Six Ways to Jump-Start Your Day

I’ve been guilty of standing in my own way of increasing my productivity.  Every morning, my clock went off at 4 AM.  However, instead of hopping out of bed and attacking the day, I would reach over and smack the snooze button and say to myself, “Ten more minutes.”  Thirty minutes later, I was scrambling out of bed, cursing at myself for not getting up on time, and hustling to get out of the house.  I was usually rushed and wound up eating my breakfast behind the wheel of my car.

Then I thought if I would just get up on time, I would have the time to shower, shave, eat a healthy breakfast, and still have time to do some morning reading, writing, or reviewing my next action lists for the day.  So I started looking at how others were successful in getting up on time.  Here’s my list:

• Use a light producing alarm clock – I purchased an alarm clock that begins to flash a pulsating light in the room 4 minutes prior to the set time.  I find that I’m usually waking up before the audible alarm rings.
• Put the alarm clock on the other side of the room – Make it so that you have to get up to turn it off.
• Start the day with protein – Bob Arnott, in his book, The Biology of Success, advocates states that the intake of protein helps to jump start the body in the morning.  He stated that a quick protein drink, a short exercise period, then a breakfast started his day.  A quick trip to my local GNC store resulted in my purchase of a vanilla flavored protein drink.  I couldn’t believe it.  It’s like someone turns a switch on inside my head.  Just a minute or two after I drink it, the sleepiness is gone and I’m thinking clearly.
• Turn up the lights – A Harvard study concluded that there is a link between light exposure and the part of the brain that is thought to control attention focus and energy production.  So, turn on the lights…all of them:  Bedroom light, bathroom light, hall light, kitchen light, and living room light. 
• Get at least five minutes of physical activity – My choice is jumping rope.  Gets the blood flowing.  Jump starts (pun intended) the metabolism.
• Eat a healthy low-fat, high-fiber breakfast – Fiber One is a great choice as it has the highest fiber content of any other cereal.

Use the comment section below to share your ways of jump-starting your day.

Comments

[Dwayne Melancon]

I've tried lots of them. The ones that seem to work for me are similar to some of yours:

• Automatic coffee maker so the java is ready when I hit the kitchen
• Eat 2 Zone bars or a real breakfast right away
• Anything physical or requiring me to keep standing and keep moving, even if it is just emptying the dishwasher
• Turn on the lights and/or open the blinds

Two of my three kids are early risers, as well. They have no snooze buttons.

[visitor]

how about getting earlier to bed?

If you have to get up that early on a regular basis, are you making sure you get the hours of sleep you need?

If you don't, you are be looking for a replacement to sleep. As far as I know, it hasn't been found yet.

So keep looking, and good luck!

[Lolindrath]

Just a quick note, froogle turned up some hits for the Moonbeam clock, amazon doesn't carry it anymore apparently:

http://www.google.com/froogle?q=Big+Ben+43000+Moonbeam+Alarm+Clock&btnG=Search+Froogle

--Andy

[John Richardson]

Great Ideas Bert! You got me thinking about things... moving that alarm clock to the other side of the room... having the alarm clock turn on a light... having the alarm clock slowly and gradually raise the volume on a CD. I think all of those are possible and would probably help to move back my wake-up time.

As far as your breakfast cereal, you might want to try some of the selections from “Trader Joes” stores. One of the best is Natures Path “Optimum Power Breakfast”. With 8 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber, this cereal will get you going without the sugar crash that so many high carb cereals produce. Their website has more information (http://www.naturespath.com/products/) but all of their cereals are organic and reasonably priced.

As far as the exercise part I really like your idea of jumping rope. Quick, easy and gets the blood flowing. I have a couple of Taebo videos that really help me. One of them is an 8 minute quick start session. The program includes stretching and a full body workout. I really feel energized after 8 minutes with Billy Blanks.

I think I have a jump rope here… will give this a try…

John

[Nobrainer]

I'm a big fan of using light to help me wake up. I find that a TV with a built in scheduler can work wonders. I set my TV to come on about 5 minutes before my actual alarm sounds.

It makes waking up much less jarring.

[GBGames]

I find that I have an easier time getting up early in the morning if I get to bed early as well. I have my alarm set to 6:00AM, and if I go to bed after 10PM, I have trouble.

I've also tried using my regular alarm and my phone in tandem. My alarm will go off at 6:00, then my phone's alarm will go off in about a minute or so after. This forced me to move from one side of my bed to the other to hit both alarms, which results in some activity and thoughts to take place. It helps to get up when you are already moving about.

[Charlie]

I just wait 'til I wake up. It has stabilised at around 9.30am. although oddly I wake earlier at weekends. I then work until I have enough done for the day. Of course, being freelance helps here.

Also, I make getting out of bed into a treat. Always have some nice fruit and coffee in the house. I then listen to a new Podcast in the kitchen while I make smoothies (fruit gives a good kick start) and espresso.

[clh]

This is a BIG issue for me.
I used to have a gradual light alarm clock from Sharper Image that was great. It had a BIG light that got brighter for 30 minutes before the set time. It really lit up the whole room. The alarm setting function stopped working though. :( I got a new model last year, and it's nowhere near as bright. If you just roll over, it has no effect.
I set a radio alarm to my favorite morning talk show, then a noise alarm 15-30 minutes later across the room. The radio wakes me up enough that I'm not sleepwalking to hit the snooze 3 or 4 times, and I'm aware of the time and its meaning relative to when I have to be at work.
That whole "getting to bed early" thing helps too. :)

[Ravi]

I think the best way to wake up early is to go to bed early. The human body needs sleep to revitalise the mind. And if you are not able to get up on time means you are not getting your quota of sleep.
To get into a routine, experts are of opinion that it helps if you always go to sleep at the same time (say 10:00 PM) at night and get up at the same time (say 6:00 AM)each morning.

