How to make myself awake?

Often I feel very sleepy or tired. So the question is how to make myself awake?

The first step is to recognize that I am sleepy or tired and I need to do something. In other word, I need to accept that I am limited and it is normal to feel that way. Without that acceptance, I would be in a denial stage which would guarantee me to fall asleep. There are many times where my wife saw me sitting in front of my laptop dozing off or worse, not able to stand in the MRT. That is what happens when I deny that I feel sleepy. 

Once I accept that I need help, then it is equally important to do something. Sometimes I am over confident by thinking I can stay awake just by will power. But apparently it does not work. It requires more than will power to do that. 

One easy way is to drink coffee, and then if I am really sleepy, I can take a nap for 15 mins while waiting it to take effect. If it is in the meeting, then that's where the will power would be a good complement. 

If it is at home, there is an easier way. Just wash my face. I am still amazed on how powerful it is. Just by washing a portion of us, somehow it feels much better. So the discipline that we need is to take several steps to the washroom and a courage to splash water to my face. 

Of course, there are some situations where one method is not enough. For example, after washing face, it is still possible to fall asleep. So we need to know our limit. If it is really beyond us, then it is a time to sleep. The important thing is that we have tried our best.