Wake Up Early and Study | Study Tips for Students

When trying to get ahead and get better grades, it is always good to have a few techniques to help yourself get the edge. After all, school is competitive and you need to do anything (positive) you can do to get the grade. So why is waking up so beneficial to not only studying but life in general?

Waking up early gives you more time to prepare. The more prepared we are for any given thing, the better we generally do with less effort. Sure, it is possible to prepare the night before, however our brains need time to wake up as well. Getting a jump start on things is a great idea.

Arriving early places looks good. Have you ever wondered how come you never get the good seats in the class? Why your teachers look at other students in a more positive light? Part of it is because you didn't show up early enough to beat them there - the early bird gets the worm. Fashionably late is no longer fashionable.

More time to plan your day. Instead of just rushing into your day without any type of idea what you are doing half asleep, get up a little early and set out a plan for yourself and what you hope to accomplish. If you already have your day or week planned out, review it and work out the details. After you build up some confidence executing these plans, you might decide you want to get a masters degree in accounting.

Less distractions. In the morning most everyone is either asleep, working or getting ready to leave for work. There aren't any good TV shows on (unless you count the news), friends going out to movies, sporting events, etc. Your neighbors and/or roommates more than likely aren't blaring music either!

Get more done. People that wake early always talk about how addicting it is because of much they get done. I'm not exactly sure how it happens, but my experiences and observations hold this to be true. Perhaps you could use this extra time to get involved in a leadership role on campus?

Pay more attention. Have you ever noticed that when you wake up early, grab a shower, eat breakfast, and pick out a nice outfit for school then you are more alert in class?

Beat them to the punch. If you can get to a limited resource before other people, then you have the opportunity to get it instead of them. For example, if you show up to the breakfast line before they run out of eggs, then you managed to beat the other late risers. Think about it, what if you had a mortal enemy out there in this world, would you want them to be awake before you taking your eggs?

Older people get up early. Crazy thought, I know, but older people usually wake up early. Why does this matter? Think about it! Older people have much more experience in life than us, hopefully have learned from it. You will likely encounter more of them in the early morning, in which you will have the opportunity to inquire advice. Also, these people tend to have much more money than young people do, and you will likely have the opportunity to find out why.

But what about the night life? If you think about it, staying up late isn't really that enjoyable of a thing. Some college students get used to staying up late partying, causing negative side-effects of drinking, spending excessive amounts of money, and making poor decisions which lead to real consequences. Staying up late studying, cramming for a test isn't always bad as long as it is not the night before the test. However, a friend of mine who gets great grades and has fun told me his secret - wake up early and get all your studying out of the way, that way you can go out and have fun drinking with all your friends and not be stuck inside all night studying. For him, it is his chance to take his mind off the books and socialize a bit.