We interupt this semester to...

When I taught high school and used to make the statement that I wasn't a morning person, the inevitable response was that after a few years "I wouldn't even need my alarm clock." After twelve years of teaching I needed my alarm clock EVERY day, and even became an expert at how long I could hit snooze. While I'm not a morning person, apparently I can do math at 530 in the morning if it results in 15 more minutes of sleep.

I suppose I should not complain. I hear constantly from grad students in my program that they're staying up until 4a and still not getting work done. I sometimes wonder if I'm doing something wrong, because I never do that. I never HAVE to do that because my week is scheduled down to the micro-minute.
I have a different schedule.
I get up at 545a every morning, Monday through Friday. I make coffee. I work on my online classes for two hours. I walk Nehi, I shower, I head to class.
Once I get home from class though, I'm done. I don't work. Mainly because I'm exhausted and the work wouldn't be productive. I walk Nehi, I veg on the couch watching TV. I give my brain a break. Likewise, once I'm finished teaching at 1p on Friday, I'm done. It's my half-day off.
However, I do work 6a-5p on Saturday, and most of the day on Sunday. Saturdays are dedicated to writing papers/articles/my own research and Sundays are spent doing any reading/coursework for the week. Because I work seven days a week, it allows me to get through my work week with everything done, no stress, and some "off time" scheduled in.

All that being said, that doesn't mean that now, with one week of classes left, then a week of final exams, that there aren't mornings when I stare at my computer, clicking on Twitter updates when I know I should have walked Nehi half an hour ago. Or that I wish there was something stronger than coffee to start my day. Or that I'm not counting down the days to 15 May and sleeping in (although Nehi thinks sleeping in is 7a).

So what do you do to rev yourself up on days you're tired an unmotivated?
How do you get through the last couple of weeks of the semester?