I am an early riser and don’t use an alarm

Hrishikesh Pardeshi

Hrishikesh Pardeshi

Tbh, I hate alarm. Everybody does. Why?

Alarms are demanding. Nobody likes to answer to demands. So, how do I wake up at 7 AM every day?

I leave my side of the window shades open so that I gradually wake up between 6:45 and 7:15 every morning as the sunlight gets brighter. It is a gentle approach that I’ve come to love.

My friend uses Philips Hue lights and MI Smart bulbs that gradually brighten from 8:00 to 8:30 because the bedroom doesn’t have enough windows to allow the morning light. 

But, waking up is like crossing half the bridge. The other half is, “What are you going to do?”

In remote work, we don’t have to go to the office. So, if we don’t have a reason then being idle can become frustrating and it’s easy to fall into the old habit.

We need reasons.

I have a few consistent daily tasks to shake off the grogginess.

I take out the garbage. I live on the 7th floor. I use the elevator to go down and climb up the stairs.
Get vegetables, fruits, and other things ready for breakfast. My wife and I decide our breakfast the previous night and when she wakes up it is all ready to be cooked.
Finally, I reply to a few emails (personal and work) and make some progress on day-to-day work tasks. 

I make sure to get a few things done for the family and it isn’t all about work. Today I wrote this post as a part of my personal to-do. By the time I’m done with the tasks I am fully active. 

Finally,

- I don’t listen or watch anything immediately after waking up.
- Sometimes, I take a nap (1 hour) after lunch.
- I still use alarms if I have to catch an early flight or travel somewhere as a fail-safe.
- I may sleep through if I had a late-night or were traveling the previous night. 
 

Here's what our users had to say:

  • Justin said "I'm also a member of the no-alarm club 🙌 Not sure why but I've always been a relatively consistent, no-alarm early riser (anytime between 6-7 am) since childhood, even if the previous night had been a late one. The experience of waking up via alarm is absolutely terrible for me, it just completely throws me off rhythm for a few hours or the whole day. Accordingly, I think it's great to build habits that make sure you're leveraging that early time well - whether personally or professionally. Myself, I normally try to use that time for exercise. But having a baby (1-year-old now) has altered that routine this past year as he also regularly rises quite early 😂 With his older sister, I was able to get back to a "me" routine by the time she was two (because she slept in a little more) so I'm hoping this will be the case again!"

  • Prithvi Tharun said "Good luck with getting your routine back.  Also, I wake up around 7 even if I have a long night. I force myself to sleep during those times. Or else, the afternoons get a lot longer and harder. 😅"

  • Lucas Wagner said "I also yearn to be a no-alarm person but I need something to irritate me out of the bed, else I find myself overshooting my sleep time a lot. Hope to be there some day!"

  • Prithvi Tharun said "I started off by using an alarm. the first few weeks. Then, I started getting up 15-20 minutes before the alarm. Eventually, I've stopped using it altogether. Even if I miss the 7 AM mark I'd definitely get up before 9 AM. Plus, I schedule meetings after 11 AM."

  • Karthik Sridharan said "Quite an interesting routine and it is really similar in structure to what I follow :) I also absolutely dislike alarms. But I have become a "no-alarm person" (as Lucas puts it) only in the past 4-5 years. I am quite a light sleeper and wake up multiple times at night whenever there is noise in my neighbourhood (some grumpy dogs or unnecessarily stud biker). Now, my eyes open between 6 to 6:30 every day. And irrespective of how I feel (drowsy or otherwise) I get out of my bed instantly. Earlier, I used to look at my phone instantly, to "take stock" of the results of my marketing efforts the previous day. Now, I have realised that a delay of couple of hours hurts absolutely no one - I am really not that important :P. So, now I don't touch my phone an hour before sleeping and an hour after waking up. As a result, I can actually sense my head being lighter and feeling far fresher. Finally, I really like your morning routine :). While I don't have a similar one, I do have my routine of taking my dog for a walk, cleaning the house and then working out for about 45 mins to an hour."

  • Prithvi Tharun said "I live in a quiet neighborhood so noise isn't a concern. But birds do chirp near my window. So, even if the sun fails me, birds don't.As for the exercise, can you share some quick tips? I don't have a dedicated routine. I get most of the physical activities using the stairs instead of elevators, house cleaning, and washing utensils. Sometimes a walk to the nearby market. But that's about it."

  • Karthik Sridharan said "I actually quite like birds chirping in the morning. Unfortunately, they aren't the only ones chirping in my neighbourhood 😅. For exercise, I used to go to a gym till a couple of weeks back. But over time I have collected a few pieces of equipment - a couple of resistance bands, adjustable weights up to 20 kgs (from Decathlon), a swiss ball and a yoga mat. So I exercise 6 days a week and try to go to a park or hike on Sunday. Each day, I do one of three sets - upper body, core or lower body exercises. So, each set gets repeated twice in a week. When one starts it is good to focus a lot on the core - the most boring set of exercises but by far the most critical. I don't train to put on an immense amount of muscle but to be fit enough to play any sport any time.  Sorry for not being specific enough. But I don't think my specificity will be helpful 😆"

  • Prithvi Tharun said "Thanks a lot! This is more than I expected."

  • Ermira Krasniqi said "I follow the same practice as Prithvi by leaving the window shades open. This has been quite effective for me as I tend to wake up as soon the rays of the sun hit my window. But, I also have an alarm around that time as a backup to ensure that I don't miss waking up!"

  • Prithvi Tharun said "Ha! It's nice to have a backup.Even if I miss the 7 AM mark I'd definitely get up before 9 AM. Plus, I schedule meetings only after 11 AM. So, it's okay if I sleep through."