Among all of the confusion of my first year I didn't know much about college, but I did know one thing.
Never take a class that starts at 8 a.m. Ever. Never ever.
I managed to make it through three whole years managing my schedule around a late start in the day. One time I even managed to not have class before noon! From everybody's perspective I was doing college right.
Until this semester when there was one unavoidable class at 8 a.m. Ugh.
So I bit the bullet, figuring I might as well go all in, and now I have classes almost every day at 8 a.m. This might be blashphemy, but I actually love it.
This semester is starting to look like my best semester yet, and I think if you gave it a try you'd love it too. Here's how to maneuver the schedule of an early riser.
1. Keep your alarm clock away from your bed
It may be #trendy to sleep with your phone next to you in bed, but it's time to stop it. I know it's hard — my phone was my cuddle buddy for a while too — but if you're going to survive the morning it's time for another plan of attack.
Instead, I charge my phone on the other side of the room from my bed. After 11 p.m., it's on do not disturb so nobody can reach me unless they call me multiple times.
In fact, I don't even use my phone as my alarm clock anymore. I have an old-fashioned digital clock whose ear-piercing buzzing jolts me from my slumber every morning. There's no way I can go back to sleep after hearing that.
2. Start with a routine
Great! You're out of bed. Now you need something to keep you from crawling back under the covers.
Source: http://imgfave-herokuapp-com.global.ssl.fastly.net/image_cache/1370736929168811_animate.gif
It's important to plan this ahead of time and do it every morning so that it becomes automatic, otherwise the call of your comfy blanket will be too enticing to keep you from starting your day.
You don't have to do 100 push ups before you turn the alarm off and then immediately run 10 miles in your PJs or anything, just something that will get you moving. For example, I head straight to the shower after I get out of bed every morning.
The most important thing is to just start your day immediately and don't give your brain time to turn back to the comforts of your bed.
3. Eat breakfast
You know how adults say breakfast is the most important meal of the day? It's because they have to get up super early every morning to go to work. Every. Single. Day. Can you imagine?
Once again, mom was right — eating a healthy breakfast will help you have the energy you need to get through the day. So budget enough time to head to Lenoir and grab an omelette or make yourself some eggs and bacon at your apartment.
Even just having a quick Nature Valley bar on the way out the door will give you a bit of a boost if you're running behind. And don't forget a cup of coffee, the gift from the gods for a morning jump-start.
Source: http://celebconnoissare.com/
4. Do your work in the afternoon
The best part about 8 a.m. classes is that once 9 o'clock rolls around you're already partially through your day when everyone else is still waking up. The best is when you front load all of your classes so that you can be done before lunch.
That's exactly what's happening now, and because of this I'm able to head to the library and get my homework or projects out of the way before dinner so I can do focus on other things.
Heading to lunch having finished all of the work you need to do is a freeing feeling, and heading to dinner finished for the day is even better. Schedule your day so that you can do all of the important tasks while the sun is still up instead of working through the night until the sun rises.
5. Act like an old person sometimes
This semester I've felt like a bit like a grandpa sometimes. If I have to get up for an 8 a.m. the next morning, I'm in bed around 11 p.m.
This is completely okay though, I do it unapologetically. It may mean that I give up binge watching Mad Men for five hours when I get home in the evening, but the increased productivity I've felt is definitely worth it.
So there you go — it turns out that being an early riser isn't that bad. Next time registration rolls around and you have the option of taking a class at 8 a.m., try it. You may find out you're a natural morning person.
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