--
Indomitable Thoughts

[julie]

how about shifting your working scale? if you cannot wake early then work late...

[LethargicCrash]

Im not a morning person at all, although I find taking two NoDoz right when I wake up in the morning gives me a good kick in the ass to keep me going all day. Its cheap and can be found at any CVS or Brooks; Vivarin works as well.

[Bert]

LethargicCrash--

Yep, there's a book called the Caffeine Advantage that promotes caffeine pills as a "wonderdrug". It says forget the coffee (it's too inconsistent in the amount of caffeine that it delivers - approx. 100 mg per cup) and use caffeiene pills. My problem is that I've become so caffeine tolerant (I can drink a pot of coffee and then sleep like a baby) that it takes 800 mg before I feel any effect. 300 mg is considered a moderate daily does per this website: http://www.mckinley.uiuc.edu/health-info/drug-alc/caffeine.html

[Usman]

If you don't, you are be looking for a replacement to sleep. As far as I know, it hasn't been found yet.

Though this is off-stopic, you're wrong. It's called Modafinil (Provigil in the U.S.)

[thewildewoman]

Get a puppy. Of course, this means you have to let your pup sleep with you. It forces you to get up to "take the dog out." Or have a baby. First option is better: you won't have any back-talk and a dog loves you even if you forget to feed it.

[Bert]

Carolene--

Unless you have my dog, a Cocker about 13 years old. I have to drag him out of bed! :)

But after his walk, that's when he acts like a pup and gets into all kinds of things that keep me running...like eating my cereal that I had left in my bowl on the table.

Bert

[david]

my wife and I struggle with this too. For a while we were able to trick ourselves by setting our bedroom clocks 30 mins ahead. In the AM when the alarm goes off, we see the time and forget that they're running ahead, so we bolt out of bed. or rather, bolted...we're not so concerned any more. I think it's a good short term fix but it's easy to get used to. I'd prefer to have them set accurately, and avoid snoozing. these tips will help, thanks!!!

d

[Sharon]

I read your post and the comments yesterday and put some items into practice for this morning. I'm back to report in, and say thanks.

I have a light-producing clock, but I slept through that this morning. I plan to research non-clunking lamp timers and add some more light to the morning routine.

I dug out an old coffee maker I had, and found that it has a programmable timer. (Who knew?) I'm still trying to *quit* caffiene, rather than become dependant on it, so I bought a mix of beans, half regular, half decaf, and ground them together. Also last night, I set up my laptop in my sunroom, ready to greet me with a project I'm excited about. Finally, I picked up some strawberries, so that I could spiff up my cereal.

With those three treats waiting for me, it wasn't hard to get out of bed this morning. Thanks, everybody.

[dave]

What are you - a masochist? Mind you, I can talk - it's just gone 5am here, though I will go back to bed.

My preferred get up time is around 7-8am - but for some that is incompatible with work. We have a clock with a light which turns off gradually at night, and comes on slowly in the morning. That's much better than one which comes on with a jolt, or flashes. By the time it comes full on, we're usually awake.

It's great - particularly if you live in a part of the world where there's not much light in the morning - as we did.

I'd suggest (a) going to bed earlier, (b) doing more exercise during the day (most of us don't do enough ...), and (c) not being so hung up on getting up early. If you don't get enough sleep (I'd say at least 5 hours), you may find you get other problems. There is evidence that 7-8 hours sleep is best, if you can do it.

If you have difficulty going to sleep, try playing an audio tape with voices on. There are many out there - audio books and radio shows. You'll hear the start each night, but most nights you'll not get to the end. It's kind of infuriating though, as you'll find that you get really good on the opening pages of many books, but you'll hardly ever find out what happened at the end. If you do (say if you wake up again), you'll find that there's a chunk missing in the middle which will be very hard to get to hear, even over many nights of trying. I like music, but speech does work better for going to sleep.

[Bert]

No, not a masochist. My chosen profession happens to start very early and with an hour commute (I prefer to live in the country rather than the city), the 4AM wake up call is necessary.

Actually, some studies show that 7 - 8 hours is still not enough and advocate 10 hours per night.

[ljp]

Hi, waking to light really does work ! Although we *are* a boutique I'm not trying to sell you anything (unless you live in France) but we have been selling dawn simulators since Oct 04 and our customers love them. They really do wake you up. You do need a 60W lightbulb, preferably in a white glass globe lamp. We sell the bulbs from Verilux which give off a very nice light. My fave is the Sunrise System programmed for a 1 jour dawn, which I use personally with a translucent glass globe lamp from our German supplier. It makes a wonderful "sun" in the morning. The only complaints I've heard is that the light wakes up the wife or the hubby who doesn't want to wake up so we need to invent some kind of bedroom screen...Warmest regards, LJP

[Laura]

Regarding falling asleep to audio books -- I recommend it. It's better than keeping the light on and really snafuing any chance of falling asleep. Also, if you use headphones and a portable CD player, you can just FF to the spot where you fell asleep the previous night. Then you *do* get to hear the whole thing eventually.

[Bert]

My son does this as well. He is now studying for his MCAT and has a set of CD's that he listens to during the day. At night, I'll hear the CD's playing as he goes to sleep. They say our subconscious never sleeps...