, having your alarm clock far from your bed — you’ve probably heard it a million times.
- Drink a glass of water.
A good habit to have overall, but it’s also refreshing. I find it most effective to have it prepared the evening before. - Go to the toilet.
Laugh or not, going to the toilet is the one thing that forces me out of bed. However, to make it work, drink some water the evening before. The amount must be high enough to get you out of bed but low enough so as not to wake you up in the middle of the night. Clever, right? I got it from my friend, who uses it to wake up systematically at 5 a.m. - Use the app.
If you enjoy shaking your phone, doing a math riddle, etc. — do them! Personally, they annoy the hell out of me. - Sprinkle water on your face.
Either when you’re in the toilet, or you can place a spray bottle next to your bed. - Open the window and the blinds.
I live in the north, where the air is usually cold, so the effect is stronger. - If you can do some jumping jacks or squats, awesome!
Try doing them when you’re less sleepy (for example, after returning from the toilet), or you’ll probably fail. The key is to get rid of sluggishness and inertia. - Concentrate your thoughts.
I honestly don’t enjoy the act of waking up, and that makes me begin on a negative side. Therefore, I need to counterattack this effect. However, nobody can force me to be positive in these first few minutes without a good reason. So I simply put on my earphones and focus on listening to whatever I prepared for myself earlier.
If you’re ready by now to jump straight into the day, bon voyage! This is what I’d normally do, but recently, I’ve been testing doing a short study session of Chinese on my phone. I love them, so they are a fantastic way to start the day with a positive vibe. Also, the light from my phone screen stimulates my brain to get rid of that melatonin.
If I don’t have time, the study session can last as little as five minutes, and it still works magic. You can replace it with whatever makes you happy– like a good book. If it’s done on your phone, however, be wary! If you feel an urge to go on social media or check your email, it’s better to give it up. I have them all blocked until 9 a.m., and it works perfectly.
These were the strategies to help you wake up rather than just get out of bed. I’m not going to tell you, however, which mix of them will benefit you the most. This is something only you can manage.
Yet, it’s fun to experiment with it because you’re trying to improve your life here! Only remember that these methods work best when combined. Therefore, experiment not only with actions themselves but also their sequence.
