The Alarm

I get up really early to go to work, and it has occasionally led to some interesting stories with guests and run-ins with the police. Aside from that though, I actually like that getting up so early means I don't have to deal with traffic, and that I can make time to go to the gym. All in all, it's not a bad trade. However, it does mean that I have to plan accordingly. Specifically, it means that I have to try to go to bed earlier than most people.

Now, I have long claimed that it's actually pretty easy to get up early, but it's really freaking hard to make yourself go to bed early. The former is just a matter of a deadline. Whether you like it or not, you have to be at work at a specified time. And more than likely, you know exactly how long it takes you to get to work. Given that, it's just a matter of working backwards. Sure, some people use the snooze button liberally, but even so, when push comes to shove, they drag themselves out of bed. It's a matter of responsibility kicking in, really.

However, going to sleep early is more a matter of discipline. Unless you are absolutely exhausted, there's really nothing stopping you from staying up another half hour to watch a show, read a book, or even just browse the Internet. You know full well that you might feel a little more tired in the morning as a result, but other than that, there's not much difference in what time you go to bed. Not surprisingly, I find it a bit harder to make myself go to bed early enough that I get a good night's rest.

Knowing that, though, I use my cell phone to set an alarm for the night time, too. It's a pretty simple idea; if an alarm can wake me up in the morning, an alarm at night can serve as a reminder that I should get myself to bed. The night-time alarm is slightly more flexible since I'm sometimes in the middle of something I can't drop immediately when it goes off. Still, the basic idea is that once it goes off, I need to start getting ready for bed. All in all, it works pretty well.

The one major exception to that, however, is when I go out during the work week. If I forget to turn off the alarm, it will often go off in the middle of an outing. More often than not, I remember to turn it off before I head out. However, I did have it go off in the middle of a date once. She was pretty understanding about it, but she couldn't resist the opportunity to poke fun (the phrase "booty call" was thrown around).

Even worse, if I remember to turn off the alarm in the middle of dinner, my sense of propriety gets the better of me. I know that I have to pull out my phone from my pocket and fiddle with it, but I also think it's rude to arbitrarily start using my phone in the middle of a conversation. So, I have to explain why I need to pull out my phone, and then turn off the alarm. Remember, people tend to hang out with those of similar personalities, so that means my friends all have a hearty sense of humor and have no qualms about making fun of me. Explaining myself as I pull out my phone is like painting a bulls eye on my forehead. It almost never fails; I mention that I have to pull out my phone, and then there is quite a bit of laughter at my expense for the next few minutes.

Even with all of that, I suppose it's still worth it. I mean, it helps me get a decent night's sleep, and I don't get made fun of THAT often. Though I suppose I could just set another alarm to remind myself to turn off the "go to bed" alarm ...