You wake up to the blaring sound of your alarm, roll over to hit snooze, and enjoy five more minutes in bed. You look at the clock on your phone: it’s 7:55. You have 10 minutes to get ready for school and get there on time. No time to go over homework, study for your first period test, or make your lunch.

There’s a solution: start getting to school earlier to have a more productive start to your day. I’m not saying get to school at 6:30 a.m. with the early bird classes. Instead, get to school around 7:30 a.m. in order to have time to finish any extra homework and plan out your day, as well as to allow yourself to have a slow morning to get ready while at school instead of rushing to put yourself together.

Time spent sleeping in the morning can instead be time spent getting work done. Whether you’re a morning person or not, it is important to make the most of your time. Many times a week, I used to stay up late studying for tests. My brain was half asleep, and there was no way I was going to retain any information, but I continued my work because I felt an obligation to do so the night before.

What I wasn’t thinking about was the time I should have been using before school. Instead of frying my brain trying to focus at 11 p.m., I should have woken up earlier in the morning to get to school and study. If I did so, I would already have been awake and in an academic mindset so I could avoid falling asleep in my first period class.

Morning time can also be used for organization. Spending around 30 minutes in the morning before school is a perfect amount of time to prepare yourself for every class you are going to have that day, and to make sure you did the work for that class. By doing work in the mornings instead of at night when you are tired or in class five minutes before it is due. Time is used better, and you can be saved from being in a rush all of the time. You can also use this time to spend time with friends that you may not have any classes with, explore new areas of the school, or get a smoothie from the cafe.

The last and maybe most important thing that can be done in the morning is meeting with teachers. Most teachers have to get to school early to prepare for the day, and it is probable that they will be in their office before school, available to answer questions. They can help you on the homework or give feedback on your thesis. If your teacher isn’t at school in the morning, you can go to the AAC to see if you can find help there. The AAC hours and times can be found on the New Trier website or on Canvas.

Getting to school earlier is something everyone should consider doing this school year. This will improve your mental health because of less stress, and make you feel more organized. As well as this, you will feel more focused and less overstimulated knowing that you are prepared for each class.