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Monday, March 10, 2008

How to: get out of bed in the morning

Sure, it's easy when every morning you are faced with the above staring you in the face. Whilst in Maui, the Rockstar and I were waking up naturally, without an alarm, at about 730-8AM every day. There was something invigorating about hearing birdsong through the windows, the naturally bright light filling the room and the prospect of having my kona coffee and guava-strawberry slathered bagel outside on the sun-drenched balcony overlooking the ocean.

But now that I am back in the "real" world, I just can't get up! This is nothing new, I've always had a tendency to sleep in. But I'm tired of it, for lack of a better word.

Of course, if I had a job and were waking up to my alarm at 730 AM everyday, I wouldn't be sleeping in. But aside from rising (super) early on Saturdays and Sundays, my school is in the evening on weekdays. So there is no real need for me to get up at a certain time.

And yet there is! I have so much work to do, everyday is packed full (especially this week) of homework, projects, script stuff, etc that I really can't afford to sleep in.

But I do it anyway.

Why? Mainly because I'm tired....but why am I so tired? I get 8 hours of sleep....I'm tired even if I get ten hours of sleep. How come in Hawaii, I was up and at them and raring to go, regardless of how well I slept? Why did I have energy there and not here? It's only been a week, not even, since I got back!

One reason could be a day like today. It's dark, raining and miserable. This is Vancouver. It's often this way and I need to find out a way to get up and face the day, no matter how crappy it is. I mean, I am writing this right now, at noon, and all I can think about is how badly I want to go back to bed. WHY???????

So, I am totally open to suggestions here...how do you manage to get up out of bed and get started (especially you people who get up earlier than they should)? How can I look forward to my day? Remember, I don't have class till 630PM and while I do have to spend at least half of my day doing school stuff, there is another half in which I just sleep or sit around on my ass and look at that wretched Facebook and gossip sites.

I've read on Maddie's wonderful Vancouver blog that she gets herself up with promises of breakfast treats. I've been doing that too....Kona coffee, mango slices and waffles with guava jelly (not as good as my Hawaiin breakfasts but it'll do). But I want to be eating this at 9AM, not 11AM. I want to do things that will get me out of the house (and not cost money, since I have none). I even planned on this today, to walk to the gym, but I didn't because it was "raining" out and so I went back to sleep. I am officially my own worst enemy here, sabotaging any good intention that I have.

Is it laziness? Tiredness? Procrastination? How do I overcome this and where do I start?

10 comments:

Odette said...

I am so sorry but I have no helpful solutions for you, but I can tell you that I have the EXACT same problem. However even when I HAVE great things to do like go to museums and go out with friends I still manage to sleep in. When I have to be up for work in the morning I get up only by promising myself that I can go back to bed right when I get home then I sleep until three thirty (like I did today) when I have to get up to go back to work!

Oh man what's wrong with us besides an extreme lack of will power?

Indiana said...

Do you also notice that hangovers are not as painful when you are on holidays?

Steph said...

Oh I hear ya! I am the worst! I get up around 7am, but I swear I'm a stupor until about 11am when my brain finally kicks in.

It's awful. I'm sick to death of waking up tired!!

Miss N said...

I can ONLY do it if there is some form of exercise involved followed directly by coffee (so I'm all for the treat idea!) - having to be onset at 6.30am and the fear of sleeping through my alarm and not turning up makes me way too paranoid to sleep in!

Your Maui pics are gorgeous!

M said...

ME TOO! I have no idea what causes this. Maybe it's that life is kind of dreary when you're not doing the fun stuff. I mean how many of us get up and say 'hmmm I wonder what I am going to do today? Anything is possible"? Of course we don't we already know what we're going to do today, we're going to get up, have a shower, eat a hurried breaky, go to work, grumble about all day, come home, cook dinner, get shit sorted and then go to bed. I mean, not very inspiring is it? It's so much easier to get up when you know you don't actually HAVE to.

Wondering Woman said...

Get a dog. Mine gets me up EVERY morning at 6:30 for her walk. Doesn't matter if it's storming outside we have to go and no matter what my mood I always start feeling good being out with her. I can truly say she brightens up my day.

Mitch said...

Hey!

If you're looking for sympathy, you won't find it here...

Kona coffee??? Oh man, only the best coffee in the world!

lol. Suffice to say, I hope that you figure it out soon.!

Drinks soon???

Delicieux said...

I am just like you. If there's no reason for me to get out of bed, I won't. Sometimes I don't even get up for work... I just go in late and leave late. I'm not a morning person - and it doesn't sound like you are either.

I guess it takes willpower. Perhaps you should use the same willpower you used to lose the weight you lost! ;)

almost famous kiwi said...

lets see I live in a place where its considered warm when its -10 and snow can sometimes feel like a suffocating blanket. If I had it my way id stay in bed all day. However school and work cannot be done from my bed so I have to get up sometimes at 7:30. For me its lookiong forward to doing something that day whether its dinner with my man or taking myself out, even for hot chocolate. Remember darling, you gotta enjoy the journey!

Miss Robyn said...

I know too well this feeling of down and out laziness. Almost like the feeling of hitting rock bottom, but then I realize that I've never actually hit this and am being overly dramatic.

The only advice I can offer is something that has been working for me lately. I just set my alarm a bit earlier than usual so that I know I'll have time to enjoy my coffee. And always - always jump out of bed and into the shower :) Even if you plan to spend the whole day at home.

So, that's what I do on days when I don't have Media Ethics or one of my other long and drawn out 4th year Broadcast Journalism classes.

Thanks for your post. Have you also had to deal with such boring courses while you day dream of exotic travels? ugh