Coming off reading week and a string of recent essay submissions, my sleep schedule has been thoroughly messed up. I’ve been staying up late, sleeping in, and then getting absolutely nothing done because I’m too busy wallowing in the fact that half my day is already gone. Something needed to change. And fast.
I’ve always looked at those girls who have their lives together: the ones who finish their readings days in advance, meal prep healthy dishes, manage to fit in a workout everyday, and are up and doing things before I’ve even managed to open my eyes. I’ve always told myself, “I’m just not that girl.”
But I realized something. Maybe I could be that girl. Maybe all it took was making up my mind, setting the alarm, and actually getting out of bed when it went off. I wanted to know what it felt like to have my life together, even if just for a little while. So, for one school week, I decided to wake up at five in the morning and see if I could change my life. Here’s what I learned.
Day One
The first morning wasn’t too difficult. I must have been running on adrenaline or something because I actually felt pretty awake when my alarm went off, despite having gone to bed at 11:30pm the night before. I quickly realized, though, that I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to do with all my newfound free time. I wasn’t exactly jumping out of bed and rushing to catch the bus to class. Instead, I found myself wondering what I was supposed to do with all these extra hours. With no real plan in mind, I ended up wasting half an hour lying in bed, procrastinating simply because I wasn’t quite sure where to start.
When I finally got up, I made my bed to ensure I couldn’t crawl back into it and washed up to wake myself up a little. I changed into workout clothes and went to the kitchen to make some breakfast.
While I was in the kitchen, I realized I finally had the time to clean up a little (much to my flatmates’ delight). Usually, I’m in such a rush in the mornings, and the kitchen is such a mess that I end up adding my dishes to the seemingly endless pile by the sink. But today, I unloaded the dishwasher, washed the remaining dishes from last night, and tidied our living room space.
Back in my room, I put on a show I’ve been loving lately to romanticize fall: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I ate my breakfast and realized I actually had the time to pull out my Five Minute Journal that had been collecting dust in the corner of my room. I couldn’t tell if I was enjoying my slow morning or simply putting off working out. I did a quick workout (I’m no fitness girl), finished getting ready for the day, and tidied my space.
And then came my first mistake.
I’d been wanting to make reading more of a habit, and what better way to do that than in my new and improved morning routine? My mistake, however, was deciding to get back in bed to do it.
Now in my defence, it was freezing in my room. No matter how many cozy socks or sweaters I put on, I could not get warm, and I figured that after being up for a couple of hours, I was awake enough to sit in bed.
That was not, in fact, the case.
One minute I was reading my book at 8:30am, and the next, I was waking up to see 9:40am on my phone.
So, a bit of a setback, but a learning opportunity nonetheless. If I was going to make this 5am morning routine work, I needed to figure out a better routine for my morning activities, and most importantly, stay out of bed once I was up!
Day Two
The next day I had a bit more trouble waking up, and didn’t manage to get out of bed until 5:45am. I then went through the routine I was beginning to develop: wash up, make my bed, eat breakfast, do a short workout, get ready for the day, clean my room, read, and any extra tasks before starting on my school work.
Later that day, however, I found myself struggling to stay awake during my lecture. I was exhausted and could barely keep my eyes open. I quickly realized that, if I wanted my 5am morning wake-up to be sustainable, I needed to develop a better night routine, too.
One thing I was beginning to enjoy was getting my work done in the morning. By the time I returned to my flat at the end of the day, I could simply relax and start winding down for bed. I had been wanting to set a cut-off time for work for a while, but I could never seem to finish everything in time and always ended up working much later than I intended. This new routine was helping me get things done earlier, when I felt more focused and motivated, rather than trying to work after a long day.
However, one of my biggest challenges was getting enough sleep. Despite aiming to go to bed around 10pm, I wasn’t actually managing to do so until 10:30 or later. And as someone who seriously needs her eight hours to function, I knew something had to change.
But a 9pm bedtime is easier said than done. Each evening, when my flatmates were lingering in the kitchen chatting after dinner, I found myself having to say goodnight and head back to my room to stay on schedule. I was also missing out on keeping in touch with people back in America. Since my boyfriend and I are long-distance, we usually call around 10pm my time, once he has finished his classes. I was now having to cut our calls short or skip them altogether in favor of an early bedtime, which didn’t feel sustainable in the long run. Still, I decided to prioritise getting enough rest, got into bed by 9pm, and managed to fall asleep shortly afterwards.
