Getting Out Of Bed

N

njupchurch

0
First time poster! Hi y'all!

I've been working with GTD for the last couple months, and though I'm know I still have a ways to go before it becomes truly habitual, it has awarded me with the pleasure I have been looking for; the feeling that I've filled each day with the things I should have been doing, when I should have, and could have, been doing them.

Unfortunately, this has lead me recently to a feeling of frustration whenever I try to get up in the morning. Whenever my alarm clock goes off, I start a fight with myself. One half wants to lay there and continue to do as I have always done. Sleep in as late as possible, and rush off to work at the last minute or, if it's a weekend, continue to do nothing til noon. The other half of me, the half that is finally enjoying the feeling of success, can't get up early enough.

"There's so many good things we can get done today! I can't wait to check things off my list(s)!"

"But why get up? It's so comfy here..."

Urgh.

Every night, I set my alarm with the taste of a job well done still on my lips, looking forward to the next day's productive morning, and ever morning I pound the snooze wondering why in the world I didn't give myself another half hour.

So I'm curious GTD-ers, how do you GOOB (get out of bed)? Is it an energy level thing? Is it a mental state that comes with a couple more months of this productive feeling? Is there any wisdom on how to end, or end sooner, this internal battle?

Thanks so much!
-Nick
 
Have to go out of bed at 5 a.m. for running nearly an hour before starting the day with a coffee and travelling to work at 6.30 a.m. And, as I am a triathlete, I like that ;)

A hint may be ordering bread and bagles at your local bakery in the morning, paying them for a week, then you have to pick them up at an early time or they should be donated to visitors by staff. :rolleyes:
 
Trick yourself

Put your alarm on the other side of the room so you can't hit the snooze. Immediately put on your shoes, no matter how goofy that looks. Better if the shoes lace up. Make your bed and leave the bedroom.

If you're hitting the snooze you may just not be getting enough sleep or sleeping deeply enough. I had to give up caffeine this last year for medical reasons. I never had any trouble falling asleep so I didn't think it bothered me. I was completely wrong. Now that I don't drink it anymore, I am AMAZED at how much more rested I feel in the morning and throughout the day. I never knew caffeine effected the quality of sleep and energy level.
 
I have tried the alarm-across-the-room trick before, and though it is very effective, I've never had trouble getting out of bed if I really want to. When I have something very important that morning, like an essential meeting with a customer, I know that if I don't get up, the fear of the backlash of disappointing a customer is far stronger then the desire to stay in bed. Once I'm out of bed and moving, I'm generally good to go. I like the idea of being forced to pick up breakfast or it get's donated! That certainly sounds like a strong motivator. So, #1: Strong motivator. Running actually sounds like a good idea too. I haven't exercised in ages, but I remember some years ago when I was exercising a lot, if I skipped a daily session, I felt really disappointed and it helped me get out of bed. So, perhaps being on schedule is a strong motivator? Have any of you found that getting fit increased your overall energy? I've always assumed that being fit only increased ones energy in the moment of strenuous activity, and not during docile times, like waking in the morning.

Barb, I've actually considered the caffeine aspect, but haven't yet tested it. I can normally go a day or two without caffeine, but something inevitably comes up that necessitates I get up an hour or two early (or stay up an hour or two later), and I rush for my liquid salvation. Plus, as a programmer, we're expected to consume coffee by the coffer! And when your office supplies it for free, how can you say no? However, you do make an excellent point. In fact, some years ago my brother had a rash of fainting spells, and it was recommended by his doctor that it could be a hypersensitivity (or something like that) to caffeine. At first he was concerned about how difficult it would be for him now to wake for his manual labor job. Much to his surprise, he had no troubles and, much like you, discovered that he often felt more rested.

So, get a motivator. I'm going to try exercise. I've been trying to get up the courage to start a morning jog, and using it as an "experiment" for waking in the morning seems like a good idea. I'm going to set an "appointment" with my running shoes.
:arrow: 5:45 - 6:45, Meeting with shoes.

