Don’t Hit the Snooze Button
Years ago, I worked with a great coach who was an expert in following through. For a long time I had been frustrated that despite my good intentions and inspirational goal-setting, I found myself not finishing what I started. I hired Pete to help me with this challenge. When Pete and I started working together, he shared a story of one of his clients who had a problem with not being able to get up in the morning to work out—even though it was an important goal of his.
After asking his client a few questions, Pete discovered that the client didn’t have a problem working out; he had a problem with his snooze button. The guy had great intentions to get up at 5:45am. And he knew that all it took was getting out of bed, physically putting his feet on the floor, and heading to the bathroom to put his workout clothes on. But the one obstacle that existed between his bed and his workout was his snooze button.
And so it would go every day: the alarm would turn on at 5:45am, the guy would “want” to get up, and would justify that nine more minutes of sleep would still give him enough time to work out. So he’d hit the snooze button. Nine minutes later, he’d do it again, and again, until the nine minutes turned into 36 minutes, and then he had no choice but to get up for work. And of course by then, he didn’t have enough time for his workout. Day after day he would struggle with this same pattern. So Pete—being a following-through expert—helped his client see that this pattern had to be changed. And it wasn’t about having more will power or trying harder or making the guy feel bad for not being able to overcome the allure of the snooze button. It was much simpler than that.
Pete asked his client to make one small tweak. The same 5:45am alarm remained on his nightstand. But Pete asked him to also set a second alarm clock, this one for 5:47am, in his newborn baby’s room. When the 5:45am alarm sounded in his own room, the client had 120 seconds to jump out of bed and run down the hall to the baby’s room before the alarm woke her. That was it. Even though the snooze button was still an option, the second alarm down the hall proved to be more motivating to get the guy out of bed. No one in the house wanted to wake the baby that early. Problem solved!
So what about you? How often do you set goals, intend to follow through on them, and for whatever (good, even justifiable) reasons, fail to accomplish them? Think about your New Year’s Resolution. Here we are in March—how’s it going? If you find yourself frustrated or disappointed by your lack of follow-through, maybe you need more triggers to remind your brain that you are switching up your old patterns and doing things differently from now on.
Most of us are not wired to follow through without a lot of additional prompts to stay focused. If this sounds like you, here are some ways to make little changes to trigger your brain and create constant yet simple reminders that you’re switching your routine up:
Change your password on your devices to reflect something important to you (Italy2022, or 20LBSdownin21, or NoMoreNightSnacks! or !workoutsmakemehappy!). Every time you login you will have to think about this. When the new password becomes routine, change it up again.
Wear an Apple Watch? Change the face of your watch as a reminder that things are different now. Pick a new color, a new format, something that will trigger you to remember the goal—every single time you look at it.
Don’t have an Apple Watch, but wear a different watch? Move your watch to your other wrist. Will this be uncomfortable and different? You bet. And that’s the point. As soon as you get used to your watch over on the other hand, move it again. Your job is to constantly remind your brain that things are changing.
Set alarms on your phone at different parts of the day to remind yourself to eat healthy, to get up from sitting, or to pick up the phone to call your mom. What’s the thing you postpone/avoid/procrastinate doing? Set a reminder every day to do it.
Your Alexa can remind you of anything, any time of the day. Alexa can remind you to pack a healthy lunch the night before so you are already prepped for the morning. Alexa can remind you to work out, to take your medications, and that Jeopardy starts in 5 minutes. She can remind you to shut the TV off at 9:30pm and do some quiet reading before bed. Or you can set up a positive affirmation. I have a friend whose Alexa says at 7am every morning, “Jake, just a reminder that you are awesome. Go crush it today.” in a very enthusiastic voice. Try it. You might be surprised by how motivating these little things can become.
Change the background picture on your phone, your iPad and your laptop. Put a picture of your next vacation destination on there, or a physical reminder of something you are going for. If you want to lose 15lbs before the summer, put the number 15 everywhere.
A colleague liked my idea of sending thank-you notes every week but always forgot to do them. Now she has a routine: On Sunday evening she puts five thank-you notes on her desk, with pre-stamped envelopes, already addressed to the people she wants to thank from last week. And her job is to complete them by Friday. She’s been successfully sending them for the past seven weeks with this system in place.
Following through is not easy, but if we can set up our world with reminders everywhere, we can improve the likelihood of hitting our goals.
This Week’s Resources
I’m Not throwing Away My Shot
For those of you who are Hamilton fans, you must watch this video. It’s a clever and creative group of physicians and health care workers who’ve put a spin on the famous song “I’m Not Throwing Away My Shot” by connecting it to the importance of the Covid-19 vaccine. https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/coronavirus/article249981859.html?fbclid=IwAR1y3b2Q1vad3oJqtTswJuYY1MGHzkN2-rJW9-AKhXirWwsglt7v16qznr0
Need Help Following Through?
Then you might want to read Pete Greider’s book. It’s filled with great ideas and anecdotes from his decades of coaching business owners, entrepreneurs and professional athletes. https://www.amazon.com/Following-Through-Revolutionary-Finishing-Whatever/dp/1507742444/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1616418675&sr=8-1
Calling all Teachers, Business Owners & Community Leaders!
I am proud to share this new project. It was founded by my partner Kim to help teachers and students return to in-person classrooms. But it has also started making an impact in companies, hospitals and non-profit organizations. If you are someone who accepts people as they are—and you want to share that message of acceptance—then you’ll want to read more : https://www.theheartonyoursleeveproject.com/
As we begin a new season, I hope you’re seeing signs of spring, hearing the sounds of birds returning from the south, and welcoming a season that’s filled with much-anticipated possibility.
