The Case for the Snooze Button

There are swaths of self-improvement and personal productivity materials which are created with the pure intention of motivating us to end our habit of procrastination and encouraging us to build habits which lead to focus, flow, and amazing productivity. The snooze button on our alarm clocks is one of the modern devices that has been identified as a never-ending source of evidence of our lack of discipline, laziness, and inability to manage our lives.

I too have sung this tune, criticizing the snooze button in all its forms, citing evidence that it never adds to our restful sleep, and merely leads to a drowsy, grumpy start to our day. Today, I come down from the mountain-top to share a reason to snooze

When the alarm goes off, the snooze button gives us a nine-minute period of time before its next sound. What if the sound of your alarm was a reminder to you to begin your day, and you hit the snooze button intentionally?

The nine minutes after you hit the snooze button can be the most transformative time in your day.

Instead of tricking ourselves to try to get some half sleep for a few minutes, we could begin our day intentionally, with a built-in nine minute block of time while we are still in that hypnagogic state. Try this the every time your alarm goes off:

1. Hit the snooze button
2. Change your body position to any position that you don’t sleep in, probably on your back comfortably.
3. Recall 3 or more things in your life right now, which bring you joy, and feel the gratitude for those things. Really smile, as you are really feeling gratitude.
4. Pick one thing or condition you desire in your life. Without running through any of the details about how this thing or condition might show up in your life, imagine that you have it already, and feel how it feels to already have it. If you are not sure how to go about this, then simply imagine yourself in a scene that would happen if the condition was present in your life. Perhaps this scene would include your friend firmly shaking your hand and congratulating you, or the bank teller smiling at you as she processes your check deposit. Be in the scene as a first-person, not like you are watching a movie…Feel the handshake, smile back at the bank teller, and feel the pen in your hand as you sign the check.
5. Get out of bed when your alarm goes off again, but this time starting your day feeling fantastic in the joy of gratitude for the good things you have, and the good things that are heading your way.