How long does it take for you to go from “in bed asleep” to “at work ready to do work stuff”? And please share whatever details about the process you’d care to.
My answer: 2 hours.
I’m interested in the question because just thinking about it in the abstract, 2 hours sounds like a lot of time, but I don’t think that any individual stage in the process actually takes that long. So, maybe I have unreasonable expectations for how long it should take. Another thing is that I somewhat recently moved to what could be considered “the suburbs” (but not really), so I guess I still haven’t gotten quite used to the commute.
When I did have a job, I had it down to 30 minutes. And that included a quick shower, messing my hair, getting dressed and eating breakfast on my drive to the office.
No, really. Work is a five-minute hop down the interstate. I do my showering at night, my work clothes are interchangeable so I can just grab whatever’s clean, and my hair’s short enough that it doesn’t need styling. Up, teeth, deodorant, clothes, out the door.
Alarm goes off at 6:15, snooze at 6:26, up at 6:27, shower, wash hair, dog out and fed, breakfast, put on makeup, dry hair, eat breakfast, 25 mile commute, there by 7:45. So, sleep to at work in 1.5 hours, full makeup and hair, w/happy dog. I’m low maintenance.
Without feeling like I’m too stressed, about an hour and a half, though I snooze for 15 minutes before that. Basically up by 7:03, breakfast, shower, get dressed, gather up my things and get out the door. I have two bus routes I can take, one with walking +bus and another bus+metro, but both more or less get me to class and ready to pretend to care (hey, it’s the last week of lectures!) by 8:35. I have some flexibility time-wise, but buses can be very unreliable; when the weather’s bad, I sometimes have to wait for 2-5 (up to 40 minutes, in the worst case) buses to go by because they are all too full to stop.
Wakened by alarm
Fifteen minutes of hygiene
Twenty minutes of eating
Thirty seconds to the door
-The Crowd, Operation Ivy
Except for the twenty minutes of eating, this is pretty accurate. Somewhere in there I get dressed, too, but I can go from asleep to at my desk working in about 45 minutes. The drive in is only four miles, and it takes about ten minutes if I hit every light.
Before I retired, at least 2 1/2 hours. A half hour stretching exercises (which did wonders for me), a half hour getting dressed, breakfast, etc. and 1 1/2 hour stroll (> 4 miles) to my office. I showered the night before. That was the minimum; I usually took an extra quarter hour.
Since I work at home, it takes me about 20 seconds to walk from bed to work. But there was a time when I had to commute 3 hours, each way. Never again.
Up at 7:15, coffee, feed cat, brush teeth, dress, comb hair, grab food for lunch, and I’m usually ready to go at 7:35. If I leave the house at 7:45 I’ll get to work by 8:00.
I have a bad habit of thinking I have 10 minutes or so to putz around the house doing stuff like water the plants or go online and I end up being 5 minutes late.
7:15 - hit snooze for 45 minutes. I know this sounds stupid, but I love it. I get to wake up, feel the immediate dread of starting the day, and realize I still get to sleep for 45 more minutes, which feels like 2 hours after having just woken up extremely tired. And I think getting to close your eyes and drift back to sleep is one of the coolest, most euphoric, and most naturally psychadelic experiences possible. It feels wonderful and I notice the transition back to sleep in a way I never feel at night - full blown vivid visualizations, audiotory experiences, vivid dreams, the realization that you’re in a state between the waking and sleeping world.
8:00am - 8:15am : I’m waking up.
8:00 - 8:35 : In the shower, getting somewhat dressed, and brushing teeth. I will rush this process if I wake up closer to 8:15
8:35 - 8:52 : tucking in clothing, putting on belt, putting on socks & shoes, combing hair down, grabbing something to drink, taking vitamins and/or pain medicines
8:52 - 8:54 : driving to work
So, 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how often I need to hit the snooze button
Wake up, feed dog, go potty and then eat a banana while dog is eating, let dog out, sit at desk. Work commences.
Probably about 3 minutes.
That’s how it’s SUPPOSED to work but lately the dog has been deciding we get up at 7 to eat, not 9. So I wake up when she wakes me up, feed her, take care of my business, let her out, go back to bed. When she knocks to come in, I get up and let her in. Then I sleep until 9 or 9:30 and draaaaaaaaaag myself out of bed to sit at my desk, and screen the Dope for a bit until I am awake.
So it’s more like 3 hours and one nap from the time the dog wakes me up to the time I am ready to do any sort of work.
Here lately, it’s instantaneous. I’m working with a couple of clients with strange hours who wake me up in the morning with their calls. I roll out of bed on the phone with them, wander over to my laptop, and start handling their stuff. Once I get off of the phone, I release a bleary roar to greet the day, brush my teeth, and start working fully awake.
If I cut the overt dawdling (like I’m doing right now) but proceed at my favored leisurely pace, it takes about 65 minutes. I don’t loll in bed ever; awake = upright & going full speed.
Wake, shower, shave etc: 20 min
Dress: 5 mins
Cook breakfast for self & wife: 10 mins
Eat breakfast: 10 mins
Gather stuff & get car moving: 5 mins
Drive to office: 10 mins.
Say “Hi” all down the hall, get to desk, log on: 5 mins
If I quick-shower, have a snack in the car & generally hurry I can get it down to about 30 minutes.
I occasionally work from home, so I can go from asleep to generating revenue in about 4 minutes, 2 of which are walking across the house & 1 of which is pouring the coffee.
Up at 6:15. Let dogs in/out. Fill water bowls. In winter add pellets to the pellet stove. Throw on clothes and minimal makeup. Let dogs in again. Collect belongs (fruit, phone, etc) and leave for work at 6:35-6:40. Drive 32 miles to work. Arrive at approximately 7:20. Turn on computer and mosey off to get ice for my coke. Clock in and be ready to work at 7:30.