Intentional Wellness: Make Your Bed Today
Do you struggle to make it to your first class of the day? Are you running out of time in the mornings, skipping essentials like breakfast or a morning shower? How would you feel if someone told you that simply taking (at most) three minutes out of your morning could change your day?
“If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day.” This is a quote from Admiral William H. McRaven in a speech he gave to the University of Texas’s 2014 graduating class. In this speech, Admiral McRaven repeatedly states the importance of making your bed. So, what’s his reasoning? Sure, making your bed is a good way to neaten your room, but how is that at all related to a rushed morning? Wouldn’t it simply take away more of your precious time before an 8:30 a.m. class? Well, it’s all about momentum. Completing a small task at the immediate beginning of your day sets the tone. Like a stepping stone, your made bed allows you to be efficient in your morning and get in the essential, more monumental tasks, like breakfast and a shower. Yes, the amount of time you give yourself matters. But no matter how much time you give yourself, a sluggish morning always ends rushed. Instead, you can start every day with energy and passion, and all it takes is straightening some sheets.
I know what you’re thinking: why would someone make their bed just to sleep in it again? It may seem like a waste of time. Or maybe you just simply don’t care what it looks like. You’re the only one sleeping in it. You are free from your parents telling you to clean your room; you’re free and in college. You don’t need an article from the school newspaper to tell you what to do.
Imagine you come back from a stressful class, or you’re not so sure you did so well on a quiz. You crawl onto a nicely made bed to take a power nap and use that little throw blanket you may have lying on your bed beside you. You wake up feeling energized and ready to carry on with your daily endeavors. Now, imagine if you walk into your room and see your blankets all curled up into a ball. You throw yourself into bed, struggling to un-ball the mess of blankets that steal the bed from under you and finally get comfortable. Then you wake up three hours later, not remembering the homework you had due at 2 p.m. Maybe this is dramatic, but it really does make you feel more comfortable and sometimes makes it harder to get back out of bed when you’re bundled up under all those blankets. On top of that, you know you won’t be making your bed again for you to come back to in just a couple of hours.
After reading this article, you may still be morally opposed to making your bed in the morning. Well, according to Connie Mathers, a writer for developgoodhabits.com,“In your life, the small task that jumpstarts your day may not literally be making your bed,” Any sort of task or habit that’s meaningful to you will have the same impact. So, for just one week, find a task and commit yourself to completing it every morning. Make sure that whatever task you pick is one you can reasonably complete. After a week, see if it’s changed the tone of your day and the pace of your mornings.