4 Tips to Stop Hitting the SNOOZE Button

The best-laid out plans often go awry. We've all been there:  Sunday's meticulous meal prep and workout outfit lay-out are undone by Monday morning's irresistible snooze button. The carefully planned healthy start gives way to rushed choices and skipped routines. This cycle of ambitious preparation followed by procrastination is surprisingly common. To break this pattern, consider these four key strategies for making lasting changes.

1. The Goal Scoring Theory

If you follow me on social media, you know when I need to get up early during the week, I jump up in bed and yell “YES!” as if I just scored a field goal. I borrowed this tactic from Mel Robbins who claims hitting the snooze button in the AM is nothing but a productivity killer. Robbins claims that the snooze button creates a state of mind called “sleep inertia.” When we go to sleep, we cycle through different states of sleeping that range from 90-110 minutes throughout the night. When that first alarm goes off in the morning, our body and mind enter into a wake-up mode. But by hitting the snooze button, we allow our brains to enter back into another 90-110 minute sleep cycle which is why we may feel so groggy after that first alarm goes off. Her solution? Once your alarm goes off, count back from five and jump out of bed as if you just scored the winning goal in a soccer game.

I have heeded Robbin's advice so literally that when my first alarm goes off in the morning, I jump up and yell, “YES!”, as if I have really scored the winning goal in a soccer game. I know it sounds ridiculous but I suggest you try it if you are someone who struggles to wake up by that first alarm in the morning. Watch the full video of Robbins speaking on this HERE.

2. Charge your phone away from your bed so you need to GET UP to turn it off

Besides the obvious case that by charging your phone away from your bed you need to physically get up to turn it off, charging your phone away from your bed also eliminates any fire hazards which although are rare, can occur especially if you are someone who charges your phone in bed with you or under your pillow.

3. Find yourself an accountability buddy

Accountability partners work because that individual becomes someone you never want to let down. If you’re lacking the motivation to wake up early to workout alone, having someone to meet at the gym during those early hours and dark cold months can help spring you into action. Having an accountability partner especially helps if the other person is working toward a goal similar to your own.

4. Decide on a goal BIGGER than just physical

As a coach working in the fitness industry for the last eleven years, I’ve seen the most success with clients who find goals to work towards outside of the physical body. When people set goals to wake up early 5x a week in order to lose fifty pounds, they often fail not because they lack motivation or the desire to achieve it, but because it often is not enough to keep them going.

The reality is, results take time and by focusing solely on just the scale or a dress size in order to stay motivated, you will often feel frustrated and let down when after a few weeks of hard work and consistent dieting, things are still not changing. By shifting the focus on finding joy within the journey like becoming stronger in the gym, creating new everyday habits, meal prepping consistently, getting to bed earlier, you have something tangible to work toward week to week and will feel way better about yourself.