Do you also fool yourself into thinking you only need a few minutes of bliss in the morning?
But then those few minutes turn into an hour, and you regret your choice of hitting the snooze button way too many times?
It happens to the best of us. The temptation of the snooze button is equal to the lure of a warm, moist chocolate brownie on a cold, depressing day.
But unfortunately, staying in bed all day sounds beautiful only in theory. Reality has to catch up, and life can only be lived awake.
The rest of this article will show you how to stop hitting the snooze button so you can start your day earlier with a fresh mindset and be ready to tackle all your goals.
Table of Contents
How to Stop Hitting the Snooze Button in the Morning: 13 Tips
1. Set your intention to wake up immediately when your alarm goes off
An intention is a promise. Going to bed with the intention of waking up as soon as your alarm rings will automatically change your mindset. So, when the morning comes, you’ll be less likely to resist your alarm.
On the other hand, if you don’t intend to wake up when your alarm rings, then you won’t because that’s how our mind works.
When we hit the snooze button, we’re basically saying that we aren’t strong enough to resist the temptation of sleep and that we aren’t ready to start the day. However, you’re stronger than you think. Therefore, the night before, set an intention of ignoring your snooze button and getting out of bed as soon as you hear your alarm.
The best way to set this intention is to speak to yourself before bed. Saying your intention out loud will solidify your belief that you can achieve this task, rather than just thinking about it.
2. Remind yourself that snoozing is only delaying the inevitable
We generally hit snooze because we associate our beds with comfort and the looming day ahead as discomfort. Surely, I’m not the only one that wakes up feeling overwhelmed when I think of my mounting to-do list for the day or the seemingly impossible tasks I need to complete.
However, waking up later will not solve these problems or make our discomfort disappear. Snoozing is just a temporary fix. Therefore, remind yourself that the faster you wake up, the quicker you can let go of your overwhelm and negative feelings and begin to seize the day.
The longer you lie in bed, the worse you’ll feel. And you’ll feel like kicking yourself for waking up later when you could’ve spent that extra time finishing your tasks.
Remember, our problems seem far more prominent than they are when we first wake up. The pressure lessens as the day goes on.
3. Fight morning depression
Are you also one of those people who want to die in the morning? Can you relate to this meme?
You aren’t the only one.
Morning depression is a real thing, and it’s so common. Just think about it… after 7-9 hours of pure bliss where you’re living in a peaceful dimension, you’re rudely woken by your alarm and reminded to return to the real world.
This first feeling for the day is most people’s lowest point. You think about all your responsibilities, and you feel stifled. You wish you could slip into another deep sleep and just forget about life for a minute. You can’t imagine the rest of the day getting any better.
And how do I know so much about morning depression? Because I experienced it for an extremely long time – 8 years to be exact.
And the snooze button is practically your messiah when you’re in this state of mind. It’s an escape from the moody, gloomy day you think you’re going to face.
However, there’s a reason why it’s called “morning” depression – this feeling fades away after a few hours,, and you become a normal, happy human again.
But it’s so difficult to convince yourself of this when you first wake up. Your subconscious knows this depressive feeling will pass, but it can’t shake it off.
Here are a few things you can do to fight morning depression:
- Keep a positive quote, note, or reminder next to your bed. The first thing you should see in the morning is a positive statement that will help you wake up easier and fight negativity.
- Speak to yourself. When I only focus on my internal thoughts, I will likely convince myself that waking up will make me miserable. However, if I speak out loud, I will be positive and pep myself up.
4. Plan your favorite task to do first thing in the morning
Nobody wants to wake up knowing they have their least favorite or a complex task to look forward to.
Also, I believe that most people struggle to wake up because they do work that they don’t enjoy – the job only financially supports you but doesn’t fulfill you.
However, you can still start your morning right by doing something that you enjoy. This could be going for a run, making a beautiful cup of tea, or relaxing with a book.
It’s much easier to get out of bed knowing that you have something positive to look forward to.
Also, ensure you incorporate enough time to do the task you enjoy. If you work a full-time job and need to get to work at 8:00 AM, setting your alarm for 7:00 AM will not leave you with enough time to relax with your favorite task. So, set your alarm earlier so you can start the day on a recharged, enjoyable note.
5. Place your phone far away from you
This is quite an obvious and popular tip that most people speak about when making your mornings easier.
If your phone is nearby, like under your pillow or on your bedside table, it’s too easy to reach out and press the snooze button.
When it’s far away, you have to push yourself out of bed. And getting out of bed is the toughest decision you’ll have to make in the morning. Once you do, everything gets easier from there.
6. Use a traditional alarm clock
The old, trusty alarm clock also came with a snooze function (most were set for 9 minutes) and probably started the snooze era too. However, these clocks are distraction-free, unlike your smartphone, which has a never-ending supply of entertainment.
And what’s worse than hitting the snooze button over and over? Scrolling through your phone and wasting a few minutes to an hour.
Therefore, use an old alarm clock and keep your phone off for the night.
7. Sleep earlier
There would be no need for snoozing if we slept earlier. However, if waking up without hitting the snooze button is difficult, then sleeping early is just as challenging.
It’s harder to switch off in the evenings – there’s so much more that we could be doing, like working on a side hustle or reading another personal development book.
And while these things are great, they deprive us of our most precious resource – sleep.
You forget that if you don’t get enough sleep, there’s no way to put the practices from those personal development books into action, and no way to make your business a success.
