A quick confession:
Once I’m awake, my day runs like a near-flawless process.
Because of the time-blocked schedule that I’ve been refining for over two years now, one task flows smoothly into the next. I go to bed every single night without any stress that I didn’t finish something on my list, not because I’m a “go with the flow,” chill kind of guy, but because it’s all DONE.
However, the problem is that I do, and always have, had issues waking up on time. I naturally stay up late and sleep late, and despite years at a time of having to get up early, my “circadian rhythm” has never changed. Give me a week to myself, and I’m going to bed at 1 or 2 and getting up at 9 or 10 am.
Being late due to this nearly got me fired from my first jobs as a teenager. Once I started getting more professional jobs, I was able to force myself to get up on time using about 8 alarms in the morning.
Then in 2019, I became self-employed, and I certainly wasn’t going to fire myself. For two years now, it’s been an issue for me. I can always move a few things around if I oversleep and still get my work done, but it happens far more often than I care to admit.
Well, two days ago, I discovered this BEAUTIFUL app called “Alarmy.”
You download it (available for Apple or Android), set your alarms, and choose a task that you have to complete to turn the alarm off. There are some exercise related ones, math, memory games, etc, but the one I chose is a barcode.
You can generate one and print it, or just use a barcode on an item in your home. I used a bottle of delicious Thai chili sauce.
Now, when the alarm starts going off, I have to wake up, grab the phone, go to my kitchen, and scan the barcode on the bottle with my phone’s camera in order for the alarm to go off.
It works like a charm! Once I’ve already had to get up and walk to the kitchen, I’m awake enough to make the decision to not go back to sleep.
Also, imagine the possibilities of this.
Having trouble going to the gym? Set an alarm to a barcode on one of the machines there!
If you try this, let me know!
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