The most valuable commodity we all have is time, once it has gone, we cannot get it back and we all wish had more of it. Well I’m here to tell you by changing one simple habit you can get two extra days a year. Imagine what you could achieve with an additional 48 hours. So, what is the big secret?
Stop hitting the snooze button
That’s right, every time you hit the snooze button you lose 9 minutes out of your day. If you do that every day, 365 days a year, that’s 3,285 minutes, which is 54.75 hours, which is 2.2 days! So, you are actually getting back more than 2 days.
Getting up when the alarm goes off the first time will give you extra time to do some of those things you can’t find time for. Journaling could be one of them.
Not only will you have the extra time, there are other reasons you should not be hitting the snooze button.
Hitting the snooze button can make you feel more tired
By waking up and then going back to sleep, your body goes back into the beginning of the sleep cycle. This tells your brain to send hormones to your body to send you into a deep sleep. When your body is woken up at this stage you wake more tired than if you had gotten up when your alarm first went off.
It's not good for your heart
When we are woken from our sleep by an alarm clock “a burst of activity from the fight-or-flight branch of the nervous system causes a spike in blood pressure and a shock acceleration in heart rate, according to research in the journal Industrial Health in 2005”.
If you do this repeatedly by hitting the snooze button, once or twice a morning, you are repeatedly putting this pressure on your heart. This is not good for your heart, so take care of yourself and bounce out of bed straight away.
You are more active
A recent survey of 20,000 people by Withing showed a correlation between those people that hit the snooze button and lower activity levels. The people that didn’t hit the snooze button recorded more movement and steps.
But I don't hit the snooze button
The Withing survey also revealed that 50% of people have a tendency to hit the snooze button at least once. So, if you are one of the 50% that don’t hit the snooze button (well done) but how do you gain the extra 2 days in your year. Well the answer is just as simple, get up 9 minutes earlier and if you don’t want the extra .2 of a day you can simply get up 8 minutes earlier!
If you are not a morning person and you just can’t get up 9 minutes earlier then, simply go to bed 9 minutes later.
So, what are we going to do with our extra time?
Well of course we are going to Journal, but can we really journal in only 9 minutes per day. Yes, we can! Below are some ideas to help you take advantage of your extra two days:
- Quick Brain Dump
- Write out your to-do list for the day
- Write your Mantra
- Colour in
- Three things you are grateful for
- Track your goals
Obviously, you don’t have to just journal, following are a few things you could do with your extra time:
- Meditate – I have been using my Calm App every morning to do a 10 minute meditation.
- Exercise – I know 9 minutes does not seem like a long time to exercise, but it’s better than nothing and there seem to be plenty of 7 minute workouts if you need to boost your exercise regime.
- Read – is there a book you have been trying to get through, why not use your extra time to read and learn something new.
- Take up a new hobby – pick up some knitting, try some drawing, learn to macramé … the list is endless.
Time is what we want most, but that we use worst
Imagine the possibilities
If you are coping with finding an extra 9 minutes in each day, imagine what you could achieve if you woke up 20 minutes earlier or stayed up 30 minutes later.
By adding an extra 30 minutes to your day for 365 days you will have an extra 10,950 minutes, which is 182.5 hours, which is 7.6 days. You have just given yourself an extra week in the year. Now just imagine what you could do with that.
For years I have been telling myself “I am not a morning person”, turns out I have been telling myself a lie. I now get up at 5.30am every day, this allows me to do my 10 minute meditation, do some writing and enjoy some me time. I now embrace the moment of calm before my day begins.
I thought I would be tired once I started this practice, but it turns out the science is right, I was tired because I was hitting the snooze button. Even though I am getting up an hour earlier everyday I feel more awake and alert at 5.30 am than I did when I was getting up at 6.30 after hitting snooze a couple of times. I’m still working on the idea of getting up even earlier to fit in a walk, maybe one day…….
Make a conscious use of your new found time
There’s no point in getting up earlier or staying up later if you all you do is use the extra time to continue binge watch a new Netflix series or to mindlessly scroll through Facebook or play an extra game of Candy Crush. I’m not saying you shouldn’t ever do those things but if you are exchanging precious sleep to gain some extra time, you may want to do something that will help you reach your goals. Whether that be, improve your mental or physical health, get organised, start a side hustle, learn a new skill. Whatever you don’t have time for!
Make a conscious effort to use your extra time wisely. I have my cup and tea bag sitting next to the full kettle, so in the morning I just need to flick on the kettle. I meditate while the kettle boils and when I am finished mediating my cup of tea is ready to go. I set my alarm for 40 minutes and start writing. A friend of mine decided to use her time to exercise, she has her exercise gear ready the night before in her room, so there is no thinking involved she just gets up and does it. She was only saying the other day, if she does not have her stuff ready to go, she uses it as an excuse not to do it.
So, know what you are going to do in your extra time, be prepared, set your alarm and go for it! Let me know what you are doing with your extra time.
Extra Tidbit
For those of you wondering why the snooze button is automatically set to 9 minutes (I know I was curious) it is purely a historical thing. Early clocks and watches had gears that made it difficult to set the snooze for 10 minutes, therefore they closest they could get to was nine. minutes. It would appear Apple are paying homage to the history of clocks.