Day Three
By the third day I had discovered my next challenge: getting myself out of the flat. I was enjoying my slow morning routine so much that I had started moving too slowly, often putting off the moment when I actually had to sit down and get my work done. I realized I needed a change of environment, as well as more of a structured routine that would help me get through my mornings in a timely and organized way.
The only problem was that not much opens particularly early in St. Andrews. My options were to wait for the main library to open at 8am or head to a cafe later in the morning.
Now, I thrive on a timestamped routine, so I decided to create a more structured schedule for the following day:
5:00am – Wake up and wash up
5:15am – Make bed and tidy room
5:20am – Change into workout clothes
5:25am – Make breakfast and clean kitchen
5:40am – Eat breakfast
6:10am – Short workout
6:30am – Get ready for the day
7:00am – Journal and read
7:45am – Complete any extra tasks
8:30am – Leave flat and head into town to study
I was beginning to fall in love with this slow morning routine. I didn’t feel pressured to rush because it was so early that hardly anyone else was awake or working yet. I also didn’t feel as though the day was already getting away from me.
More than anything, I found myself actually looking forward to getting out of bed. Instead of immediately having to get ready and rush to class, or sit down to finish a reading I hadn’t managed to complete the night before, I had a whole chunk of time dedicated to myself. I could focus on the little things that made me feel happy and ready to take on the day.
Day Four
Day four went by much like the others. Although I was still feeling tired, I was also gaining confidence in myself and my ability to keep promises to myself. I was doing something difficult: getting up and being productive while the rest of campus was still asleep, and becoming someone who actually went to bed by 9pm. I could feel my sleep schedule beginning to shift in the way I had hoped.
One of my favorite parts about my new morning routine, though, was having time to tick off all those little ‘extra tasks’ on my to-do list. This was an absolute lifesaver.
Throughout the week, I finally had the time to get around to all these additional things I had been putting off for weeks. They weren’t as urgent as my academic tasks, but they were still things I needed to do eventually, but never felt like I had time for.
In just this one week, I had used this time to figure out my halloween costume, order posters for my bedroom, filled out my FAFSA form, applied for a volunteer position, and researched the itinerary for an upcoming trip. All those little tasks that I had been carrying over in my planner week after week were finally getting checked off!
It was such a satisfying feeling to make progress on the things that had been lingering in the back of my mind. And I was starting to realize that the biggest benefit of waking up early wasn’t necessarily having more hours in the day. It was having the time and space to use those hours intentionally.
Day Five
At last, I had reached the final day of my little life experiment. And, honestly, this was a difficult one. My last day fell on a Saturday, and the morning of Halloween, no less! By the time the Halloween celebrations rolled around that evening, I was completely exhausted, and ended up leaving the festivities early in favor of getting some sleep.
This experiment taught me so much, but perhaps the biggest lesson was that sometimes, life just gets in the way! You can have the most structured routine and all the discipline in the world, but you shouldn’t let that stop you from living your life and making memories while you’re at uni. After all, what’s the point of having a perfectly productive routine if you miss out on everything happening around you?
So, what were my biggest takeaways?
- Waking up early made my mornings more enjoyable. It gave me time to myself before the rest of the world woke up.
- I work better in the mornings. I much preferred getting my work done early so that I can enjoy slower, cozier evenings.
- I can make time for the things I want to do. Having a more intentional routine helped me fit in both my responsibilities and the little tasks I’d been putting off.
- 5am wake-ups aren’t always ideal for university life. Between socializing, evening commitments, and spending time with friends, an early bedtime can be difficult to maintain.
Would I continue waking up at 5am everyday?
No. Well…not quite!
I’ve taken so much away from having an early morning routine and getting things done earlier in the day. I’ve fallen in love with having a slow, cozy evening routine, and I really enjoyed having a set time when I can stop working and switch off for the day.
However, waking up at 5am and sleeping at 9pm can be a little too extreme when you factor in all the other commitments that come with university life. If I didn’t get home from a meeting until 7:30 or 8pm, that left me with barely an hour before bedtime. I was having to cut short hangouts and chats with friends just to stick to my schedule, which wasn’t something I wanted to keep doing.
Instead, I think I’d much prefer a routine that looked more like a 10:30pm bedtime and a 6:30am wake-up. It would still give me that peaceful morning time I had grown to love, while leaving a little more flexibility for everything else within my day.
Regardless, I got exactly what I wanted out of this experiment. I fixed my sleep schedule, proved to myself that I was capable of building a routine and sticking to it, and discovered a way of organizing my days that genuinely works for me.
I don’t think I’ll be joining the 5am club again anytime soon, but you’ll definitely catch me enjoying my 6:30am mornings and (hopefully!) having shorter to-do lists!