My pre-college self would never be characterized as a morning person. In fact my mother once told me that I was “the worst version of myself” before 8 a.m. When she checked in to see if I had woken up from my alarm, she was usually startled by a flip comment and loud grunt as I hoisted my legs over my bed and zombie-walked my way to the bathroom. Perhaps it was the anticipation of seven hours of class that made my mornings equal to that of “Les Miserables,” but I now know that I simply did not appreciate the time I had in the wee-mornings. In college, I certainly do. I tried waking up at 8 every morning and was pleasantly surprised. (Mom, are you believing this?!?)
Waking up early allowed me to be fully organized and prepared for my days. Instead of rolling out of bed and sprinting to class, I had time to check my e-mail (and actually click on the Skimm articles), pick out the perfect outfit, and make my bed. Sometimes I even made “To Do” lists of the tasks I wanted to accomplish by the end of the day. I did all of this while sipping on a hot cup of English Breakfast tea. Very civilized.
When I was feeling ambitious, I woke up early and headed over to SPAC for an early morning work out. As a usual late-night SPAC-er, I have never been acquainted with the early morning crowd. It is definitely a different scene. Instead of the usual melange of college students, the machines seemed to be mostly occupied by middle aged men and women who seemed to be cramming in their workouts before heading to the office. It was reassuring to know that I could remain somewhat anonymous while doing my own workout. The best part about working out in the morning was that I started my day feeling energized. Many days of waking up later, I found myself worried how I was gonna fit in my workout (not to mention the time needed to shower and redress). By doing it in the morning, I got my exercise out of the way and I only had to “get ready” once. Talk about time efficient!
I also woke up early on days that I was overwhelmed with work. The night before, I would set aside parts of my homework that I could easily finish in just over an hour. I would stumble out of bed and sit in my dorm lounge, hoping not to disturb my sleeping roommate. What is usually a raucous, social place for studying, the lounge was completely empty and calm. It was so nice to have the whole place to my myself without the constant flow of people walking in and out. There were no incoming distractions on my phone or computer because most of my friends were asleep. Those hours in the morning were some of my most productive. It was also nice going over material the day of my class because I felt more prepared and engaged in both lecture and discussion.
College is a night-owl’s territory, but I encourage everyone to try to use the morning hours for either “me time,” exercise, or productive work time. You will not regret it. If you could do it in high school every day, you can wake up before 8 a.m. a few days a week, right?