Oh mornings, love them or hate them, we still have to live through them. Since mornings come everyday, why not start a few new habits to make you actually look forward to mornings? I know, I know, that may be tough. But hey, a productive morning is the best way to start off a productive day.
A productive morning starts the night before. To make your mornings become more efficient, prep by making your lunch and breakfast and setting out an outfit for the next day.
Depending on when your first class of the day, set your alarm to 90 minutes before you need to be out the door heading to class.
5 minutes: Hydrate.
It’s no secret that water first thing in the morning is refreshing and helps hydrate you after a long night of no fluids. However, a little secret for those who need an extra incentive to get out of bed: drinking water right before you go to sleep will ensure you have a somewhat full bladder in the morning, so it will help keep you hydrated while resting and help you get out of bed.
10 minutes: Read the news.
Instead of reaching for your phone first thing and scrolling through social media, try to get into the habit of reading a news article first thing in the morning. It’s absolutely imperative we keep up to date with current issues. As students, we don’t always have a lot of free time, but by reading a news piece first thing in the morning will allow you to slowly wake up and keep up to date with important issues around the world.
30 minutes: Get ready for the day.
Do what you gotta do – bathroom, outfit, makeup. This tends to be what takes the most amount of time in the mornings. It’s easy to waste time on getting ready, but you can cut down time by showering at night and setting your outfit out the night before.
5 minutes: Make coffee/tea.
Getting caffeinated is an essential part of many students’ morning routine. If you haven’t tried one, I suggest trying out a French Press. It’s an affordable option for brewing both tea and coffee and it produces little waste.
20 minutes: While sipping on coffee or tea and eating breakfast, here are a few tasks to get done…
- Write down the tasks you have to get done by the end of the day in your planner.
- Take your daily vitamin.
- Check and respond to emails.
10 minutes: The first lesson of the day!
I use this time to study Italian on DuoLingo, but you could use this time to fit your own interests like reading another news article or reading the bible.
10 minutes: Meditate.Â
What better way to start off a day of classes than with meditation? After ten minutes of controlling your breath and your mind, you will be able to tackle whatever the school day throws your way.
