This post inspired me to do a December Dry Run of my new out-of-bed goal. The general idea is that I want to stay out of bed after my alarm goes off. I consider this a gateway habit to better mental health and productivity. Earlier this year, I kept track of this goal for three months with a physical habit tracker, but I fell off as soon as I missed a couple days (and lost the sense of identity that I am a person who gets out of bed).
Here is my fine print that I developed during those months:
If my alarm (phone alarm or alarm clock) goes off, I am obligated to get out of bed and stay out of bed for three hours. This behavior is equal to a +1. Max of one +1 per day. Sitting (or laying down) in the bed in this three hours period after the alarm goes off disqualifies a +1 for the day. A forgetful, almost-sitting-down but springing-back-up behavior does not disqualify the +1. Falling asleep on the floor is a disqualification. If I wake up and turn off the alarm before it goes off, this counts as the alarm going off.
If I don’t set an alarm, the following rules apply. I am allowed to get up and use the bathroom. Looking at my phone or computer screen is equivalent to the alarm going off. So, I am allowed to use the bathroom and get back in bed as long as I don’t look at my phone or computer screen.
Sick day exception: If I take a sick day from work due to physical illness (i.e. cancel all meetings and obligations and stay in bed most of the day), then I am allowed to add a +1 for a sick day, along with a comment specifying this.
Rate: Right now I set the rate to +1/day with zero buffer. I want this behavior to feel like a hard commitment that is part of how I go through life. I would rather not go through the thought process each morning of (“will I use my buffer today?..”) I think the fine print makes this feasible, but the goal forces me to commit to an alarm time (or no alarm) in advance of going to sleep.