I'm also going to try decreasing or :shock: eliminating caffeine. This will be the hard one. My Dad was always so proud of his knowledge of the brown bean, and passed some of that pride on to me. I guess in this case the apple needs to fall a little farther from the tree.
 
Sounds like you could use the caffeine as an extra reward for getting up (but have it after the run :p)

You could always try a caffeine curfew. My step brother did that when he foudn it ruined his sleep. No caffeine after noon, it's been his regime for years now.

I have the opposite struggle. On work nights I need to get my head on the pillow by 10pm to make that 6am alarm tolerable. But something "in me" always pushes it past that.
 
Do it slowly

njupchurch;79353 said:
I have tried the alarm-across-the-room trick before, and though it is very effective, I've never had trouble getting out of bed if I really want to. When I have something very important that morning, like an essential meeting with a customer, I know that if I don't get up, the fear of the backlash of disappointing a customer is far stronger then the desire to stay in bed. Once I'm out of bed and moving, I'm generally good to go. I like the idea of being forced to pick up breakfast or it get's donated! That certainly sounds like a strong motivator. So, #1: Strong motivator. Running actually sounds like a good idea too. I haven't exercised in ages, but I remember some years ago when I was exercising a lot, if I skipped a daily session, I felt really disappointed and it helped me get out of bed. So, perhaps being on schedule is a strong motivator? Have any of you found that getting fit increased your overall energy? I've always assumed that being fit only increased ones energy in the moment of strenuous activity, and not during docile times, like waking in the morning.

Barb, I've actually considered the caffeine aspect, but haven't yet tested it. I can normally go a day or two without caffeine, but something inevitably comes up that necessitates I get up an hour or two early (or stay up an hour or two later), and I rush for my liquid salvation. Plus, as a programmer, we're expected to consume coffee by the coffer! And when your office supplies it for free, how can you say no? However, you do make an excellent point. In fact, some years ago my brother had a rash of fainting spells, and it was recommended by his doctor that it could be a hypersensitivity (or something like that) to caffeine. At first he was concerned about how difficult it would be for him now to wake for his manual labor job. Much to his surprise, he had no troubles and, much like you, discovered that he often felt more rested.

So, get a motivator. I'm going to try exercise. I've been trying to get up the courage to start a morning jog, and using it as an "experiment" for waking in the morning seems like a good idea. I'm going to set an "appointment" with my running shoes.
:arrow: 5:45 - 6:45, Meeting with shoes.

I'm also going to try decreasing or :shock: eliminating caffeine. This will be the hard one. My Dad was always so proud of his knowledge of the brown bean, and passed some of that pride on to me. I guess in this case the apple needs to fall a little farther from the tree.
Click to expand...

If you do try to give up the caffeine, do it VERY gradually! For instance, I used to drink 2 cups of coffee per day and I-don't-know-how-many Diet Cokes. I started by decreasing the coffee by just 1/2 cup per day for the first week, 1 cup per day for the second week, and reduced the Diet Cokes by just one per day for the first week, etc. It took awhile to give it up totally. Giving it up cold turkey can cause other problems--so do it nice and s-l-o-w!
 
On a similar note

I had an interesting experience on a similar note recently. I can choose when I go in, so I started going into work later. I developed a nice routine in the mornings (shower-fed cats-meditate-clean up a bit-have breakfast-read news-off to work) that all in all took about an hour and 30 minutes.

I then started to go in work an hour and half earlier so I could leave with my girlfriend. At first I tried getting up just a little bit earlier, but this meant my pattern got messed up - and to my surprise I found myself waking up earlier naturally with enough time to go back to my old pattern, even though it meant getting up an hour and a half earlier in the morning. The habit i developed was so strong that my mind forced myself up earlier in the morning so that it could maintain it.

Now this may or may not help in your position, since your problem is getting that first routine going, its worth bearing in mind that if you do get yourself up that first step, you dont have to keep on trying - just the opposite, you would have to try in order to stop.
 
