Let's face it, anyone enjoys a good sleep-in, especially after a long week... except for the 12 pm and 1 o'clock regulars like me. I'm not a morning person, and I never have been. However, I really wish I was. In recent months, I have found myself becoming more and more unproductive. Sleeping in is clearly a contributing factor to this habit of mine.

I've always been known for sleeping in, ask anyone. My friends got so used to it, that they knew not to even try to contact me until at least 11 o'clock. I've often found myself sleeping in so late, that I don't even have the chance to enjoy my mornings. The worst part is, that when you wake up so late, half of your day is taken away from you.

Living in my sorority house has taught me many things, but mostly that I need to wake up earlier. There have been so many times where I've rolled out of bed and found one of my friends in the hallway who has already eaten, been to the gym, and started on their schoolwork. That's when I knew I needed to make a change.

COVID. We all love it. It is arguably the reason why my sleep schedule is permanently messed up. The virtual world has allowed me to do things on my own time. However, this is not how I function. I needed to learn how to create a schedule for myself. For my entire life, I have already had a schedule set by someone else for me to follow. Whether this was going to school or work, all of those time commitments got completely altered when COVID took over our lives.

Being a second-semester sophomore in college, I have more experience as an online student. First semester freshman year gave me a glimpse into what life was like as a full-time college student: living in the dorms, waking up early for class, and going to the gym during the gap between my classes. I had my schedule all played out. So naturally knowing myself and how I am, I knew COVID was going to make me lose motivation.

So why am I training myself to become a morning person? Well, I like to think of it as maturity, but I also think any successful businessman or woman can attest to the fact that getting up early is the number one key to success. I am getting older now, which means more responsibilities, as much as I hate to say it.

Now how I am doing this...

1. Putting a coffee machine in my room.

I'm a huge coffee person and quite frankly, if I don't drink it, I am going to have a rough start to the day. Coffee is necessary for me to have a productive day! Let's be honest, who can't live without it?

2. Making myself a list of to-dos and expectations for the week.

I have found that making myself a schedule on Sunday nights that highlights my week helps me to know what I need to get done. On these lists, I set a goal of the time I need to be up for accomplishing my tasks. This has helped me a lot because I know I need a set schedule to succeed.

3. Adjusting... slowly but surely.

This means still allowing myself the occasional 12 pm wake-up call. You can't change a habit without slowly adjusting yourself. Let's be realistic here.

4. Reading at night and going to bed earlier.

As an English student, I have a lot of assigned readings and I have found that reading at night instead of looking at a screen, helps me to fall asleep quicker. Also, if I pick up a book and am in bed by 9 pm, I'm more than likely asleep within the next hour.

The idea of becoming an early bird is one I'm very fond of. My goal by the end of the year is to have developed this as a new habit. They say it takes on average 66 days to adopt a new habit. I'm hoping I can do this sooner and with willpower and willingness to better myself, I know it is possible. If I can do it, then so can you.