Everyone must deal with the struggle of a sunrise class at some point in their college career. The dreaded eight a.m. is the bane of any student’s routine, often forcing you to drag yourself out of bed long before you’re ready. Fortunately, there are plenty of easy things you can do to better streamline this part of your day and skip the frantic rushing about. These are some effective ways college students can save time in their morning routine and ensure they get the most out of every minute.
Pack Your Backpack Before Bed
One of the best ways to add precious time back into your morning routine is to move parts of it to the night before. By checking what classes you have and packing your bag before bed, you’re already giving yourself 10 extra minutes to perform other tasks when you wake up. Since you’re also more awake at night rather than first thing in the morning, you’re more likely to remember everything you need for tomorrow’s lectures. This way, you won’t need to go into a panic because you forgot your notes or textbook.
Prep Your Breakfast the Night Before
Meal prepping is a great thing to do the night before as well. While many students skip eating breakfast, especially when they’re running late, this can leave you feeling even more tired throughout your class. So take a few minutes to set aside some cereal or prepare overnight oats. All you’ll need to do in the morning is grab it and enjoy it before moving on to the rest of your daily rituals.
Don’t Hit the Snooze Button
When your alarm goes off, another way you can save time in your morning routine as a college student is to fight the urge to hit the snooze button. Snoozing shaves several minutes off of your morning and prolongs your feelings of sleepiness. This is because 10 minutes isn’t enough time to fully fall back asleep. So you’ll feel more tired after trying to snooze than you would if you had gotten out of bed right away.
Make Your Own Coffee
Making your own coffee in your dorm room rather than stopping at a Starbucks can be a great help in the morning, too. After all, having your own Keurig will allow you to brew what you want without needing to wait in line. There are several additional reasons to get a Keurig for your dorm room, such as the different available flavor combinations and the convenience. With this, you’ll never need to rush out the door to get your cup of coffee before class.
Some simple planning and preparation work can do wonders for how you approach your mornings. By adopting some of these changes into your routine, you may even learn that you like waking up early.