by Ally Keefer

As we get past the first few weeks of school, we all start remembering the pain of waking up each morning. The night before, we are either catching up on homework or making sure that we are caught up on our Netflix homework.

Either way, around 11, some of us decide we should probably head to bed. Then, at 6 a.m. the next morning, all we can think about is when we can go back to bed. That is, if we bother waking up.

Everyone has the mornings where they wake up 10 minutes before the bus arrives, so what are we supposed to do? Here are four ways to get ready quickly each morning:

1. Lay out your outfit the night before.
   It is even better to lay out two outfits. One that is nice or one that is comfortable. This way, all you have to do is choose one and go!
2. Organize your toiletry supplies the night before.
   If you are planning on wearing makeup the next day, figure out what you are going to wear and how you are going to wear it. Lay everything out in the order in which you need it to speed up the process.
3. Make ahead on-the-go breakfasts.
   If you have extra time on the weekends, make some breakfast foods that you can freeze such as breakfast cookies or pancakes. These can easily be grabbed on the go for little money!
4. Pack your lunch the night before.
   If you typically pack your lunch yourself, go ahead and make it before you go to bed at night. While you are finishing up your Netflix episode, make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to save you time in the morning.

The best way to avoid missing the bus is to have plenty of time to get ready in the morning. Here are some ways to avoid having to rush out the door.

1. Use your phone as an alarm clock. Set an alarm for every 5 minutes after you want wake up. This way, if you fall asleep after your alarm goes off, you don’t have to risk sleeping in too late.
2. Put your alarm clock across the room. Once you leave your nice, cozy bed, you won’t be as tempted to fall back asleep.
3. Scare yourself awake. Find a song that starts out very loud and use that as your alarm. It will surprise you in your nice, quiet room and get your heart rate up. This way, it will be harder for you to go back to sleep.
4. Set your alarm for 5-10 minutes before you want to get up. This way, you incorporate the lying-in-bed time to the amount of time it takes for you to get ready.
5. Shower at night. If you struggle waking up in the morning in order to have time to shower and then dry your hair, do it at night! This way, you can sleep for an extra ½ hour or so.
6. The best and final way to avoid the early-morning rush is to go to bed early. Although very few high schoolers enjoy practicing this habit, it is actually worth it. If you can, go to bed a couple of minutes earlier than normal. It will be easier to get up in the morning.

Once you can get into a habit of practicing these steps, the day that you wake up too late will go so much better!