Dear Destiny, 

I can’t get up for class for anything. I was fine last semester but I have an 8 a.m. and it sucks getting up. Any advice? -Snoozy Submitter

Dear Snoozy Submitter, 

I hope my professor isn’t reading this, but sometimes I’d rather die than get up for my 8 a.m. I have chapter (a mandatory sorority meeting) on Sunday and it can last 20 minutes to three hours. Getting out of bed is a little bit of a doozy when you can’t plan ahead with ample amounts of sleep. So when Monday morning comes around, I’m a nihilist zombie wondering, “What’s the point of getting up? I’m practically dead!” However, I have the same struggle on Tuesday nights when I get my coveted eight hours of sleep.

The fact of the matter is that most college students aren’t hard-wired to sleep and get up early. Even if you manage to get up early, there’s no saying that you’d be able to function properly during a lecture. In my opinion, 8 a.m. classes are practically a torture tactic. I could type up a book on getting enough sleep, but no well-meaning advice could make getting up early easy. Still, I have a few tips that so far have succeeded in getting me up for my early classes. 

Getting up for an early class starts the night before. It’s important to mention that free time doesn’t equate availability. In other words, just because you can doesn’t mean that you should. For example, I used to grab food with my sisters every day after Sunday chapter. And although some of my best memories were getting Samurai with my friends, it’s not realistic for me to do so anymore. It’s more important to go to bed than it is to eat some (oddly cheap) sushi.

As important as it is to hang out with friends, it’s more important to take a minute to catch a few z’s. Unless I have a major life crisis or some homework immediately due, there’s no reason not to be in bed at a reasonable time. Even if you can’t fall asleep, getting some sort of rest (without a phone or any other distractions!) is better than nothing. 

If you have commitments the night before, you are in for a harder task. It’s the age-old college mystery. How do you get up for class early when you didn’t get enough sleep? I personally set up multiple alarms two hours before class. I prefer to have them set at five-minute intervals so I can annoy myself into getting up early. Granted, I feel bad for my neighbors, but honestly it’s every man for themselves in the morning. 

Another trick that I like to use is allowing myself x amount of minutes to sleep. I know it’s crazy but, I’ll literally think, “Destiny you have two minutes to get up.” And then I’ll literally count to 120 seconds and get out of bed. I have no clue why this works. Maybe it’s the mental preparation to be a productive member of society, or the leniency of having a few more precious moments in bed. Either way, it’s a lot easier than hitting snooze and hoping for the best. 

The bottom line is that it takes a lot of willpower to get up early for class. But honestly, there’s no point in being late for just a few more minutes of sleep. You have to be strong enough to get up because there will be a day when you have to be absent or late to a class. You want to hold onto your permitted absences or lateness because there might be a day when you need it.

So next time you can’t get out of bed just think to yourself, “Is being lazy really worth it?” Good luck, Snoozy Submitter, I believe in you. 

Xoxo, 

Destiny

If you want to submit questions for Destiny to provide advice for, feel free to shoot her a message at this form.

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