A powerful morning routine is a bedrock for success as a college student.
It is especially important right now when our lives lack any routine by default.
Here are 10 steps to the perfect college morning routine in quarantine:
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
1. Plan your day the night before
Technically, this isn’t part of your morning routine.
But it is a crucial step towards a powerful morning routine.
Having a plan for your day will make it so much easier to tackle the day.
You will wake up with purpose and direction if you have a plan for your day.
2. Use the Sleep Cycle app
This app changed my life.
Sleep Cycle is an app I’ve been using since Freshman year.
The free version monitors your sleep and wakes you up during your lightest sleep (within a 10-30 minute window set by you).
So you wake up easy and feeling refreshed.
3. Snooze-proof your morning
Snoozing is a habit.
And we can break bad habits.
You just need to re-design your environment to make it harder to hit snooze.
In his #1 New York Times bestselling book “Atomic Habits“, author James Clear repeatedly highlights the four rules of behavior change.
To kick a bad habit, you need to make it difficult to perform the habit.
So go ahead and buy an alarm clock. And place it on the other side of the room.
4. Start with gratitude and prayer
When you wake up in the morning, your brain is in Theta state.
This is where your creative mind flourishes and you can re-program some of your thinking and behavior.
If you’re used to negative thinking, this is the best time to change that.
If you program your brain into thinking good thoughts and practicing gratitude at this time, you will see your day transform.
Do this before you reach for your phone (or better yet, don’t reach for it at all).
5. Read
Make it a habit to learn from people you look up to. Just 10 minutes of reading can build up and transform your life.
Here’s a reading tip from Hal Elrod’s bestselling book, “The Miracle Morning“:
Begin with the end in mind.
Ask yourself: “What do I want to gain from this book?”.
Related: 7 ways to prepare for an epic semester
6. Journal
Some days I wake up feeling the weight of the earth on my shoulders.
Then I grab my journal and write.
I write away my worries, ideas, breakthroughs, plans, goals, and solutions.
You’d be surprised at how much wisdom you carry inside yourself– you just need to tap into it.
Writing allows you to do that and find areas of growth and opportunity.
A journaling tip:
Buy a journal you love to look at. This will make you want to write.
Some of my favorite journal options from Amazon (under $10):
7. Keep your phone off
I know this is hard.
But keep your phone (or at least your social media) inactive until you’ve taken care of your basic needs in the morning.
Give yourself the time and space to think, feel, and listen to your thoughts.
Related: 16 restorative ways to practice self-care
8. Stretch
Just a few minutes of exercise in the morning can improve confidence and emotional wellbeing, boost your mood, and enhance your focus.
Try adding a 10-minute stretch to your morning routine and see your energy shoot up!
9. Get ready for the day
This does wonders for your confidence and allows you to get into “work mode”.
Struggling to get out of bed and get things done in quarantine?
Try changing out of your PJs and into something that makes you feel good.
10. Don’t skip breakfast
If I could, I would drink coffee in my sleep in college.
But a good, nutritious breakfast paired with a warm beverage goes a long way for a college student.
Wake up a little earlier (you don’t have to be a sleep-deprived college student) and enjoy your morning routine.
Did you know?
Panera introduced a coffee subscription a few months ago for only $8.99 a month.
This saved my life before quarantine started.
And right now, they’re offering it for free.
If you need a pick-me-up, you know where to go.
To summarize:
- Always have a plan for your day.
- Use the Sleep Cycle app to track your sleep and wake up easily.
- Snooze-proof your morning. Place your alarm on the other side of the room
- Start your day with silence, gratitude, or prayer.
- Make a habit of reading. Remind yourself what you have to gain from it.
- Journal your thoughts to identify areas of growth and opportunity.
- Keep your phone off until you’ve had some “me-time”.
- Stretch or do some light exercise. Motion creates energy.
- Get ready. Dress up for a confidence boost.
- Have a delicious breakfast paired with your favorite warm drink.
You deserve it.
Is there a particular part of your morning routine in college that makes you excited to get up?
For me, it’s obviously coffee.
What do you look forward to every morning? I’d love to hear in the comments below!
Alisha Patterson says
Love this
Anika says
I’m so glad! Thanks for reading, Alisha x
So excited to have run across your blog ❤️
That warms my heart, thank you for reading Kylie ❤️
Good update and thank for showing us this fantastic topic
Absolutely, it’s my pleasure! Thank you for reading ♡