While growing up, we all experienced different schooling, but one experience that we all went through was waking up early to get to school. For me, I used to wake up at 5am every day for school because of the bus. I didn’t love it, but it was necessary to get ready and awake for the day ahead of me. Whether is 5am or 9am, waking up early everyday really drags and many of us may not be able to do this even now. But with growing older comes less needed hours of sleep. For some, all they need are a solid 5 hours and they are completely fine for the next day. Getting sleep is essential, but not something that we should be stressing on as adults. In college, we get to have more choice on when we wake up in the mornings based on our schedules. Maybe 8ams are not your thing, then there are late morning or afternoon classes. Basically, we get to decide for ourselves now in college, rather than when we were younger. Whether you are a night owl or early riser, it doesn’t matter when you’re on your own. But there still stands the debate, which is better?
Night owls are normally those who you would consider, the wilder of the two. As a night person myself, we often get the most stuff done at night, while relaxing during the day. Potentially getting work done in the afternoon as well. We think the best at night, so late night studying might be the best option. We also are able to stay up the latest for sleepovers and potentially the ones more down to party.
Early risers are those who wake up and are ready to seize the day. Compared to a night person, they could wake up and get things done at the beginning of the day, while leaving free time for later. For night people, this can be the opposite in most cases. Early risers are proven to be more motivated and get more accomplished, while night owls often procrastinate, leading to doing fun things during the night rather than homework or chores.
Now when discussing the two, many often reflect on where they fit in, and whether it’s one or the other, we have to ask ourselves if we are happy with the one we are in. For some, they cannot change the person they are, but others are able to see that with change, you can switch between the two if needed. This semester, I took charge and tried to change from night person to morning. Due to my roommate change, I felt as though I needed to start sleeping a regular schedule and be “normal” to reflect my schedule I have currently. With 9ams, it’s been easy to consistently wake up at a reasonable time in the morning. With time, I’ve gotten used to waking up early and have been using it to my full advantage. Getting homework and classes done early has benefitted me more than I thought it would. Getting work done in the morning, rather than procrastinating throughout the day, has helped me to stay on track with my busy schedule. With first-hand experience, I think that changing your schedule and effectiveness is really not too difficult.
Have you ever procrastinated an assignment so long to the point where it’s due tomorrow and you just realized it after having weeks to work on it and now you’re stuck between hanging out with friends or getting this assignment done? If you became a morning person, this could be easily solved by getting work done in the mornings or early afternoons, rather than laying around during the beginning of the day. This helps keep you on track and frees up your nights to do whatever you want to do. Another plus is how beautiful and refreshing it is in the mornings. Walks to classes in the mornings are always the best!
Whether you’re a morning or night person, either will get the job done and can benefit you significantly based on your schedule, but without figuring this out for oneself, they cannot be effective. Finding what works best for you is what matters, but figuring out what will benefit you in the long run can also be worth it in the end.