Shrill. Piercing. Disruptive. Annoying. These are all words one can use to describe their personal morning alarm. How dare this machine get in the way of your peaceful slumber and force you to join the world of working/studying when just seconds before you were in a world of peace. You look out you window and think that it’s too early for even the sun to be awake, but you begrudgingly start your routine. Sounds like hell, doesn’t it? Well, I’m here to argue why waking up before the birds could be your pathway to future success.  

The first point towards waking up early is the peace and quiet that it presents. Waking up before the rest of your family or your roommates gives you the opportunity to destress before the responsibilities of the day get thrust upon you. You could listen to music, make your breakfast or do some exercises without anything getting in the way. This is also a way for people who are more introverted to get their few moments of peace before the hustle and bustle begins. As someone who very much likes their independence and having things done on schedule, being able to go at my own pace with no interruptions is something I greatly appreciated when I began to wake up earlier in the day.  

The reason I personally began to wake up early was so I could get some studying done for exams or work on final projects.  Let me tell you, it was probably one of the best ideas I’ve had in a while. We’ve all stayed up late to cram study or finish up that paper before, and while it may have resulted in fine or even great grades, the stress was enough to topple anyone. Doing this in the morning greatly reduces that stress, and it also gives you that early morning energy boost that after a day of classes and work, could just simply not be there anymore. Not just that, the effective studying is coupled with my previous point - with less things going on, there are less things that can distract you from your work and thus you can focus and produce better results. Not to mention working in the morning also prevents you from feeling fatigued or tired as well, which are common symptoms of working late at night.  

If you are an effective studier or worker, then you most likely have taken full advantage of your extra time spent working in the morning and finished your work for the day. This now leaves your afternoon open to do everything you felt guilty about before, such as watching Netflix, calling your friends for hours, or taking a power nap. Without the looming threat of assignments being due later in the day, your peace of mind can be assured (which might help save you some early graying hairs). Again, even though you have free time, you have to understand moderation for it as well, since you’re going to need to sleep early to wake up early, as there’s no point to waking up early if you’ve only slept four hours. 

The most important benefit about waking up early, if all of the previous factors combine perfectly, is that it teaches you diligence and prepares you for the adult world. Having to go to sleep and wake up early makes it so you’re sort of forced to rely on a schedule in order for your day to function. This schedule may seem tedious at first, but sticking to it will allow you to have control over your life and practice self discipline. Working with this self-imposed schedule has allowed me to fit studies, working out, classes, and work together in a 16-hour window. This has allowed me to keep myself accountable when scheduling myself even after I started waking up later. Waking up early requires effort, and that effort allows you to turn it into diligence which can carry over to other aspects of your life. This functions almost like a transition into a more responsible and well-balanced life, if done properly of course. 

I’m no stranger to the occasional late nights and I do enjoy a good time with friends as much as anyone, but there’s something satisfying about being up before the rest of the city. Getting that extra time could be crucial to someone’s productivity and schedule, so early sleepers aren’t necessarily preparing themselves for early retirement when going to sleep by 9:00pm. In other words, spare a thought for your friend that falls asleep thirty minutes into the function, as they could have finished up two essays and a project before your alarm even rang.