Getting out of Bed: solutions

I had struggled with similar issues for years. I did not know it at the time, but the core problem was not motivation, but inadequate rest. Improving my sleep habits solved ALL of those problems.

The solution lay in consulting a prominent sleep therapist. A few bits of information and a handful of tricks were all it took for me to dissolve the issues I had.

I'll pass on some highlights:
* The number one best way to make it easier to get out of bed is to make sure you are getting adequate rest. Ever notice how some days you'll be groggy after 9 hours of sleep and other days you'll want to jump out of bed after 5?
* Most adults need 6-6.5 hours of high-quality sleep. The 8 hour recommendation is to offset poor sleep habits. the most "bang for the buck" adjustments to make.
* Anything you do to improve the quality of your sleep will allow your body to function on less volume of sleep.

The "tricks" aren't really tricks; they are the results of how your body works:

* Do not use an alarm clock to wake you. To stop relying on one, start going to bed 1/2 hr earlier per day until you naturally wake up before you need to. You may set an alarm just in case, but if it wakes you, you didn't sleep enough.
* Protein in the morning will help you get clear-minded faster. Eating better will improve daytime focus and night-time sleep.
* If you drink caffeine, don't drink any after 3-4 p.m. Caffeine is not evil, but it interferes with your body to adapt its energy to fluctuating needs--like to relax during the day in between work periods. It is comparable to having your foot on the gas while stopped at a light.
* Do not use tobacco within 2 hours of bed.
* Stop work (personal or professional) at least one hour before bed. This includes all computer use.
* Do something mindless before bed. TV is fine. Reading fiction is better.
* Have a small amount of dairy, 1/2 cup or so, within an hour of bed (whole milk is best).
* Do not listen to music or watch TV while going to sleep.
* A dark, quiet, distraction-free environment is ideal.
* GTD (and associated distress-reduction) will improve sleep quality. So, if something is on your mind at bedtime, capture it so you can think about it when you are awake again.
* When you are well-rested, you can accomplish the same amount in one hour as you do in 1.5 hours when you are tired (ex: an all-nighter project).
* Exercise (I already did this so I can't measure the difference).
* Follow the same patterns on the weekend as during the week.
* If feel very tired during the day, do not have naps that last more than 1/2 hour.

It can take up to 2 weeks for your body to fully adjust. After the second night, I started waking up much more alert and energized. A few days later and I had an extra hour of time on my hands every day. I ended up gaining 4+ hours per day, because I could accomplish more while well-rested, and could be better rested on less time.

If these tips help, let us know.
JohnV474
 
When the sun is up, I'm up. I'm very sensitive to light. Ad I'm deaf, the lamp is plugged into my alarm clock. There are also two windows in my bedroom and we only have pull-down shades (I've wanted to put in heavy curtains for years but we need to get this room painted first). So, I have to make sure I go to sleep at a decent hour so that I get plenty of sleep during the night. In the fall/winter season, I rely more on the alarm clock to wake me up, while spring/summer I let the sun wake me up.
 
I used to have a very difficult time getting up in the morning. I tried the alarm clock on the other side of the room trick, and it worked pretty good for me. After doing that for a couple months, I found that I no longer needed to do that. Now when the alarm goes off, I shoot right up out of bed. I think it's just a matter of developing new habits, and any means you can use to meet that end is very helpful. Have anyone ever used ms dynamics crm? What can you tell me about it?
 
njupchurch;79353 said:
I've never had trouble getting out of bed if I really want to.
Click to expand...

Sounds like your answer is right there. We feel motivated when we are living in accordance with our values. Go up the horizons of focus - what are your values? What really motivates, excites and interests you? Answer these questions, then think about what images represent these values. Find and print some images to represent these values/goals, and put them beside your bed, maybe like a flip calendar. Set it up so you can see it without having to get out of bed, and look at it each morning. Once you get your mind interested in achieving that image, you'll feel like getting up.
 
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