Stop Hitting the Snooze Button

I'm really sorry about this.  It's not usually my style to make you feel bad, but I learned something recently and I just don't know a better way to share it.  So here it goes.

For years, my snooze button and I have been frienemies.  On the one hand, that button provides immediate relief from the evil alarm clock's morning siren; providing me those precious extra 7 minutes of half-hearted slumber.  I'm not sure what the scientific reason for those 7 minutes being the most gratifying sleep you can get (maybe someone smart could study that.  I'm busy writing blogs and such) but I know that it is.  And for years, I have thoroughly enjoyed that little extra time in bed.

Oh sure, I've laughed at myself about it.  My favorite line is Jim Gaffigan when he says "ah the snooze button.  Nothing like starting the day off with a little procrastination."  Funny, yes.  True, a little.  But then someone very successful told me something that hurt a little too much. 

When you hit the snooze button, the first thing you've done with your day is fail to keep your commitment.

Ouch.

See, I set that alarm.  I chose what time I needed to get up.  And for a long time I somehow thought that meant it was no big deal because getting up 7 minutes later only meant I was letting myself down.  But it's bigger than that.

What I've really been doing is starting my day off with a failure.  Setting that alarm was like setting a goal and I missed it.  And that can speak volumes about the rest of the day.  It meant that from the moment I was out of bed my score card was in the red.  Something had to give.

So two weeks ago I made a commitment.  I changed my alarm time and reminded myself that when it went off I had a choice to make; get out of bed and start the day with a win, or face a long drive to work thinking about how I had missed my very first commitment of the day.  And in the past two weeks, I've only missed once.  And it was a very long drive in that day.  But the good news was, the next day I got another chance and I got it right.

And here's the funny thing.  When you start you day off by keeping your first commitment, it makes it so much easier to keep the next.  And the next.  And the rest.  See, I've written before about how winning creates momentum- I just never realized how I was starting my day was affecting it.  But it does.

So I'm sorry if you've had to come to the unpleasant realization that I did about how you're starting your day.  I didn't set out intending to make you feel bad. But guess what?  Tomorrow when that alarm goes off, you'll have another chance to get it right.  And as hard as it can be to get out of that big comfy marshmallow, it's a lot tougher to think your first choice of the day was to fail. 

Keep your commitment.  Start with momentum.  And stop hitting the snooze button.