It's officially that time of the semester where going to class is being a grind and mornings are getting darker and colder and sometimes all you want to do is just lay in bed for a few extra minutes, but you know that you don't have the time to. You need to get motivated. At the beginning of this semester, I actually managed to wake up early every morning and be productive (for the first 8 weeks.) Now I've been waking up later and later every week. Unfortunately, once we're in this rut, it's hard to pull ourselves back out. How can we get our motivation back?
Wake up at a reasonable time
For me a "reasonable time" to wake up is to be out of bed by 7 a.m.; any longer than that and I feel like I've wasted hours of my day. But this different for other people because we all have different schedules and probably a long list of to-dos. If you stay up super late at night doing homework, try to do your homework earlier or plan out your assignments ahead of time so then you can actually sleep at 2 a.m.
Make your bed in the morning
I don't know what it is about making your bed in the morning, but I swear that it sets you up for the rest of your day. Like you accomplished one small task and then you can go through your day accomplishing other tasks and when you come home later your room looks clean. If I didn't make my bed in the mornings I would be more tempted to lay down as soon as I get home from classes and then I would be super unproductive, and I don't have time for that.
Have your favorite coffee
I don't know about you, but nothing gets me out of bed in the mornings like thinking about what kind of coffee I'm going to have. Like, am I going to have hot or iced coffee? What cute cup do I want to use this morning? I love making my iced caramel macchiato coffee in the morning before I leave for class. Plus, if you get into the habit of treating yourself with coffee in the morning when it's time to be productive, chances are it'll be something you'll look forward to a little more. And if you're not a coffee drinker, try using tea or hot chocolate.
Listen to music
Sometimes when it's super hard for me to get out of bed I grab my earbuds on my nightstand and listen to music for like 10 minutes to get motivated and get up. I choose all of those upbeat songs that I love to sing to and that I have every word memorized by heart. Listening to music in the mornings will wake you up and motivate you to conquer the rest of your day.
Write out your to-do list for the day (big or small tasks)
This helps me know what all I need to do throughout the day and I love checking or crossing things off of my list. In the mornings before I go to classes I check my laptop for new or upcoming assignments, check my grades, check my emails, etc. Something that is super motivating for me is seeing how much I want to accomplish in a day and then see a list of things crossed out and completed.
Hopefully, with one or more of these tips, your mornings will be less of a drag and you'll end up being more productive!