How to Drag Yourself Out of Bed In the Morning
Wednesday, September 30, 2009 by David Pierce 
There’s this funny thing you’re supposed to do every once in a while in college – it’s called “go to class.” I think.
Trouble is, between all the other stuff you’ve got going on, waking up for that first class of the day is an awfully elusive being. The first inclination, every single morning, is to just roll back over and fall right back asleep. But, and I’m just guessing here, that might not be great for your academic career.
So, that in mind, here’s a few tips to make hopping out of bed (or at least stumbling) a little easier.
Have a bedtime
Go to bed at the same time every night (or at least on weeknights). Even if that time is 2am, it’s critical that your body gets used to going to sleep at a particular time – you’ll fall asleep faster, and your body will adjust more easily to your sleep schedule, leaving you much higher functioning on less sleep.
Go Do Something
When you first wake up, go check your email. Or splash some water on your face. Make that part of your waking-up routine, and do it without fail. Always do the same thing, and make sure it’s something that doesn’t require a whole lot of brain power. Do it until you do it without thinking, and it’ll keep you from heading back to bed.
3 Alarms
Set not one, not two, but three alarms. And, if you can pull it off, set them all to exactly the same thing: the same song, or the same tone. Set them to go off about two minutes apart. You, in your sleepy stupor, are going to have to figure out which alarm is going off, and turn it off. Repeat three times, and you’re going to be awake. I put the same song on my iPod, computer, and cell phone, and it’s worked like a charm.
Drink Water
One of the reasons we’re so tired in the morning is that we’re dehydrated, having just gone so many hours without any water. So, first thing, go pound a glass of cold water. You’ll perk up from the cold, and in a few minutes perk up from being hydrated again.
Kill the Snooze
I’ve found that I’m more prone to hit snooze twelve times than I am to just turn off the alarm and fall asleep. So what I’ve done is put duct tape over the snooze button on my alarm. Now, my only option is to turn the alarm off, and even sleepy me knows that’s not a good idea if I’m still in bed. So out of bed I get, if only to make sure I don’t sleep for six more hours because I turned my alarm off.
Waking up’s the worst thing in the world, in my humble opinion, and sleep’s awesome. But sometimes, you’ve got to get up. The key is to get up, and immediately do something - once you’re active, you’re not likely to fall back into bed.
How do you force yourself out of bed when you don’t want to?
(Image via me and the sysop)
Reader Comments (9)
I put an alarm on the other side of the room, so i have got to get up and hit the snooze. After two times, Im up. Also in high school I had this weird system that worked. Lets say I had to be up and out the door at 7:45, I would set the time like 23 minutes ahead of the actual time and set the timer at like 6:51. After a few snooze hits i don't know what time it is and I would think Im running late. After a quick shower I would head into the kitchen as see I still have a half hour to eat and still be on time. Sounds strange, but it worked well.
The man that invented the snooze button is single-handedly responsible for hundreds of productivity hours lost. I hope he is happy.
Several years ago, I was in a phase where I was using my iPod as my alarm clock. It was fun, because I could throw together a playlist of songs that I would want to wake up to, and if the iPod was on shuffle, I'd hear a different one every morning.
The downside to using an iPod, though, was that it did not have any snooze. The consequence of this decision was that I had to force myself to get up on the first alarm, because there was no second chance. I combined this effort with the "put the alarm across the room" trick, and ever since then, I have been waking up at the first alarm. I then make a bee-line for the shower (or as close to a line as I can manage), which usually helps to wake me up some more.
Restricting myself to one alarm wasn't fun at first, but now I'm used to it and I feel less lazy in the morning. I also abandoned my iPod and now use my cell phone as an alarm, which also does not have a snooze.
Water is an interesting idea. I never read or heard of that before. I'm going to have to put this to the test!
i've been using my computer and cell phone as my alarms.
On my computer i use http://www.nakedalarmclock.com/ and it sits in another room with the volume turned up very high.
For my cell phone I use http://www.ageye.de/index.php?s=galarm/about
It's the best alarm app because in order for me to snooze or turn off my alarm, I've set it so i have to take a quiz (math problems or mazes). This wakes me up because I have to concentrate and alerts my mind in the morning.
"There’s this funny thing you’re supposed to do every once in a while in college – it’s called “go to class.” I think."
Dude, its been a month since I went to class. Heh.
This tips should help. I hope.
i only go to bed when i am tired (i.e. when i lay down now i will fall asleep in less than 10-15minutes - tired). going to bed earlier is wasted time you could do something productive in.
what makes this system regulate itself is getting up at a fixed time. no matter what. even on weekends.
Another great tip regarding water: Drink a big glass before you go to bed. Having to pee is the best alarm out there!
Force yourself to wake up at the exact same time each day. Sleep only when you need it. However late, however early you slept the night before, your body clock will get used to it. The next thing you know, you'd be opening up your eyes at the same time each morning, whether you want to sleep in or not after that. lol.