1. Get up before 9 a.m. If living in college has taught us one thing, it’s that the human body doesn’t need eight hours of sleep every night in order to function. 9 a.m. is a conceivably early time to get up for most people. No matter the time of year, the sun is definitely up by 9 a.m., and getting up before the sun rises is stupid, if you ask me. Everyone gets the same 24 hours in a day, but your day can only be a success if you make the most of the ones you give yourself to work with. Giving yourself a bigger chunk of the day will give you more opportunities to turn it into a good one. You don’t have to be a machine of productivity all day, every day. The simple act of giving yourself more time to do whatever you want to do will keep you from being rushed and will allow for some relaxation, as well. Relaxation is just as important as work.

2. Eat in the morning. It doesn’t have to be much. If you wake up at 8:13 a.m. for your 8:30 a.m. class, grab a banana, or something, on the way out. There’s nothing worse than waking up right before class, skipping breakfast and suffering through a power hour that’s irrelevant to your career path, but for some stupid reason is required for your degree. The professor probably doesn’t speak English very well or gets off on the fact that he or she teaches a weed out class and can’t wait to fail half the kids in the lecture hall. If you have to do it, don’t do it hungry. These can be day killers and should be avoided.

3. Exercise. This is the most important one. You don’t have to be a body builder, but do something physical. Run, do pushups, wear some Skechers Shape-Ups, get a Shake Weight, I don’t care. Your body is your most prized possession and deserves to be treated well. You might not be a temple of fitness, but exercising can only help you in the long run. It’s also an excellent stress reliever. At any given moment, you’re only one workout away from an excellent mood. Only the heavens know how poorly we treat our bodies in college, so give it some love in the gym and it will return the favor.

4. Treat yourself. If you’re well on the way to having a fantastic day, reward your time management genius with a guilty pleasure. Everyone has their vices and a good day should have some of those little things you enjoy sprinkled on top of it. Some people like to binge on TV shows, but you can still have a good day watching six hours of Netflix. Some people like tobacco. It’s bad for you and everyone knows it, but it’s a good example. Gentlemen, if you want to throw a dip in after you finish some work and watch sports with the guys, throw that dip in and pray you get to see an IU loss, Tom Brady throw a pick-six, or Paul George bring Banker’s Life to its knees with an impossible 360 slam. Ladies, if you want to tune out the world around you and watch eleven episodes of Gossip Girl, you go for it. You got up before 9 a.m., worked out and earned those 11 episodes. Having a good day isn’t about being a busy body. As long as you don’t go to bed worried, it was a good day.

5. Read something. Whether it’s a book, something for class, a link to an article someone put on Twitter, something you found on Stumbleupon while killing time – just read something. Anything. We’ve been doing it for thousands of years, but reading is still the simplest and easiest way we know how to learn something new. It’s one of our oldest skills, but it’s infinitely useful. Reading can be awful, I know. When I was assigned Pride and Prejudice to read in high school, I wanted to light myself on fire. But when you come away from something you’ve read saying “Wow, I’ve never though of it like that,” you’ve set yourself up to have a good day. You can’t wait to tell someone else about it. Reading finds the best company with good conversation and good conversation will always lead to a good day.