College mornings are typically filled with people upset about waking up for an 8 a.m. or perhaps another early activity and complaining about how their life is so hard. While yes, it takes time for some people to adjust to waking up earlier, and most college students stay up later studying or trying to get in a little bit of social time with friends, waking up early is one of the best things you can do for yourself. By waking up early, you start the day off having more time to yourself. You don't have to stress out over every individual detail and can take your time doing the things you need to do.

Let's say you wake up at 10 a.m. with three things to do that each take about an hour and a half and it all needs to be done before 5 p.m.. You're going to wake up, maybe decide not to get breakfast which is a poor health choice, so you don't have to spend that 30 minutes eating, and you're working right away on what needs to be done. You might be great at getting stuff done and perfect time management, but all too often you begin to get stressed out and your work starts to show it. Over the course of the semester or year, your grades will start to suffer a little bit.

I wake up on average at about 0530 a.m., but this is because I have to do ROTC and wake up and conduct physical training. The rest of the morning, until my first class at 11:10, is all up to me. I get to relax, finish some work if I need to, have a solid breakfast, and really just give time to myself for the day. I'm not going to be stressed out, my day will typically go better, and with proper time management, I should be getting to sleep at a reasonable hour with all of my work done. I'm not saying you need to be waking up at 0500 every morning and start your day, but if you allow yourself to have some extra time and attack the day head on, you will find that you typically win the day.

Most of the successful people of our time emphasize waking up early and getting your tasks done. Do a simple google search of successful people who wake up early and you'll find a list of CEOs of some of the top businesses. There are also tons of studies that show the benefits of waking up early. According to a Harvard study: "people who wake up early tend to be more proactive in their day." A Texas University study shows that people who were "early risers" have, on average, a GPA of one point higher than those who are night owls.

So, with this information, take the time that you're giving up for that extra hour of sleep, wake up, and give that time to yourself. Over the long run, you'll start to appreciate the ability to wake up earlier than everyone else and have that one up on the people who are still lazing around. It's hard to get on the schedule of waking up early, especially if you're a natural night owl, but it will set you up for success by attacking the day head on and early.