Additionally, the main reason why snoozing is so tempting is because your body hasn’t gotten the rest it needs. Sleeping earlier will make you well-rested and (hopefully) immune to the snooze button.
Here are a few tips to get enough sleep:
- Set your alarm for the earliest possible time that would be sufficient for your sleep needs. I recently discovered this incredible tip – the credit goes to this article from Inc.com. So, instead of setting your alarm for the latest possible time that you need to get up, set it for the maximum amount of time you need to stay in bed, nothing more. For example, if you go to bed at 9:00 PM, set your alarm for 8 hours later (5:00 AM). So, even if you hit the snooze button, you’ll still get out of bed earlier than if you had set it for a later time. (See the logic?)
- Create the habit of going to bed early. If you only go to bed early once, you’re not going to keep up with the routine. Set your intention to switch off by a certain time, and don’t allow distractions to tempt you.
- Relax with yoga. Doing some light stretching (or a complete yoga workout if you please) will not only relax your body but also tire you.
8. Change your morning mindset
People generally have a negative mindset about the morning. Hundreds of memes are proof of it.
Mornings are associated with unhealthy breakfasts, getting out of your comfort zone, and having to go to a job you don’t enjoy.
But…
If you change your mindset to see mornings as a new start and something to look forward to, waking up and ignoring the snooze button will be 100x times easier.
Now, changing your mindset about mornings isn’t going to happen overnight. You’ve probably spent years harboring hate for mornings.
But like with any mindset practice, it must be done consistently. Start viewing mornings as a medium to accomplish your dreams and truly live your life.
9. Plan your day the night before
Planning your tasks for the next day during the night before is crucial. When you know exactly what needs to get done, where you need to go, and who you need to meet, you won’t be overwhelmed in the morning. And you won’t procrastinate getting out of bed.
Imagine starting each day on a blank slate…
You won’t know what to expect, and you’ll probably be scared witless as soon as you wake up. That’s when the snooze button starts looking all sexy and seductive, right?
So, grab your planner the night before and jot down your list of tasks for the next day. I guarantee that you’ll feel stable when you wake up.
10. Wake up at the same time every day
If you wake up at the same time every day, your body will become accustomed to waking up at a specific time and less likely to hit the snooze button and sleep for another two hours.
However, to wake up at the same time, you’ll also need to sleep at the same time every day as well. Train your body to get used to your sleep and wake-up times. So, it knows when it’s time to rise and shine.
11. Figure out your sleep “sweet spot”
Everyone has their own sleep “sweet spot.”
And once you figure yours out, you’ll be able to understand your optimal sleep and wake-up time. And your body will feel fresh and energized to start the day.
There are a few ways to figure out your sleep “sweet spot”:
- Do a chronotype test. Your chronotype is your body clock. And there are four different types of chronotypes that the population can be split into – lions, bears, wolves, and dolphins. Why these mammals? Because research suggests that they have similar body clocks to humans. For example, if you are a lion chronotype, you are a morning person – you are more focused and energetic towards the early part of the day. However, if you are a wolf, you come alive at night.
- Don’t set the alarm, and let your body naturally wake up. Test this out for a week. And then try it at different times. For example, go to bed at 10:00 PM and let your body naturally wake up for a week. And then try sleeping at 11:00 PM to see what time you wake up. Which timings feel better? When do you feel most productive and focused? When are you least likely to want to go back to bed?
When you know the optimal time for your sleep, you will always feel well-rested in the morning.
My dad has been waking up at 4:00 AM his entire life – this is his sleep “sweet spot,” and I don’t think he has ever used the snooze button (I’m honestly not sure if he knows what that is.) My mom and I joke that he wakes up like a robot because as soon as his alarm goes off, he literally just sits up from bed and goes about his business.
He never complains and never tosses and turns, waiting for the snooze messiah to save him.
I strive for this level of discipline and comfort with my sleeping schedule. But I guess I must try a little harder.
12. Try the 1-2-3 UP method
When you wake up, don’t think about how nice it would be to just stay in bed forever.
Count 1-2-3 in your head and wake up immediately.
This might sound like an inhumane thing to do that army forces are trained in. However, the longer you stay in bed after your alarm goes off, the longer you’re going to debate hitting the snooze button, and you’re going to waste your day.
Your resistance to waking up gets lower the longer you stay in bed.
13. Feel grateful
Sleeping till late is generally associated with depression.
When you are depressed, you are at an all-time low and feel miserable about the state of your life. You have nothing to wake up to, so to speak. So, burrowing in the covers seems like the only option you have.
However, if you practice gratitude for your life by appreciating all your little blessings, you’ll start to see the beauty in life and won’t want to avoid it by sleeping longer.
Some suggest keeping a gratitude journal and writing down your blessings as soon as you wake up in the morning. Or you can do this before you go to bed, so it’s technically the first thing you remember when it’s time to wake up.
Final Thoughts
Hitting the snooze button is something everyone battles with. Some go through this struggle every day. And some, once in a blue moon.
Here are some key takeaways from this post:
- Waking up is the hardest part, but don’t you agree that you feel better once you do?
- You should never compromise on your sleep, as it’s the only way to sustain focus, energy, and a happy attitude. However, the snooze button hurts your sleep more than it helps. It lulls you into a false period of rest.
- The snooze button only delays the inevitable, wastes time, makes you wake up already feeling unproductive, and never fully appreciating your life.
It’s time to let go of the snooze button and start being awake and alive.