In the Before Times, I rarely fell back asleep after turning off my morning phone alarm(s), but things went downhill in March 2020 when our son’s school switched to remote learning. Suddenly, neither of us had to leave the house in the morning. Usually, I’d be half asleep when I turned off or snoozed my alarm — and a sunrise clock (this Philips one, which I bought and liked) didn’t help at all.

{related: how to wake up more easily when it’s dark out}

Eventually, I found the app Alarmy (iOS/Android), and it helps so much! Now when my alarm goes off, the app makes me solve five math problems — otherwise, it’ll make the alarm sound again. The math difficulty levels range from “very easy” (3 + 4) to “hell mode” [(162 x 87) + 1,878]. Other “missions” the app features are “shake” (shake your phone to certain requirements), “photo” (get out of bed to take a particular photo), “QR/barcode” (get out of bed to scan a particular code), and “memory” (play a memory game — like the board game).

Here are two examples that will “encourage” you to get out of bed: Require yourself to scan a QR code you’ve put inside your medicine cabinet or to scan the barcode on a bag of coffee in a kitchen cabinet.

I have the free version of Alarmy (for now, at least), but if you buy Premium, you pay $5/month or $59.99/year. It removes ads, has extra “missions,” and gives you the option to wake up to a custom/recorded sound (like, I don’t know, this?), among other cool features. The premium missions are “squat” (do a certain number), “steps” (do a certain number), and “typing” (a phrase/sentence you choose).

Note: When your phone dies because of low battery, Alarmy will close and not reopen automatically when your phone restarts. A notification will let you know, but it’s good to be aware of.

Psst: Kat’s still using her Shortcut tip to make her iPhone alarm to play a playlist of energetic songs when she wakes up.

Workwear sales of note for 11.1.21…

• Nordstrom – 1,000+ new markdowns — up to 60% off dresses, tops, jeans and more!
• Lo & Sons – Up to 40% off
• Ann Taylor – Extra 70% off 3+, extra 60% off 2, extra 50% off 1
• Loft – 30-40% off almost everything
• Boden – 15% off
• J.Crew – Up to 30% off women’s cozy winter favorites; extra 50% off sale
• Lands’ End – Up to 50% off your order; Black Friday preview has started
• Brooks Brothers – Sale styles up to 70% off