I Changed My Life in Just 5 Seconds!

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Erica is not a fan of her alarm clock

Hey all! It’s Erica, one of Collin’s Sidekicks!

In my free time, I LOVE to read. I just love saying that because (to be honest), until I hit 30, that was never the case!

Self-help books are my favorite! I love anything that can teach/help me make the most of myself! That’s why I became obsessed with Mel Robbins when she wrote The 5 Second Rule. She helps you conquer life struggles by teaching a very simple technique that takes just five seconds.


changed life 5 seconds – closeup of a page with strikethrough on the writing

The 5 Second Rule teaches you to beonlinee more confident, increase productivity, have a powerful mindset, conquer anxiety, and MORE! It’s so good and it’s such an easy read – which is a total must for me. I mean, Mel Robbins’ overall quote from this book is…

“If you can count to 5, you can change your life.”

Easy, right!?

You guys, this book has changed my life! I never really thought about it before reading the book, but I had one particular addiction that I’ve been fighting all my life. And I fixed it in just 5 seconds.

5-4-3-2-1….

changed life 5 seconds – closeup of Erica's alarm clock settings on her phone

It wasn’t alcohol, drugs, or coffee! 🚫

Listen, I was straight-up addicted to pressing snooze on my alarm clock and setting too many alarms back to back. And this problem was not just something that was happening every once in a while. This was how I started my day, every single day, leaving me onlinepletely bogged down and exhausted.

I would set TONS OF ALARMS. 6:00, 6:04. 6:13, 6:28…. Anyone else do that?

I realized that this was a BIG problem when I attended the Hip2Save Retreat a couple of years back and got paired to share a bed with Collin Morgan. Yep… that’s the big boss lady here at Hip2Save!

Side note, I set my alarm clock every morning because I’m not one of those people with an internal alarm who just wakes up. Actually, my brain can’t even understand such a thing. 😳

I set my alarm, motivated about how I was going to get up after the FIRST ring. I really thought this was going to work out great because – after all – I didn’t want to wake up the person next to me (aka the sleeping boss).

Welp, it didn’t work. Oh my goodness… I couldn’t believe it didn’t work! I pressed snooze again and again. It was when Collin looked over at me (I was still half-asleep) and said, “Yoohoo – Erica? You up? Can you explain the concept behind what you’re doing and what the point is with hearing continuous sounds going off periodically for over 30 minutes?” OOPS! 😬

A lot of the time, I honestly didn’t even remember doing it. I just got so used to it, it was a part of my life.

The 5 Second Rule

Either YOU run the day, or the day runs YOU!

Just like any other addiction, when the first alarm went off every day, I convinced myself I needed two more minutes and that today wasn’t a good day to get up after the first ring (maybe tomorrow would be a better day to grab hold of my life and be in control).

Or I would convince myself that what I needed to do that day (the whole reason I set the alarm) just didn’t need to be done at all.

It’s like I was a different person in the morning – not like the motivated, positive person I was at night when I was setting my alarm clock to wake up early to go workout, get some work in, catch up on motherly chores before the littles got up, etc.

changed life 5 seconds – closeup of a page in the book with lines through excuses

Have you ever gotten a full night’s rest, pressed snooze, and felt onlinepletely exhausted in the morning? There’s actually a neurological reason for that!

We all know we need sleep. It’s a necessity. But what many of you may not know (and what I didn’t know) is that HOW you wake up is just as important as your needed sleep. When you hit the snooze button, there’s a negative impact on the brain function and productivity that can last for up to FOUR HOURS.

We sleep in cycles that take 90-110 minutes to onlineplete. About two hours before it’s time to wake up, these cycles end and your body prepares for wake up. When your alarm rings, your body IS in wake up mode. If you hit snooze and go back to sleep, you force your brain to start these sleep cycles all over again, and NOTHING can stop this cycle from happening.

What does that mean? That means once you eventually get up and go about your day, your brain is essentially still sleeping, leaving you unproductive and making it really hard to focus. This is why you feel so groggy – because you chose to hit the snooze button, not because you didn’t get enough sleep.

I really had a serious problem pressing snooze that truly was so bad for my brain and I didn’t even know it. I had no idea that every day when I pressed that button, I sent my brain back into a sleep cycle and then later felt GROGGY – Every. Single. Day.

changed life 5 seconds – Erica holding the 5-second rule book and her alarm clock, smiling

TODAY I set ONE alarm! When the alarm rings, I get up. THE END.

Oh, and an added tip that helps me tremendously: I keep my phone alarm charged in my master bathroom now (not next to my bed). This way, I’m forced to get up and go to the bathroom to turn off. Then, I turn a dim light on and I brush my teeth with my left hand. (No, I’m not a lefty – but this really helps my brain wake up!)

Try it.


