Snoozing is Losing

The other day, I heard someone mention they wished baby monitors had a snooze button. Although comical, it is also thought-provoking. When a new baby wakes up crying in the middle of the night, a parent wouldn’t hit “snooze” even if such a button existed on the baby monitor. Tempting as it might be to go back to sleep, especially after strings of multiple sleepless nights for a new mom, she knows her helpless baby needs her and there is urgency in that need.

What if you treated your alarm clock the same way? What if you treated every day with a sense of urgency and purpose, like a mother checking on her new baby?

A couple of weeks ago, I hit “snooze” for the first time in months. As soon as I did it, I felt the sting of defeat and it seemed to trigger a cascade of disruption in my mind set. I felt “off” for the better part of the day.

It may seem like a small act, but hitting “snooze” starts your whole day out on the wrong path. Although appearing insignificant, it can be the small things that change the spirit of your day. You see, by hitting snooze, you have already given up ground before your day even starts. You haven’t even gotten out of bed yet and you are playing catch up. You have already given in to temptation. You’ve already been beaten.

Can you recover the five minutes of extra sleep you got? Maybe you skip a shower, look at fewer Facebook updates or scarf down breakfast a little faster. Sure, maybe you can recover the time, but it will take a lot more effort to reset the tone for the day. You are already playing from behind before you’ve even opened your eyes. That’s a lot tougher to recover from because once you have given in to one impulse, it will be harder to combat the next one. Your will and resolve have already been injured.

It may be a small victory, but start every day with a win. No snooze button. Even if it appears to be minor, overcoming that snare to kick off your morning will build momentum throughout the day. Even if you don’t have the reminder of a baby’s cries, there is absolutely immediacy in this because you will only get one chance to start each day. Don’t hit the snooze button – your day is too precious to begin with defeat.

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