There aren’t many things that I’ve improved since the pandemic started. I still don’t know how to do winged eyeliner, I failed all home workouts I attempted (I’m begging UCSC to open their school gym
I made a solid morning routine.
As a college student, I will wholeheartedly claim that with each quarter/semester, my morning routine changes. I have a 9:20 AM every M/W/F this quarter? Alright, looks like I’m getting up at 8. I don’t have class until 5:00 PM on T/Th? Lovely, looks like I can sleep in until 11. With each passing quarter, my morning routine has changed according to my classes. But as a result of the pandemic, most of my classes became asynchronous, and the responsibility to watch my lectures, respond to discussion posts and complete my assignments, fell solely on me. I had to manage my time, all on my own.
In the beginning, it was pretty rough. Despite my attempts to create a morning routine, I’d still wake up around 10 AM, wouldn’t really get started on my assignments until the day they were due, and would spend copious amounts of time on Tik Tok. I spent my entire spring quarter of 2020 attempting to perfect my morning routine, and it wouldn’t be until my fall quarter that it finally clicked.
During my fall quarter, I was at home with my family. My father and brother often worked at home, and so we all claimed our workspaces, as well as a routine that worked for the best of us. For me, my alarm would go off at 7:15 AM, though admittedly, I wouldn’t get out of bed until 7:45 AM. I’d make my bed, wash my face and brush my teeth, do my makeup if I desired, and get dressed. By 8 AM, I was always making my first cup of tea and writing down in my bullet journal the tasks I needed to complete for the day. In implementing this short and rather basic morning routine, my days became exponentially more productive, and more often than not, I’d complete all my schoolwork before 1 PM, and I could spend the rest of the day doing whatever I wanted.
It is now spring quarter, and while my morning routine has slightly shifted now that I live on campus, the basic principles still exist: wake up before 8 AM, make my bed, get ready for the day, make a cup of tea, and write in my bullet journal. Regardless of what I have going on that day, I take these steps every single morning, and I’m better for it.
Not only am I vastly more productive than I had been before, but I feel better, physically and mentally. When I look at my perfectly made up bed, or the readings I did before 9 AM, I feel accomplished, ready to take on more responsibilities. In completing all my tasks before 1 PM, I have more time to work on things that I hadn’t done before, like read for pleasure or take a walk around campus.
In addition to that, forcing myself to get dressed every morning, has resulted in my trying new styles that I wouldn’t have previously. Since I’m usually the only person to see myself all day, I feel less pressure to make sure every outfit is perfect, and it feels more fun that way. Since I try to get dressed every day, it’s also become easier for me to create a cute outfit, where before, I’d have to try on ten outfit combinations before I was satisfied.
Setting this morning routine with these rudimentary tasks has vastly improved my lifestyle, and I recommend it to everyone. Having a set routine will create discipline and consistency in your life. It doesn’t need to have as many steps as I do, heck, you don’t even have to wake up in the morning for it to work for you. All you really need is to have the same routine every day, and slowly, your life will begin to improve.