the perfect 5am morning routine for students (back to school)

📌 The 5AM Morning Routine That Actually Works

I wake up at 5AM and immediately dump a 2L bucket of ice water on my head. Then I change into running clothes, finish up a one-mile marathon, and jump straight into my morning routine.

I’m kidding.

Mostly.

But if you’ve been complaining that school’s starting, here’s the 5AM routine I’ve been running for the past three years… get it… running. okay, okay, I’m sorry.

📌 Why Bother With a Morning Routine?

Think about the gym. You don’t just walk in and start maxing out deadlifts. You warm up first — lighter weights, fewer reps — so your body’s ready.

Your morning routine works the same way.It’s the warmup set for your day.

I learned this the hard way. There was this one time I decided I’d be “that guy” who wakes up at 4AM and gets straight to work. Forty-five minutes in, two scripts written… and my head starts nodding. Then, it’s my eyes. And five minutes later, I’m mid-dream, thinking about missing the school bus (I walk to school 💀).

I’m literally arguing with myself half-asleep:

Me: “Yo, you’ve got stuff to do.”

Also me (but asleep): “Bro… isn’t it still midnight?”

Me: “No, it’s 6:30. You’ve got school in two hours.”

Asleep me: “Give me five more minutes…” [faceplants on desk]

The problem? I didn’t have anything to actually wake me up. No process to shift me from a sleep-deprived zombie into someone who could actually focus.

📌 The Routine

Now — I’m not saying you need to install a bucket-of-ice contraption over your bed that triggers if you don’t turn off your alarm in 0.01 seconds… but that’s basically what you have to do.

Again.

Kidding.

I wake up at 5AM with an app called Sleep Cycle. It wakes you up during light sleep, so you don’t wake up feeling like you’ve fallen off a building.

First thing I do? Turn on the light. This isn’t random bs — it’s for my circadian rhythm, that internal clock telling your body when to be awake or tired.

Most people mess theirs up completely — random sleep schedules, no sunlight, too much Red Bull at 11PM — then wonder why they’re sick all the time. Mess with your rhythm enough, and it will fight back.

Next, I chug water. A lot of water. And then I stare at the light while I drink until my vision’s a bit questionable. (Maybe if I go blind, I’ll finally qualify for those disability scholarships.)

Once I’m hydrated, I put on running clothes and head out for a quick one-mile run. My three reasons:

More sunlight
Endorphins — natural mood boosters
It sounds cool when your friends ask how your “ultramarathon” went this morning

When I’m back, I head to the backyard and meditate. People say meditation helps you focus in class, make better decisions, skip fewer leg days… and while I haven’t experienced any of that, I’m sure it’ll work eventually.

Then comes the cold shower. No ice bath — I’m not that rich — but cold enough to shock me awake.

Why? Because it boosts dopamine by up to 250%. That’s not far from certain drugs, except the difference is that you don’t end up in handcuffs. On the bright side, the motivation sticks around for hours after.

After that, it’s black coffee. While it brews, I run through affirmations and visualizations — basically hyping myself up because, well, no one else will. (A quick reply below would brighten my day though.)

Then I start deep work — and by then, I’m fully turned on (no, not that turned on — dirty-ass mind).

📌 A Few Caveats

You don’t need to copy this to the minute. 5AM works for me because it gives me extra time to work (2hrs) before school, but you could do 6, 7, whatever. Same for the order — I put cold showers at the end because I like to start working with that dopamine boost, but you can shuffle things around.

It’s a template, bro — not a prison timetable.

Pick the habits you like, ditch the ones you don’t.

The point isn’t perfection — it’s just building a rhythm that actually wakes you up and makes you ready for the day — not one that sounds cool on paper (although it does still sound cool to tell your friends you do all this before they even open their eyes).

So yeah. That’s my 5AM routine. Now go design that engineering-grade ice bucket system for your bed.

For more, you can check out my bio. I've got some shit you might like there.

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