diff --git a/progressbar/utils.py b/progressbar/utils.py
index 3bbd1519..6cd64aeb 100644
--- a/progressbar/utils.py
+++ b/progressbar/utils.py
@@ -106,6 +106,16 @@ def get_terminal_size():  # pragma: no cover
     Returns:
         width, height: Two integers containing width and height
     '''
+
+    try:
+        # Default to 79 characters for IPython notebooks
+        ipython = globals().get('get_ipython')()
+        from ipykernel import zmqshell
+        if isinstance(ipython, zmqshell.ZMQInteractiveShell):
+            return 79, 24
+    except Exception:  # pragma: no cover
+        pass
+
     try:
         # This works for Python 3, but not Pypy3. Probably the best method if
         # it's supported so let's always try
@@ -136,15 +146,6 @@ def get_terminal_size():  # pragma: no cover
     except Exception:  # pragma: no cover
         pass
 
-    try:
-        # Default to 79 characters for IPython notebooks
-        ipython = globals().get('get_ipython')()
-        from ipykernel import zmqshell
-        if isinstance(ipython, zmqshell.ZMQInteractiveShell):
-            return 79, 24
-    except Exception:  # pragma: no cover
-        pass
-
     try:
         w, h = _get_terminal_size_linux()
         if w and h: