Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Up With the Roosters

Every night I tell myself I'm getting up at 5 so I can get an early start to the day. Every morning when the alarm goes off, my five o'clock brain involuntarily hits snooze. Every day I regret it. Once I'm up, I'm fine and not tired at all. Curse you, Morning Brain!

I'm not required to get to work before 8:30 and don't get paid overtime (I'm legally exempt), but my day is so much less stressful when I get in early and have everything organized before the phones start ringing and my email inbox starts filling up that it's very much worth it. I can't make up for it by staying late because then I'm tired and make dumb mistakes that I have to spend the next morning correcting. Besides, there are better ways I can spend my evenings.

I can't sleep with the blinds open because of the floodlights outside. Does putting your alarm clock across the room work? What about putting timers on lamps?

11 comments:

Brian Miller said...

smiles. luckily my body is an early riser...the rooster though reminded me when we lived in FL a rooster took up home in out yard...he would litterally walk all the way down the block to our house to crow the son up...i so wanted to kill that....

Slamdunk said...

I agree with you about getting there early and organizing before the busyness of the day takes off.

The alarm clock across the room did it for me--then straight into the shower to wake up.

LL Cool Joe said...

I wake up at 5.00am every day WITHOUT an alarm clock! I enjoy the peace and quiet before the rest of the family wake up.

Tempo said...

I hate alarm clocks, they freak me out...so I dont own one. I wake up a few minutes before the reminder on the phone starts it's early morning bird songs way up the other end of the house.
Ive never tried that get to work early thing...maybe I'll try it.... Nah!

Anonymous said...

The very best but completely uncontrollable is a cat (or dog, so I've been told). Somewhere between 3 to 6 ( but usually right about 5) one of our cats decides its breakfast time and insists one of us gets up. Will depend on the pet though. Not all of them do this.

Kelly said...

I can usually do without my alarm now (a benefit of old age) but still use one as a backup when really necessary. In the day, though, I always kept my alarm across the room. It forced me out of bed!

Jen said...

@Brian Miller: They don't always wait for the sun, either. Growing up, some of ours crowed at night. They may have been nominated for the fryer...

@Kelly and Slamdunk: Apparently, I'm capable of getting up, crossing the room, turning off the alarm, and going back to bed without ever waking up. It didn't work for me this morning.

@LL Cool Joe: The peace and quiet at work before everyone gets there is what I like, too.

@Tempo: It's preferable to the stay after work thing. At 5 I'm ready to leave!

@Anonymous: My daughter took the cats with her, so they are harassing her for their breakfast. Should I steal them back? Nah.

Grannybunny said...

If it's a matter of being in such a deep sleep that you cannot fully rouse yourself, I'm not sure what to recommend. However, I used to habitually hit snooze and -- just as regularly -- regret it (since you don't really get good rest once you'be been awakened enough to hit the clock). One day, I just decided to quit the totally-unsatisfactory practice of using the snooze alarm and just started turning off the alarm and getting up right then. Even if I'm in a deep sleep or dream, once I'm up and start my morning routine, I'm fully-awake in just a few minutes. No more hitting snooze, only to later regret it, oversleeping, having to rush around in a panic getting ready at the last minute, etc.

Jen said...

@Grannybunny: I haven't been late to work, just not early. I would be so much less stressed if I could train my body to get up earlier.

Bernie said...

I wake up every morning at 7 and I don't need to get up anymore, but I have my coffee, read the newspaper and go back to sleep. Before I retired I always sat my alarm but always woke up before it went off, just a habit I guess. Good Luck.....:-)Hugs

Unknown said...

I always say want to get up early and always hit the snooze button. I think it's just a matter of will power and getting up when the alarm goes off the first time. Be strong!

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