Wake Up And Take Control Of Your Day with This Simple Habit.
When I was a kid, I had a small, square alarm clock.
It was very simple.
It had a traditional analog face, with an hour hand and a minute hand. (They actually looked more like arms than hands. But I think that ship has sailed.)
On the back of the clock, there were two simple dials. One set the time. The other set the alarm.
On top, there was a single, mushroom-shaped button. (Which grew in the dark.)
You pulled the plastic mushroom up to set it.
You pushed it down to turn it off.
That’s all there was to it.
But what was really important about my alarm clock was its location, location, location.
I didn’t set it on my nightstand like normal alarmists.
I placed it on top of my dresser on the other side of the room.
Every morning when the alarm clock sounded, I hopped out of bed and hustled across the room to turn it off.
And just like that, I was up and out of bed for the day.
I never hit the non-existent snooze button.
I didn’t crawl back in bed.
I started my day.
The Adam Albrecht Approach to Alarm Clocking has trained me to get up and start my day the moment my alarm sounds for the rest of my life.
Go Ahead, Make Your Day.
By training yourself to start the day when your alarm goes off, every day, you train yourself to take control of your life.
Today, I have stacked a series of beneficial habits into my morning routine.
Here’s The First Hour+ Of My Day:
When my alarm goes off, I turn it off.
Then I put a big smile on my face for 10 seconds.
I get out of bed.
I make my half of the bed.
I go to the bathroom and drink a tall glass of water I set out the night before. (Which means today’s success began yesterday.)
I weigh myself. (The daily feedback helps me keep my weight between the ditches.)
I enter my weight in my Happy Scale app.
Then I sit down at my desk in my home office to write.
I write from 6:10am until 7 or 7:30am.
As a result of this morning routine, I wake up, smile, hydrate, track my weight, and produce new creative work every morning.
Not because I decide to each day.
But because I decided to once, 10 years ago.
By 7am, I am rolling. I have won the first hour of the day. And I roll into the rest of the day, and my next habit stacks, with momentum.
But it all starts with the way I respond to my alarm clock.
Key Takeaway
Get on top of your day before your day gets on top of you. When you control how you start each day, it helps you take control of your entire day. And when you are in control of your days, you are in control of your life. So get up when your alarm goes off. Set your alarm on the other side of the room if you have to. Put a big smile on your face. And go win the day.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.And consider subscribing to Adam’s Good Newsletter.
Originally published at http://adamalbrecht.blog on June 27, 2025.