To most college students, waking up early seems like a catastrophe. I’ve had my fair share of doing everything in my power to dodge 8 am classes during registration and being late to early morning shifts because I slept in. But if you’re having trouble managing your time during the day, taking advantage of the time before your day starts may be beneficial to you.
During my freshman year, I had trouble finding time in the day to do everything I needed to. Balancing school, work, and dance, I only had so many free hours in the day to get my work done. At the time my classes started around 11 or 12, and afterward, I always had work or dance practice. By the end of the day, I was exhausted, but still had loads of schoolwork to do before I could go to bed. This cycle quickly wore me out, and soon I had to start thinking of other ways to make my days productive. At first, I tried staying up late at night and sleeping later in the day. I found this only made me less productive since forcing myself to stay up late usually resulted in me falling asleep at my desk. I tried to find time in the middle of the day between classes and shifts, but it was never enough. I’d always have enough time to start assignments but never finish them. The only time left was the morning, and since my classes started around noon, in theory, I could wake up an hour or two earlier. The last thing I wanted to do was to force myself up to work, but I thought I would at least give it a try and see if I could fit in some work before my busy days even started.
At first, it was difficult. Some days I would shut the early alarms off and roll over for more sleep, others I would drag myself out of bed as much as I could, but give up once I made it to my desk. Through a combination of setting 2 to 3 alarms each day and getting to bed earlier at night, I was slowly able to start waking up on time. After getting over the initial hump of waking up early, I started getting into the groove of working in the morning. I found that I was more productive at the start of the day, and had an easier time staying focused on the task at hand. It also made me feel more accomplished when I woke up and worked in the morning. Before noon, I had already checked a few things off my to-do list which gave me confidence. Another perk of getting an early start is that I’d come home with little or no work to do in the evening, and I’d be able to relax and go to sleep instead of pushing myself to keep working in exhaustion.
When you’re struggling with productivity, the most important thing to do is to put yourself first. Think about the times of day when you feel most energized and productive, but also think about times you had never considered before. Getting up early seemed impossible to me at first, but once I started doing it it completely changed how I structured my day and got my work done. Think about times of the day you’ve ignored in the past and ask yourself how you can utilize them for a brighter day!
By Sidnie Paisley Thomas
Sidnie is a Sophomore at Emerson College in Boston studying creative writing and post-colonial literature. In her free time, you can find her hitting up her local thrift store, playing her favorite records, or reading a new book.
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