Snoozing for shower time – EVST 100: Intro to the Environment

As I mentioned in a previous post, long showers are my favorite kind of stress reliever. Your doctor suggests it when you’re sick, your parents advise it when you are tired and your peers urge it if you are having trouble focusing. A shower does cure approximately 101 ailments. However since I am reducing shower time, a long shower is not in my game plan. And since my stress level has only increased with the end of the semester upon us, that barrier is out. Now the name of my alarms for the morning read: sleep more, shower less. This is both a benefit increaser and a barrier reducer. I have set my alarm a little later and do not hesitate to hit snooze for extra some extra Zzzzs.

I have also created a way to time my showers without setting an alarm. The only downside is I can only utilize it on the weekends, which still kills two birds with one stone. On the weekends I am prone to taking longer showers due to lack of urgency. I am not waking up early or rushing to class. I now make a playlist with a few songs depending on the complete length of time it takes to play them. I then play it on a speaker while I shower so I can mentally know when I clocked in.

Yes, I would tap that snooze button. Snooze for less shower time.

Moving forward I could definitely see myself continuing with this behavior. It does save me time and create efficiency if I have little time on my hands. Also if I am craving the relaxation from a long hot shower, at home I can take a bath with Epson salts, creating the same long-hot-steamy-shower effect. While at school this is not an option, this reward would aid bringing my sustainable behavior home with me. However my biggest challenge lay ahead: Thanksgiving break. After a high stress second to last week of classes and in preparation for the procrastinated work load that accompanies the last week of classes, it will definitely be a trying time for my sustainable behavior.

canfiejh says:

November 26, 2013 at 11:29 am

I really like your idea about having more sleep instead of showering for as long in the morning as an incentive. It’s good that you can do that, but I would probably sleep too long and not even have enough time for a shower. Waking up is not one of my strongsuits, and the snooze button can be a bad thing for me. It seems like you are doing a really good job with the challenge, and it’s awesome that you can see yourself continuing this behavior after this class. Good luck with the rest of the challenge!

Connor Lenox says:

November 26, 2013 at 12:14 pm

I’ve encountered pretty much all of the barriers that you have. Taking a long shower feels fantastic, especially when you’re sick, tired, stressed, etc. For me, I know that its a way to relax and wake up before going to classes or whatever else I’m doing that day. My way of timing is pretty bad and unreliable, so its interesting that you and a lot of other people mention using music as a timer. Its a good idea, so i’ll have to try that eventually.

jimenezs says:

November 26, 2013 at 1:24 pm

I could really relate to the idea of being able to sleep longer if I didn’t shower. Some morning I sadly find myself doing shower math and analyzing the pros and cons of showering in terms of how much more time or less time I would get to sleep by showering. I also really liked your idea for using music as a gauge to how long you’ve been in the shower. I tried to do a water proof watch and although that didn’t completely work I think I will definitely give the music option a go. I am also really glad that you’ve seen a lot of positive benefits from showering for shorter periods of times, benefits such as it saves you time and allows you to create efficiency.

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