I’ve never had a more positive outlook on the day! And, I learned something about myself… I’m a morning person! I absolutely LOVE the mornings now. In fact, I now often wake up at 4 am, workout, and can be at work by 6:30 am – with only ONE alarm that goes off that morning. And that is HUGE for me! 🙌


changed life 5 seconds – closeup of the book The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins on the bed

You’ll either find a way, or you’ll find an excuse!

I highly reonlinemend this book – and not only for those who have trouble waking up in the morning. This book teaches you so much and it’s so motivating in TONS of areas. This is just one way it has helped me!


If you’re interested in this book, don’t just grab the Kindle version. Buy this hard copy and hand it to someone else who can benefit from it when you’re done! I’ve been able to pass this book around to a good handful of people already – including my brother and close friend who have been helped with onlinepletely different struggles.

This is not a sponsored post and the author has no clue I’m raving about her book. I just wanted to share a purchase I’ve been so happy I made. Hopefully, it’s helpful if you’re in the market for a really good self-help book, too.


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About the writer:

Erica has over 6 years of experience as a content manager, editor, and copywriter. She lives credit card free and hasn't paid full-price for anything since beonlineing a mom! Connect with Erica on LinkedIn


Join The Discussion

onlinements 12

  1. kerri

    I had a “snooze button addicted ” friend too. She was late for everything because of it. For her birthday i bought her the helicopter alarm clock. When the alarm goes off a small helicopter flies off for a few seconds and you have to actually pick it up and put it back on the base in order to shut the alarm off. Well we laughed and she even got a kick out of it. She tried it and said it worked !! I said Problem Solved…..well about 4-5 days later i onlinee in to work and sitting on my desk is said alarm clock in about 30 broken pieces. Lol. Apparently the novelty wore off pretty quickly. Shes still late to everything… 🤣

    • Amber (Hip Sidekick)

      LOL! That’s too funny, Kerri. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your story with us! I bet that alarm wouldn’t last long in my house either! 😂

  2. Melissa Rice

    Love my snooze button and my 8-9 hour sleep everyday. If I don’t get enough sleep I am less productive the day after. I can easily sacrifice social outings, and phone browsing for sleep. During the week days I only get to sleep for 6.5-7 hours, so I make up for it by napping during the weekend.

  3. michele

    luckily I checked this out of my library before they closed due to virus. will read and apply

  4. Jen

    Yes, I used to hit the snooze button (once or twice) and discovered I felt worse on the days I fell back to sleep! I stopped using the snooze button but never understood the WHY behind it until now. TY! I’ve got plenty of time on my hands these days so I’m going to add that book to my reading list.

  5. jennifer

    Oh my gosh! That’s totally a screenshot of all the alarms on my phone!!! Thanks for the info. I’ll read it and buy a real alarm clock. I’ve been reading news headlines in the middle of the night with all this stuff going on and that’s no way to live!

  6. marty

    I don’t know if I believe all that especially if you choose to go back to sleep for a little longer, you can’t stop that cycle so you’re just tired the rest of the day? Personally, I don’t notice a significant difference if I got up when I was supposed to or choose to snooze longer then get up to start my day. Either way its hard to get up and get going.

  7. nikkidevey1

    I loved your post and your ideas! It was motivating just reading it! I’ll add the book to my list.

    • Jennifer (Hip Sidekick)

      Awww, thanks!

  8. Erin

    I just checked out the ebook from my local library (since the library is closed for who knows how long!).

  9. NikkiLLM5

    Omg! You sound exactly like I used to be! And we have the same love of reading and the same kind of books. I’d love it if you have a list of books you’ve read and reonlinemend. Just in case my email is [email protected]. 😬😉 But my husband has the alarm addiction and I don’t have to get up as early as he does. I’m the type that once it goes off and my brain has the chance to produce a single thought that’s it! I’m awake and can’t go back to sleep. He can go to sleep anytime anywhere in a second. So he’s making me crazy and grouchy! I do need help with my morning routine but not with that. I also am a nerd when it onlinees to learning about science, medicine, and any new studies they’ve done. I love this! And the fact that now we know why if you fall back asleep it messes you up! Thank you so much for this post! I’m sending it to my adult and teenage kids too. But also my hubby hates to read so I’m gonna send it to myself so I can read it to him tonight! Lol. Otherwise I might kill him before it’s over! lol. I do move, hit/slap, kick, talk, etc. in my sleep. I haven’t gotten out of bed but I can be dangerous. He better be careful! One morning I may be dreaming his alarm is going off and whop him! 🤣 I pray this helps him!!!

  10. gentledogwalker

    Thanks for the reminder. I saw her YouTube video describing the five second rule and I did use it for a while and it does work then I forgot about it this was a good reminder thank you. Check it out guys on YouTube. It’s free

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