8 College Morning Routine Habits To Change Your Life

A great college morning routine can help you start your day right and be more productive. Read about some morning habits that will change your life!

Having a morning routine in college has significantly improved my productivity, self-confidence, and motivation.

College was the time where I learned all of the productivity hacks and lessons that will help me in the future.

Developing good morning habits as a college student will make your life way easier.

8 Habits To Add To Your College Morning Routine

Table of Contents

1. Actually waking up with enough time to get ready.

One of the first steps to starting a morning routine and habit is to wake up on time to give yourself time to do get ready. I personally set my alarm before I really need to get up.

I give myself 30 minutes to get out of my bed and start my morning. This helps me because I just need to lay in bed for at least 20 minutes before doing anything. I also have several alarms in my room such as my old phone.

This is the biggest game-changer of my college morning routine because before I had a structured morning routine, I’d wake up with 20 minutes to get ready and get to class.

I now give myself 2 hours to get ready before my first class. Giving myself time to get ready and do little activities such as journaling and exercising helped me function and feel refreshed. This habit is one of the ones that should be in every morning routine for college students due to how easier it is to do.

2. Do not get on your phone for at least an hour.

Get off your phone for the first hour of your day and make that time about you and your self care. Instead of checking up on the latest trend on Twitter or scrolling through TikTok, put your phone down. Face down. Make yourself a cup of coffee or tea.

Take a shower, but DO NOT SCROLL. Instead of making the digital world the first thing you worry about in the morning, take care of yourself.

Twitter ain’t going anywhere.

This habit honestly was hard for me to get on into my daily routine, especially my morning routine. I used to be able to not get on my phone or laptop until I was out of the door. I’d block every social media app that wasn’t my clock, humidity app, or to-do list. I use ScreenTime to set what time I want the app to be blocked off.

I also placed my phone far away from my bed. I had my Youtube morning playlist set the night before AND had Do Not Disturb on until my desired time to help me not get on my phone.

If you are still having trouble, I recommend apps, such as Forest, where you grow trees (in the game and in real life) as long as you stay off your phone. Use my referral code below to get 500 coins to start!

3. Drink water for energy.

Drinking water is a healthy morning habit perfect for students. Water is so important for our bodies. I have a huge Starbucks cup on my nightstand. You have no idea how much water can make you feel better. Hydrate yourself in the morning before your start your day. Better yet, get yourself a water bottle to remind yourself to drink water throughout the morning like how I did! Also, to make water more accessible and easier for you, invest in a water filter. All you need is a source of water and the water filter will do the rest.

I personally love this filter from Amazon that my roommate bought a few years ago. I still have it today and only needs to be changed every few months. It’s an inexpensive way to keep up with my daily drinking water habit.

4. Exercise. Do Yoga. Move your body.

Another morning habit for you to adapt to your morning schedule as a college student is exercising. I know some students wake up super early just to work out. I personally just do 30 minutes at max. It’s easier for me to wake up and do 10-15 minutes of yoga, 1-3 workout videos in the morning than force myself in the afternoon or evening after classes. You should work out in the morning to wake up your body.

To make this morning habit easier for you to adapt, try placing a yoga mat like this one near your bed or somewhere in your eye’s view. It will serve as a reminder that you need to work out or do a few stretches!

5. Open your curtains.

The sun is the most natural alarm clock out there. Sure, it’s nice to have black out curtains for naps but open once you wake up. That is one of the first things I did everything I did in the morning. The sun would awaken me.

I recommend once you wake up to open your curtains. It also tells your brain that is morning and you should be up and being active.

6. Take a cold shower.

Many productive YouTubers and people take cold showers. Cold showers and I do not mix, but there were times when my apartment’s water was cold…and I can confirm that a cold shower will definitely wake you up. They can also improve your mood and increase your alertness, according to Medical News Today.

7. Make your bed.

I heard that making your bed in the morning makes you feel better because even if you don’t get anything done throughout the day at least you can say that you made your bed. Making your bed is one of the simplest morning habits to adapt because it’s cheap and takes barely 3 minutes.

If you are anything like me, I simply pull my comforter over and adjust my pillows to make my room look aesthetic. It also takes a little stress away from me knowing that my bed is made.

8. Write a to-do list for the day.

My final morning habit that will boost your productivity and might even change your life is writing a to-do list. I write a to-do list every day and that has helped so much with completing tasks and my assignments. I use a to-do list notebook like this one or some sticky notes and write 2-4 tasks that need to be done today. Recently, I started adding “Might To-Do List” to my lists due to overwhelming myself at times.

I recommend planning out to complete at least 2 tasks on your list. Don’t put pressure on yourself to complete everything because some days it’s harder to finish everything. Just taking the energy to try is enough sometimes.