How To Survive Your 8 a.m.

It’s Monday morning and your alarm goes off. You wake up, turn it off and accidentally fall back asleep. Wake up again and it is 8:30. Class started at 8 and now you're late. I am sure we have all been in this position before. Morning classes are not the best, but a lot of times they are unavoidable. Whether you are a freshman or a senior about to graduate in May, 8 a.m. classes suck but we all have to go through them. I personally prefer to get up early and get things out of the way but I understand that 99.9% of college students are not like that so here is your survival guide to those bothersome morning classes!

Set multiple alarms

If you’re like me, you will hear the alarm, wake up, turn it off and go right back to sleep. Iit happens to the best of us. To prevent this from happening and avoid another missed class, you should set alarms in increments of 5 minutes. Set it late enough that you can maximize your sleep but set it early enough that you can snooze it a few times. I don't always wake up after the first one so leaving time to sleep in for an extra 10 minutes or so will help in the long run. Another thing you can do is place your alarm across the room. This forces you to get up to turn it off rather than just rolling over to press snooze. Physically getting out of bed will help wake you up and decrease the chances of you going back to sleep and missing your class (again).

Prepare the night before 

Those 5 minutes you spend picking out something to wear in the morning and the 5 minutes you spend packing your bag amounts to 10 minutes of missed sleep. Pick your outfit out the night before so that in the morning you can just put it on and go. It doesn’t have to be fancy, it just has to be something. A t-shirt and leggings is the uniform in college so don’t worry about trying to be cute (at least not all of the time). Packing your bag at night is also a great way to avoid forgetting something. Take your time and gather everything you will need for the day the night before so in the morning you won’t have to think twice about what you have or don’t have because you’re in a rush.

Go to bed early

After you have laid out everything you will need for the next day, it is time for lights out. I promise you Netflix will be there tomorrow, and the day after so it can wait. It is important that you get a good night’s rest so that you can be attentive and engaged in your classes the next day. You should aim to get anywhere between 7-8 hours of sleep but realistically we know that will not happen. I cannot sit here and tell you to do that when I am typing this post at 2 a.m. on a Sunday when I have class in 6 hours. Although you may not be able to hit 7 hours every night, you should strive to do so at least 3 times a week to make sure you’re on top of your game!

Eat breakfast

I’m sure this is something that we are asked about by our parents every time we talk to them. You wouldn’t believe how many times I have heard “Are you eating well?” from my mom. The answer is no but I am working on it. It is very important that you eat breakfast to start your day off right, especially if you are running off of 4 hours of sleep. Now I am not saying you have to go to the dining hall and eat a full meal (because we are all about sleeping in), but you should try your best to eat something. Something quick and as small as a granola bar in your stomach will give you the energy you need to at least start your day and you can worry about eating a parent-pleasing meal later. 

Listen to some fast-paced music

Turning on some upbeat music will help you wake up and get ready to go. I like to listen to loud, fast music (in my headphones of course because roommates exist) while I do my morning routine. Slow music will make you feel relaxed and might even motivate you to get back in bed which is not what we need. I find that listening to music also helps to keep me on task and on time. I usually wake up about 30 minutes before class thanks to my night time preparation and I go through the same routine every morning. I know that I can brush my teeth and wash my face during one song, do my skin care routine in one and hair in another and it helps me gauge how much time is passing by. Music can affect our mood so turn on some tunes that will help you start your day off right and set the tone for another productive day. 

Early morning classes are not something we look forward to but if you try even a few of these tips, I can guarantee they won’t seem so bad anymore. Be sure to comment with any other tips you may have on how we can get through those 8 a.m. classes and be sure to mention what early morning classes you’re taking this semester too!

-xoxo LD