Time pressure, time trouble or zeitnot is the situation of having very little time on a player's clock to complete his remaining moves (source: Wikipedia).

There are people who do their best only when they are put into a stress situation. If you are one of them, if you need to feel the surge of adrenaline to get thing moved, then you can try the zeitnot approach to build early wake up habit.

You can put yourself into zeitnot if you postpone things until the last minute. Imaging your boss asked you for a report to be delivered tomorrow. Most people would stay late to finish it today. You can postpone it until tomorrow morning, knowing you can get up early and do it. By putting yourself into zeitnot, you release the power within you that can help you do nearly impossible things. It’s a great motivation that will kick you out of the bed in a second.

There are two potential issues with this approach though. First, you need to wake up, or you will miss your “last chance” while watching sweet dreams. Alarm clock is your friend in this case. Second, you need to remember in the morning that there is this important leave-or-die task that you have to jump on a.s.a.p. I recommend to put a note by your alarm clock so you will clearly see it in the morning.

I know this may look like a brute approach that sometimes may be unsafe, if not for your life then for your job or relationships for sure. So use it at your own risk and only when you know what you do. And don’t forget to share your story on how it worked.