Do You Hit the Snooze Button?

I often wonder why people hit the snooze button and delay getting out of bed. Some people say that it is their “routine” or that is how they “wake up.”  That baffles me. Wouldn’t you rather have 20 or 30 minutes of uninterrupted sleep? I think that may be the case for some people, but I think there is something else going on with most people.  I think a lot of people dread facing their day. They just don’t look forward to it, so they keep hitting the snooze button to delay the start of the day.

Do you dread starting your day “in the real world” but have no problem getting out of bed on vacation?  I would suggest it is because of the way you are thinking and feeling about the day that lies ahead.

If you hit the snooze button for an hour every morning, it may be because you are overwhelmed by your day before it even starts, so you drag your feet on getting out of bed.  You seek comfort in those last few minutes before you leave the haven of your bed to deal with the day. I’m not saying you have to jump out of bed and do calisthenics every morning, but if you would rather pull the covers over your head than face your day, you may want to examine why. 

Do you feel like your time belongs to someone else? Or is your day filled with “shoulds”? If the only thing you expect from the day is rote frustration and angst, it is no wonder you don’t want to get out of bed. It is mentally and physically exhausting to spend a day with a loop of negative thoughts running through your brain.  That is why you are so drained at the end of the day.  Your brain is a very powerful tool, and it expends a great deal of energy on the mental gymnastics of just keeping you alive and getting you through the day. Add to that a constant stream of negative thoughts about the day, and it is no wonder you find relief or escape under the covers.

But, I have good news for you.  You have the power to determine how your days go. Yes, even if you work for someone else or have a spouse and children in your life. You still have a say on how your day goes.  It takes some planning and thought work, but it is possible.

Would you rather spend an entire day doing things you have decided you want to do and have committed your energy to do, or a day going through the motions of things you “have to” do and dreading them every step of the way?  The mental energy you spend dreading and feeling that you don’t want to do something can be more exhausting than spending twice as much time doing things you have chosen to do and enjoy. 

Are you thinking, “But, I hate my job, and it is something I have to do, not what I choose to do”?  I beg to differ. You don’t have to go to your job. You choose to go because you want to pay your mortgage, buy groceries and maybe take a vacation. Why not find a way to love going someplace you chose to go 5 out of 7 days a week. Yes, you can.

You can because it is not the job, staying home with your kids all day, your co-worker, or the commute making your life miserable; it is how you are thinking about those things that is making you miserable. If you chose to feel differently (and it may take some work) about how you spend your days, they wouldn’t feel as mentally tedious and exhausting. And in turn, you may not feel like you need to delay the start of your day. You may even look forward to it.

Spend some time this week thinking about how you approach your days.  What is the story you are telling yourself?  How can you take control of your day and build in things to look forward to?  Or reframe the way you think about the things you do each day?