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aking up on time was something I was never any good at. It was the same chaotic cycle every morning. I would either sleep through the alarm completely, ‘snooze’ the living daylights out of that thing, or get pulled out of bed by someone, only to hurriedly crawl back under the covers. Either way, I would never get up on time.
But that was during high school; back in the days when I would sleep at 3am and some pathetically optimistic part of me would set my alarm for 4:30am thinking I could still wake up at the crack of dawn like Cinderella and whistle while I work before heading on my merry way to school! Well, that never happened, unsurprisingly.
In reality, my mornings went a little bit like this.
Alarm goes off. 100 years ‘snoozes’ later, Sleeping Beauty is violently shaken awake from her slumber and dragged out of bed by the feet (no true love’s kisses for me)! Then it’s time to walk into a few walls, fall asleep on the toilet, fall asleep on my toast, hop in and out of the bathroom, stuff some unfinished homework in my bag, and button up my uniform as I make a mad dash down the steps in twos. Then in three seconds, I’d skid out the door, forget my hat, and our car would be halfway down the driveway before we’d slam on the breaks because my dad’s run out of the house with the lunchbox I’d forgotten (oops!).
But wait, there’s more!
I’d walk into class still in the middle of getting dressed as I slap on my tie, ribbon, and badges, all while half-asleep.
So there you have it! Morning routine done and I’m sporting the most attractive eye bags in town.
So there you have it! Morning routine done and I’m sporting the most attractive eye bags in town.
As you can tell, memories of frenzied panic mixed in with “but I just want to stay in bed!” are forever etched in my mind when I think of those nightmarish mornings as I made my spectacular transformation from sleeping zombie in pyjamas to sleeping zombie in school uniform.
I really hated myself for being like this. Every. Single. Day. I was desperate to change and escape from this vicious cycle I was so helplessly trapped in.
Believe me, I’ve tried a million and one things to get myself out of bed in the mornings. I’ve tried…
- placing my phone alarm under my bed,
- or on top of the door. But when that became too easy…
- sticky-taping my phone to the ceiling and putting the chair I’d need all the way down the end of the hallway
- setting my alarms as my favourite, most upbeat songs, including “Feel It Still” (Portugal. The Man) or “Despacito” (Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee, Justin Bieber)
- setting about 30 alarms one after the other. Max volume. Most violent vibration possible.
- sealing the lid of my phone case shut by way of numerous rubber bands so I’d spend ages in the morning trying to get into the phone
- sleeping with my phone on my head so I’d definitely hear it!
- putting a sticky-note on my phone screen with quotes on it like, “wake your butt up!” and “You can't afford to sleep in. You're too far behind to be sleeping in!” by Eric Thomas’ TGIM videos
- leaving the curtains open to let the sun in
- using ‘sleepyti.me’ and the app, ‘SleepTown’
- once I tried setting the alarm with a song like “Dangerously” by Charlie Puth. It was surprisingly effective for a while because when the alarm went off, Charlie would scream, “I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU DANGEROUSLY!” and I’d jolt awake and turn the alarm off before my dad rushed into the room asking “Who was that? Who loves you dangerously?!”
- some days, I'm not so clever. Once I contemplated lining the surface of my phone with push pins so I’d injure myself first thing in the morning. As the saying goes, ‘Desperate times call for desperate measures.’
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| An army of pins ready to ambush my hand in the morning. |
You may be wondering if I ever did become the hero of this story. Well, no fairy godmother has come to me with the perfect formula but I did manage to get into a habit that has so far transformed me from rags to riches in the kingdom of early mornings. And if it’s working for me, then it must be awfully effective, right?
So without further ado, I present to you… YouTube! Let me explain.
I found a way to turn a past distraction and guilty pleasure into a fun wake-up routine.
So last year, I discovered a lovely YouTuber called Sanne Vloet. You may know her from the VS Fashion Shows. The first alarm of the morning used to sound so deafening, but now, my brain associates it with permission to watch one of Sanne Vloet's videos!
So last year, I discovered a lovely YouTuber called Sanne Vloet. You may know her from the VS Fashion Shows. The first alarm of the morning used to sound so deafening, but now, my brain associates it with permission to watch one of Sanne Vloet's videos!
"I dipped my toes into this new routine of waking up with Sanne on YouTube and it has fit like the glass slipper!"
Because I’ve dedicated this time to watching YouTube, it wakes me up straight away because I’m excited to see what Sanne’s next video is. She has a sunny, cheerful personality and positive outlook on life that, after one video, it motivates me to start my day. I’m sure her 530K+ subscribers would also agree.
Another example is my favourite motivational speaker, Eric Thomas, whose empowering videos can also be found on his website. I especially recommend his TGIM videos!
