How many people set their alarms, get to bed, sleep, only to hit snooze when their alarm goes off and it is time to wake up?

A million? A billion people?

No. The number has to be higher than that.

I have done it.

You’ve probably done it before as well.

Sometimes we do it, because we don’t feel like we have a choice. Like we have to do it and rest awhile, ten minutes max – twenty may be.

But you know how the story goes, right? Same old story. It is never ten. Never twenty. Perhaps twenty minutes and thirty seconds – usually longer.

And it is how we feel after all that that leads most people to ask the one big question (that usually can be answered in less than ten words).

The question?

How do I wake up to my alarm?

Let’s jump straight into it, see a few things you can do, starting today, to get better at this.

What happens when you don’t wake up to your alarm?

Or how do you feel every time you fail to wake to your alarm? Bad? Bad, but no big deal?

For me, every time this happened, it felt like no big deal, but bad anyway. A few times, I’d come up with these excuses meant to console myself, all the while thinking about what I’d have achieved, by say 7 am, had I just fought the warmth my bed provides to sit at my desk and do what I promised myself to do the night before.

But then you know how quick we sometimes follow that with, ‘Tomorrow is another a day. And try, I shall again’? Yes?

What happens is plain and simple. You make a promise to yourself then break it even before 15 hours are up.

That is what happens.

And feelings aside, it is bad.

Normal, but bad.

Excusable, but bad.

Not a big deal, but bad all the same.

If you too think this is bad, it is time to do things differently. To keep the promises, that may be no one else, except you and your alarm clock, knows.

An early riser derives their first joy from fulfilling this promise they make each night. They start the day that way…letting the alarm do its work to the 100% mark. Not less.

Your motivation or reason why, if you have them already, should be strengthened to enable you to wake up to your alarm 99% of the time.

You normally decide to set your alarm to go off early in the morning because:

• You already know the benefits of rising early already
• You have a full-time job and already acknowledge the fact that you can use one or two extra hours each morning to tend to one of your passions before you leave for work
• You have tried it before and liked the results you got. For example, the feeling of accomplishment you’ve felt before is something you want more of
• You know there’s no other time in the day you can find those extra hours to do what you want to do in quiet
• Your mornings are crappy when you work late into the night and go to bed past 11 pm or midnight
• You are sure that you will be distracted during the day, be swayed into different activities, goof off all day and end up doing very little to nothing

All these are factors to consider, to help you decide what to do when your alarm goes off. When you start looking at things deeply, at the consequences of your actions or inaction, it gets easier to make tough choices…to constantly choose them over those that bring you immediate comfort – and demand less of you.

1. Get a good night sleep.
2. Remember that each time you set your alarm to wake you up at 5 am, 5.30 am or 6 am, you are capable of getting up and out of bed immediately you hear the sound
3. The more you hit snooze, the more likely you are to hit it again…and again…and again.
4. If you want to wake up at 4.30 am, set two to three alarms. One for 4 am, the second one for 4.10 am and the other for 4.30 am. Two is enough, but you can go for three. So, if you usually stay in bed an extra 10 minutes when you set your alarm to 6.00 am, set it to go off at 5.50 am…and 6.00 am.
5. The moment you hear your alarm, get out of bed. Don’t even sit there or lie there with your eyes open. Sleep time is over. Let your whole body know that. Move to some other place – to a chair, to the bathroom to splash some water on your face…
6. Remember why you are doing this – setting your alarm in the first place. Have and remember your reason why.
7. If you wake up an hour or a few minutes before the set time, get out of bed. Don’t wait for the alarm to go off. Unless you can lie awake and jump out of bed when it is time.
8. Have some music ready for when you wake up if that is your thing. It can be music or anything that makes your alone time in the morning great. People are different and have preference for different things: podcasts, inspirational videos, quotes or poems. Find yours.

Are you going to try any of these the very next morning? Tell me you’re going to…