Waking Up

One of the keys to having a productive session is how I wake up.

Given I wake up 6 times a day, I’ve had plenty of chances to practice and test this.

I’ve tested different ways. The one that works the best is where I essentially jump out of bed almost in the same motion as turning off the alarm. I might say to myself “I’m up”. I might not feel like it, but by acting energetic in those first few seconds after waking up I can bypass my body’s desire for sleep and have an alert and productive session.

The whole point is to jump into your day.

The absolute worst sessions are after I’ve taken my time getting up. I might check my email, twitter, facebook, blog comments. Maybe catch up on some news. By this stage I’m a wreck. So incredibly drowsy.

If you can get somewhere with light (sunlight is the best), then do it. If the sun is up, “look” at it through closed eyelids. Ok, so it’s more of a turn your face to the sun with your eyes shut. But this will stream a broad spectrum of light into your brain which says “it’s wake time”.

When I’m trying to stay awake, I need to be putting lights on if it’s night time. A dark environment kills any notion of staying awake.

How can you use this in your own situation?

7 thoughts on “Waking Up”

  1. I completely agree. One of my goals recently has been to stop hitting the snooze button. I’ve noticed that if I get up straight away, I’m more energetic, much more positive and I don’t feel so rushed going into my day. It also means I’m more awake to get ready faster, which means I can even get a few minutes to sit and collect my thoughts for the day before heading out.

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