I didn't see my trick mentioned yet: add in a sunrise app to the mix. I can wake up easier in midwinter now, because there is a simulated sunrise beside my bed that starts 20 minutes earlier than my audio alarm. You can also do this with smart light bulbs but the phone light works well enough for me.

The apps I use are Gentle Wakeup for the sunrise feature and AMdroid for audio alarms with "missions" as OP puts it.