One year ago, I woke up for my first-ever 8 a.m. lecture full of dread. Intro to Economics. There was something about the cold Isla Vista morning air awaiting me outside, the inevitable condensation on my bike seat, and the 1 hour 15 minute class on economic terms in a lecture hall all the way across campus…horrible, truly. Just the thought of emerging from bed was nauseating.
Here’s the thing: I am a die-hard morning person. Always have been, always will be. I love the silence, the peace, the productivity that comes from waking up at 7 a.m. every morning, ready to tackle the day. But when it came to that 8 a.m. lecture…different story. There’s something inherently sinister about being on campus at the crack of dawn. I have no trouble waking up early…unless it’s for school. I turn into a shell of my early-morning-productivity-minded self, cowering under the covers and pressing “snooze” on my alarm for the umpteenth time to avoid the academic institution I chose to attend.
I finally rolled out of bed at 7:43 a.m. It was like fighting an uphill battle — in the span of 10 minutes, I brushed my teeth, washed my face, put on a treacherous outfit, and trudged over on an empty stomach and uncaffeinated brain. By some miracle, I made it on time to my lecture, with a minute to spare. I’m still not sure how I did that.
And to my surprise, it wasn’t as horrible as I thought it would be. Sure, I was exhausted and probably only retained 60% of the information taught in class. But as I walked outside of the lecture hall at 9:15, sun now shining, I felt a sense of peace. I got a cup of coffee, opened my laptop, and continued with my streak of productivity. It was awesome.
Perhaps it was me attempting to cope with the situation I put myself in (thinking back to class registration when I thought to myself “how bad can an 8 a.m. be?”), but I realized that having to take an early morning lecture isn’t the end of the world. In fact, not to sound cheesy, but the world truly becomes your oyster once you walk out of the lecture hall. That post-8 a.m. feeling is unparalleled to any experience I’ve had on campus — you unlock a sensation that is equal parts productivity and accomplishment.
As my quarter of 8 a.m. econ progressed, my routine stayed relatively the same. Immediate dread when my alarm went off at 7:30. The slow, daunting task of rising from my bed and making my way onto campus. Struggling to pay attention during class. And then, the satisfying, immediate, and absolute win of walking out of the lecture hall at 9:15, ready to start my day.
In honor of the inaugural early morning lecture, I like to think about 8 a.m. lectures in microeconomics terms: opportunity cost. To put it simply, opportunity cost is the value of the next best alternative you didn’t pick in favor of another. Every decision you make has a tradeoff. You binge “How I Met Your Mother” at the cost of working on your paper. You go out on a Friday night at the cost of getting some much-needed sleep. You stalk your ex-situationship at the cost of choosing peace (these hyper-specific examples are all drawn from my personal life, in case you were wondering).
Applying the concept of opportunity cost to morning lectures, there are a myriad of next-best alternatives — sleeping in, having a peaceful morning, being more alert the rest of the day. But I’ve found that instead of wasting time in bed and lollying around my apartment with no reason to get my day started, forcing myself to take an early morning lecture forces me to take action in my life.
I know the concept of an 8 a.m. is daunting. That early in the morning, there’s always a reason not to go to lecture. The alternatives are alluring. But I promise you, the lectures are really not that bad! To me, the benefit of starting your day early outweighs the opportunity costs.
Since Intro to Economics last year, I’ve had my fair share of early morning lectures. I always hate them initially at 8 a.m., and then find it to be surprisingly tolerable by 9:15. There’s something so rewarding about maximizing your productivity, and taking that morning class might be the perfect way to do so.
For all I know, this is still me trying to cope with a bad situation. Perhaps this will go down as a documented example of my delusionality. But as I sit here, writing this article after my 8 a.m., I don’t regret a single thing.
<p>The post In Defense Of 8 a.m. Lectures… first appeared on Her Campus.</p>