Another example is my favourite motivational speaker, Eric Thomas, whose empowering videos can also be found on his website. I especially recommend his TGIM videos!
Here’s how I think this habit fostered an enjoyment of waking up for me. It might even help you too!
· The channel: Choose a YouTube channel that gets you excited and inspires you. There are many YouTubers out there who channel positivity, wellness, self-improvement, health, or the grit mentality through their videos. If it’s not empowering you, you’ll keep autoplaying instead of feeling the urge to kick start your day.
· Time: It’s better if the video is not too long as that defeats the purpose of getting up early. If it’s too short, you might feel the urge to watch another and another, and we want to avoid distractions. 10-15 minutes is a nice length to help you settle into the morning.
· Light: The bright light of the phone screen definitely aids in rendering those heavy eyelids permanently open in the morning.
· Concentration: I find that watching a video forces my mind and eyes to concentrate because I don’t want to miss what happens when Sanne bakes homemade granola! A YouTube video is an easy way to transition from that sleepy sub-conscious state to an alert and active mind that’s aware of its surroundings.
· Not social media: Not everyone will approve of phone time as the first thing you do in the morning. I totally respect that. But what I avoid is social media until after I’ve gotten out of bed and made breakfast. I don’t really consider YouTube as heavy social networking as much as Facebook, for instance. When you can, spare your senses from the bombardment of social media till after your feet have hit the floor.
· In moderation: At first, I was dubious as to whether this routine would work for me as I’m a champion at binge-watching. But I’ve realised that these treats and guilty pleasures are more satisfying when enjoyed in moderation! Now that I’ve designated YouTube as an end-of-day reward and as part of my morning routine, getting distracted during the day hurtfully ruins the fun of this bedtime/morning ritual because it doesn't feel like a reward anymore if I’ve already overindulged during the day. Moderation is key!
This article wouldn’t be complete without stating the elephant in the room. The holy 8 hours of sleep!!
Surely, it wouldn’t be such a struggle to get out of bed if you actually got enough sleep, right?
Although I don’t get the full 8 hours every night at university, 2018 was phenomenal in terms of sleep compared to high school. Gee, if you’ve heard anything about my high school mornings (hehe), you’d see that there weren’t even 5 minutes to spare to watch YouTube.
It was because my sleep schedule back then was so hilariously messed up. My countless failed attempts to get up in the mornings were due to sleep deprivation!
In 2018, I dipped my toes into this new routine of waking up with Sanne on YouTube and it has fit like the glass slipper! But only because I’ve gradually learned to sleep early and get a decent amount of sleep. Before you try anything, make sure you’re getting at least 5-6 sleep cycles in a night if you can (visit sleepyti.me for more info!).
Surely, it wouldn’t be such a struggle to get out of bed if you actually got enough sleep, right?
Although I don’t get the full 8 hours every night at university, 2018 was phenomenal in terms of sleep compared to high school. Gee, if you’ve heard anything about my high school mornings (hehe), you’d see that there weren’t even 5 minutes to spare to watch YouTube.
It was because my sleep schedule back then was so hilariously messed up. My countless failed attempts to get up in the mornings were due to sleep deprivation!
"Those nightmarish mornings as I made my spectacular transformation from sleeping zombie in pyjamas to sleeping zombie in school uniform."
In 2018, I dipped my toes into this new routine of waking up with Sanne on YouTube and it has fit like the glass slipper! But only because I’ve gradually learned to sleep early and get a decent amount of sleep. Before you try anything, make sure you’re getting at least 5-6 sleep cycles in a night if you can (visit sleepyti.me for more info!).
As I said, it’s not the perfect formula. I’m young and unheroic, but I do try to learn from my failures. Sometimes I still sleep after the clock strikes midnight. Sometimes I can’t help but watch one, two, or three more videos online. But I wish upon a star that I can learn to sleep as snug as Aurora and wake up with the birds like Cinderella. (Ok enough with the Disney Princess metaphors!!! Come on, Let it go!)
I wish, wholeheartedly, that one day, I will wake up not having to rely on anything to help me fight my war with the ‘snooze button’.
I wish for every crevice in our bodies to fill up with an insatiable appetite for life the second we open your eyes. That would be the ultimate way to wake up. As Eric Thomas says,
“No alarm clock needed. My passion wakes me.”
That’s right.
No alarm clock.
No true love’s kiss to stir you from your slumber.
No fairy godmother to whisk your troubles away.
No valiant knight in shining armour to win this ‘snooze’ war for you.
Just YOU, YOUr passions, and a little bit of YOU Tube.
No alarm clock.
No true love’s kiss to stir you from your slumber.
No fairy godmother to whisk your troubles away.
No valiant knight in shining armour to win this ‘snooze’ war for you.
Just YOU, YOUr passions, and a little bit of YOU Tube.
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