By Beatrice Li
Entering college, you might think that you are able to wake up early because high school started at 7:30 a.m. every day. Somehow, you made it on time — or mostly on time — for those four years. However, college is different. Mom and Dad are no longer able to wake you up each morning when you over-snooze your alarms and you are now more exhausted with how difficult college is, whether it is a result of school work, jobs, social activities or other involvements. Regardless, your education is valuable and you should know how to work around that and get a good start to your morning. Follow these tips to enjoy your mornings a bit more.
1. Pick out your outfit the night before.
Of course. Obviously, you don’t need to get all dressed up for class. After all, it’s college. We’re all in the same boat: Tired, moody, hungry, stressed out, gaining weight, losing money or all of the above. But it doesn’t hurt to have your go-to sweatshirt and leggings waiting for you!
2. Meal prep your breakfast.
shameless plug: @ beat_riice on Instagram and #beatricesdormsnacks for an archive of all yummy treats I’ve made in a tiny dorm!!)
Two words: Time efficiency. Two more words: Budget friendly. Need I say more?
Let Mason jars and Tupperware become your best friends in helping you prep for your breakfast. You will be much more alert and ready for your education if you start your day with a healthy breakfast. Prep your morning fuel the night before — chia seed pudding, yogurt, fruit or the like — don’t skip out!
I make one large batch of chia seed pudding (four tablespoons of chia seeds to four cups of almond milk — or ANY milk), then top with honey, cinnamon and various toppings. Each night, I just scoop one serving into a container and grab that to go for my morning!
3. Get your sneakers ready.
They’re so much more practical than flip flops, though flip flops are tempting when you’re short on time. Especially if you go to school somewhere warm, flip flops are always in. However, flip flops will indeed slow you down on your morning stroll. Plus, do you really want to ruin your $50 leather Rainbows AND miss 10 minutes of your hour-long class? Go with real shoes. Your morning excuse might be that it’ll take too long to find socks. Pro tip: Stuff some clean socks in your shoes so that you can still save time with your shoes!
4. Get your vitamins ready.
Take supplements in the morning? Have them ready on your desk the night before. In the morning, just take your water bottle and knock out those vitamins.
5. Pack your backpack the night before.
Your mom has told you this many, many times. You did this in elementary school, then stopped in middle school. Little did you know, you should do this in college too. You’re much less forgetful when you’re not in a rush, so pack all of your items the night before. In a morning panic, you’re likely to forget your calculator, pen or notebook. Do you really want to walk all the way to the class, that you’re paying an arm and leg for, only to find out you don’t have things to take notes with?
6. Set your alarm to the time when you plan to really wake up.
Studies have shown that your body only benefits from that first stretch of sleep. What that means is that if you fall asleep at midnight, set your alarm for eight, wake up and then sleep til nine, that extra hour was basically useless because it was interrupted. It’s tempting to set your alarm earlier, but do yourself and your body a favor by breaking this habit.
As you evolve throughout college, your morning routine might take even less time. Maybe you were used to putting on a full face of makeup or do your hair perfectly in high school. While it’s great to express yourself and do what makes you comfortable, college is a more serious time and if you don’t have time for it, don’t sweat it. Speaking of sweat, find a pair of super comfy sweats that you can wear for a few days in a row. It’s college. The standard outfit is now sweatpants/yoga pants with your college sweatshirt on top.
These tips should help you get to class on time — they sure did for me. When I have no classes, I take an hour to get ready. When it’s a school day though, my routine is cut down to less than eight minutes.