Get up

#morning#wake up#get up#bed

The body is heavy, the room is cold, and horizontal is the only position not pushing back right now. The visual support below breaks getting up into a handful of small motions, so the brain does not have to commit to everything at once.

Seen from the side, a man sits leaning forward and slumped on a plain blue chair.

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Sitting slumped on a chair

Seen from the side, a man sits leaning forward and slumped on a plain blue chair.

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Rising with an upward arrow

A man in a blue t-shirt and brown trousers pushes up from kneeling while a solid black arrow points upward.

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Coming up from the knees

From a kneeling position a man in a blue t-shirt straightens up, and an outlined arrow beside him points upward.

Wearing a light blue top and brown trousers, a man pushes himself up off a white stool.

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Getting up from a stool

Wearing a light blue top and brown trousers, a man pushes himself up off a white stool.

A woman on all fours, ready to stand up from the floor or bed.

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Woman getting up

A woman on all fours, ready to stand up from the floor or bed.

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Woman sitting

A woman sitting on the floor or bed with her legs in front of her.

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Get up

An illustration of a woman sitting on a blue block, with two upward arrows indicating the action of standing up.

About this visual support

Getting up is not a single action but a chain the brain would rather not start at all. Thinking the thought all the way through — feet on the floor, cold room, clothes, day ahead — is overwhelming inside six seconds. That is why many children (and adults) stall on step one and start negotiating with themselves for five more minutes.

The visual support works against exactly that overwhelm. By showing the move as several small pictures — turn the head, plant the feet, pull on a hoodie — the brain only has to agree to one beat at a time. None of the steps is dramatic enough to wake real resistance.

One concrete tip: place the hoodie or sweater your child will wear right next to the bed the night before, and let the second square of the visual support be exactly that. The physical cold-shock shortens, and your child does not have to make any decision about what goes on. Inside the Routined app you can also let the morning sequence start with a calm sound cue instead of an alarm, so getting up begins before irritation has time to settle in.