Snooze Bar Challenge
If you are like me you have had a love/hate relationship with your Snooze Bar over the years. There are some mornings where there is nothing sweeter than hitting the button, and driftily falling back into your pillow with a soft thump and there are other mornings where you pound on the button, feeling as though it is some overly intense drill sergeant who is screaming at you to wake up “earlier than you really NEED to”.
The one thing that I know about the Snooze button is that it hasn’t ever helped me hit my goals. Now, I’m not saying that it has been the reason I’ve missed my goals either BUT I (like many of us) am on “high alert”, “all hands on deck”, “there’s a fire in the kitchen” type of a place to hit my goals for the Fourth Quarter. So, what I am doing is 6 work weeks of NO SNOOZE BAR!
Basically, from today until Thanksgiving, Monday through Friday I am going to set my alarm for the time that I choose to get out of bed and NOT HIT ANY SNOOZES. I am also making a commitment to waking up with enough time to read, stretch, workout, shower, walk aimlessly around the house, and check my facebook before my scheduled day starts. I am planning on doing this all on my own, but would love to have some accountability. So, feel free to ask me at any time how this is going OR to comment below that you are taking the Snooze Bar Challenge with me.
Be Free!
Tom Weber
VP of Sales
oooh, i love this. i’ve been snooze barring my way out of my morning workout for about a month now and then when i do get up i am totally excited to work out, but there’s no time for it at that point. and i know that skipping the workout just makes me more tired later on but i have not broke the cycle yet. now that i am going to be accountable to whoever is reading this, things are going to change. just as Tom is, i will also get up with the original alarm setting and have enough time to feed/walk Dexter, prep my breakfast & lunch, workout for at least 20 minutes, get ready for and get to the office on time without feeling stressed/rushed. i will do this until November 25.
thanks for the idea Tom!
Comment by Nickole Koker — October 20, 2008 @ 8:59 am
Love your motivation! I have a nine month old baby, “Macy” so I can’t snooze. Just get up and get it done folks! We all know what happens when we don’t, so do not play that game with yourself! Just make the decision to do what you need to do and that’s it – there are no other options because you’ve already made your decision!
Comment by Bobbi Schmitt — October 20, 2008 @ 9:01 am
What is really funny about this post is that I just had this conversation with myself over the weekend…
I felt I had a few things in my daily routine I could tighten up and NOT SLEEPING IN an extra 9 minutes a day was one of them. SO, for two days in a row I have refrained from hitting the snooze bar and BOOM, my days have been FULL of productivity, I am getting everything I need to get done throughout the day (in less time than I anticipated!!!) and my level of intensity has greatly increased…
…All over 9 minutes. Awesome.
I would remove the button entirely IF it wasn’t the same button that sets my alarm.
Comment by Jeff Caissie — October 20, 2008 @ 9:10 am
Having kids that get on the bus at 6:30 and 7:30 am doesn’t allow for any snooz barring, but I can be much more productive with that time,instead of just being in a daze, yelling”5 more miutes, hurry up!” I am committing to starting my day in the Word and being thankful. This will put me in the right mindset for success!!Thanks for the idea and accountability,Tom!
Comment by Dianne Young — October 20, 2008 @ 9:52 am
Hey Tom!
I appreciate this post-not because I snooze bar it-that’s not an option because I have to get myself and 2 little ones up, dressed, fed and out the door by 7:15. Scheduling time for me needs to go back on the priority list. I am not doing that and need too. My “snooze bar” equivalent is thinking I can squeeze time for me somewhere and allowing myself to accept the 15 min car ride back from the school drop as “good enough” meditation time. Not cutting it and not helping me hit goals. Thanks for the wake up call on that! (pun intended
)
Comment by Loren Barrows — October 20, 2008 @ 10:53 am
I just love how all the parents are commenting “i can’t snooze.”
That is actually not true at all. Anyone can hit the snooze bar. The kids could go hungry, miss the bus, be late for school, etc.
This is a perfect example of the power of external accountability. In our minds, as soon as something is not negotiable, there is no question as to what action to take.
And EVERYTHING in our lives IS negotiable until we are internally committed to our course of action.
It is just a matter of figuring our what is REALLY important to you. Once you know what that is, the actions get done.
This is the perfect time for all of us to be getting clear about what really matters to us.
Thanks for the great post Tom… and for all your comments – this was extremely helpful for me.
ps… how are you doing on not hitting snooze so far this week?
Comment by Eric Plantenberg — October 20, 2008 @ 2:24 pm
Mine is not simply hitting the snooze, but actually resetting the alarm altogether. Fortunately I don’t set the clock fast by 10 minutes anymore which really made for some complex calculations when you are half asleep! Let’s see that’s 7:12, but actually it’s 7:02, add 15 minutes, carry the 2, wait my meeting is in the Eastern Time Zone, add an hour, no subtract…no add!!! Simply not having my head explode first thing in the morning will go a long way to hitting my goals.
Great reminder Tom and a practice that I am already improving with better scheduling and preparation.
Comment by Ken Budka — October 20, 2008 @ 3:07 pm
What’s a snooze bar? Ok, I know what a snooze bar is…. just kidding.
Better question. When is bedtime?
Comment by David Denis — October 20, 2008 @ 3:31 pm
At the same time every night Dave!
Comment by Eric Plantenberg — October 20, 2008 @ 3:32 pm
it has been a while since i used the clock at all. I guess i am a bit lucky, my wife wakes me up at 7 after she is done with her shower. i strap on the shoes, take out the dog and then go running. have been very consistent with it lately and since i got some new running shoes, i am even more pumped. it is gonna be a super-fantabulious day. if i am not out of the house by 7:15 after my stretching, i am not sitting at my desk by 8:40.
Comment by Alan Mong — October 21, 2008 @ 9:38 am
So far i’m two for two. Popped up and said “Its gonna be a great day!”
Comment by Tom Weber — October 21, 2008 @ 11:43 am
Congratulations on your extra non-snooze minutes!
You’re so right about the love/hate with snooze and what a great reminder on how to start the day! When I found myself irritated by the wasted time, I decided to ditch the alarm altogether and set my internal clock to wake up at a specific time. It took practice and the key to making to work for me is to be completely pumped about waking up – like how easy it was to wake up the morning of a vacation that included a flight or the first day of school. I’m committed to spending a few minutes every night until at least November 25th to thinking about how exciting tomorrow will be and what time I need to get up to make it happen. When I’ve done this before, it’s given me extra time on the deck with my coffee, time to exercise, read or really anything. The discipline is fun and feels good.
The other perk of going to bed with intense feelings about waking up is that it eliminates my alarm clock and makes the start of each day strong and happy.
Thanks for the terrific post!
Comment by bgn — October 21, 2008 @ 6:07 pm