Hitting snooze is just a crappy coping mechanism

Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt is a poetry and prose writer who has lived in Prince William County since 1999. She has published six books and is working on a seventh. Learn more about her at KatherineGotthardt.com, and follow her work on Facebook by searching #KatherinesCoffeehouse.

By Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt

Snooze is a funny word. Say it out loud. Look at it. Who came up with such a strange word for lightly sleeping?

Dictionaries say unknown origin, may be related to the sound of “snore.” Snooze, snore—is that how you’re getting through life?

I’m not one to judge. I often snooze on the couch, even for a few moments. I don’t sleep as well as I used to. Everything hurts. Everything itches. Everything is just not right. Ever feel that way about life, that everything is an annoying itch or just plain painful?

I think it’s normal from time to time. OK. Set the timer. Take a nap.

Ugh. Did it go off already?

That means I have to get back to work.

Quick. Hit the snooze button again.

Is this how you’re living your life, physically or metaphorically? If so, you know already what it can do to your inspiration and motivation. Sure, sleep is essential if you want to be able to tune in to the gods or the muse or the birds or whatever speaks to you.

And truth be told, what gets you out of bed might be something like the kids fighting or the dog whining. Or maybe you sleep well but wake up tired and say, “Bloody hell! I’m late…again!”

Oh, the agony of waking up sometimes. It’s no wonder you keep hitting the snooze button. But that’s actually really bad for your brain, say the experts. You think you’re getting extra sleep, but you’re not. There’s not enough time between alarms for you to slip into REM and stay there.

You’re just wasting time. And you’re probably making yourself late, stressing yourself out as a result. Or the kids are going to start strangling each other or the dog is about to pee on the floor. Better to motivate yourself to get up and live your best day.

Here’s what you can do instead of hitting the snooze button. Try it, even if it’s just for ten seconds:

1.   Open your eyes and stare at something. Anything. Reorient yourself to the real world.
2.   Think of what you need to do, the thing you’re dreading, the thing you’re avoiding. (It could be something as simple as getting in the shower.)
3.   Now think of your higher purpose. That’s right. Make that leap and do it fast.
4.   What? Don’t believe you have a higher purpose? Don’t know what it is? Well, then you’ve got some work to do. Ask yourself why you don’t believe or don’t know.
5.   By this time, you’re either A, in an existential quandary, in which case your mind is far more alert or B, motivated enough to jump or roll out of bed. Either way, you’re in better shape for getting up.

See? Instead of snoozing, you fed yourself a quick breakfast of motivation and inspiration. And that will be reflected in the work you do and how you do it.

Remember, hitting snooze is just a crappy coping mechanism. No one really wants to go through life every day, longing to get back to bed. While sleep is necessary, and good sleep feels good, sleep isn’t the higher purpose, the thing itself. So don’t keep hitting snooze.

Funny how flat the button,

so easy to lay a finger on,

and with the lightest touch,

lose moments of our lives.

What if we never hit snooze?

Good morning.

Until next time,

Katherine