10 Tips To Becoming A Morning Person In College
10 tips to becoming a morning person in college
Waking up early is a struggle for so many people especially student. When it’s the middle of winter where the sun doesn’t come out till 8 AM, and you’re curled up in your warm bed, the last thing you would want to do is get out of bed let alone wake up early. Even the thought of it makes me think what did I do to deserve this.
And if you’re a student, then you would understand the feeling of knowing how long of a day you’ll be having, and how you would much rather spend an extra couple of minutes or hours asleep than get up in this cold. I’ve been there, and I’d be lying if I said I’m not still there.
However, during my studies I found that I felt so much more productive and energetic when I woke up early. The feeling of getting things done before 12 in the afternoon was really good, and it gave me some extra time in the afternoon to chill a bit. So, I went on a journey to find some tips that made it easier for me to wake up early and enjoy my day better. I’m not saying that I’ve mastered the art, and that I never feel so tired I don’t even wanna get up anymore. Life happens, and sometimes you end up having to sleep late. However, it is still better to wake up late on some days than every day.
Here I share with you the tips that I personally use and you should also be using to become a morning person:
1. Find your why
Before you even begin your journey to becoming a morning person, you have got to find your why. Why do you want to wake up early in the first place? Is it to catch up on your studies? Or to workout before starting your day? Or maybe just to start your day right without rushing to leave out the door.
Whatever the reason is, you have to have a reason for pretty much anything you do in your life because that’s what will push to accomplish it. That’s what will keep you consistent. If you don’t have a reason to wake up early, from the very first morning you’ll wake up tired, and your mind would convince you to go back to sleep. However, when you have a reason, a purpose, that’s the first thing you would remember when you wake up, making it easier for you and your brain to comprehend why you’re waking up this early. That’s why, always have a reason and write it down somewhere.
2. Find something that will excite you to get out of bed early
Look at the upsides of waking up early. Think about all the things you can get accomplished before the rest of the world even wakes up. Or think about the one thing you love to do but don’t get to do often because of your busy schedule. The early morning is the best time to do it. Maybe you love reading or journaling. Maybe you like making yourself a nice healthy breakfast but always end up grabbing a granola bar because you don’t have time. For some people just the thought of a cup of coffee would get them out of bed. Whatever it is, find it, write it down, and incorporate it in your morning routine!
3. Build a morning routine
Having a good morning routine can make all the difference. Now that you’ve found what might excite you in the morning, it’s time to start implementing them in your morning routine. Your morning routine should help you start your day right without taking a huge chunk of your time. Whether you look forward to a hot cup of coffee, a nice breakfast, or maybe reading a book in the morning, you should implement it into your morning routine. When you do that, your morning routine can become what you look forward to in the morning, making it easier to wake up. Write it down on a piece of paper to visualize it better.
4. Build a nighttime routine
This one is equally as important as a morning routine. Having a routine before going to bed can help you wind down and release the day’s energy for better sleep. It also mentally prepares you for the next day. Also, keep it simple. Don’t add too many steps to a night routine that you’d feel too busy to actually do it. I personally like to put my phone away and have a 10 min stretch to relax. I also like to write down the next day’s to do list before going to bed. The rest of my routine is just doing my skincare and taking my vitamins then heading to bed.
As a college student, having a routine that works for me is very helpful because it’s the only part of the day that I don’t have to think or stress about since it’s the only thing I’m sure of how to do and how it will turn out. It keeps my anxiety at bay and allows me to focus on what’s important.
5. Go to bed early
You should consider sleeping early so you can actually wake up early. You can’t sleep at 12 or 1 AM in the morning and expect to wake up at 6. Our bodies need at least 7-8 hours of sleep every day. If you don’t get enough sleep you’ll just wake up really grumpy and tired the next day, and you won’t be able to concentrate.
6. Gradually adjust your wake up time until you reach your goal
You should not push yourself when you first get started. If you’re used to waking up at 8:00 or 8:30, waking up at 6 can be a very challenging task, and it will only lead you to think it’s too hard and give up from the very first day. Take your time and gradually adjust your sleep schedule until you’re satisfied with the time you’re waking up at.
7. Keep your alarm away from your bed
This is helpful if you’re someone like me and click the snooze button like 5 times before you can actually get out of bed. If that’s anything like you, then try to keep you phone or alarm clock away from you when you sleep so that you have to get out of bed to close it.
8. Leave part of the blinds open to let the sunlight in
If you live somewhere where the sun doesn’t rise really late during winter then you’re lucky! You should use it to make it easier to wake up in the morning. The exposure to sunlight first thing in the morning helps you be more awake and alert.
9. Don’t procrastinate when you do actually wake up early
I’ve personally done that a lot. I’d finally be able to wake up early without feeling too tired, but I would spend the whole morning not doing anything productive when the whole point of waking up early was to get things done. This led me to go back to square one because my mind started finding it useless to wake up early and not sleep in.
This is also tied to building a good morning routine. How? Good question. A morning routine is meant to help you start your day and be productive. When the morning routine begins to drag too long and doesn’t add value to your day, that’s when you start to procrastinate. That’s why building a good morning routine is very important.
10. Reward yourself
Associating a positive feeling to something you don’t like doing will make you look forward to it more often. This is why rewarding yourself for waking up early can be very effective. It could be as small as buying yourself a cup of coffee in the morning or treating yourself to a chocolate.
Figuring out a way to becoming a morning person can be hard, but once you find what works for you, it can be very rewarding.
I hope these tips have helped and let me know if you’ve tried any of them!
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