Although this may seem like a small and insignificant part of your day, making your bed can actually help you start the day off right and it tells you a lot about yourself. Research has shown that this small act has many benefits such as starting your day off right, encouraging you to keep your room clean, enhancing your productivity, and improving your mood.  

At the start of the school year, this was a habit that I wanted to start and keep. Back at home, I didn’t really have a reason to make my bed each morning and it would be extremely difficult to do since I slept on the upper part of a bunkbed. Therefore, one of my small goals was to be able to make my bed each morning and start it off correctly. An elder who once served in the military once told me that making your bed was the first part of your day and that it sets the tone for the rest of your day. This is a trend that most successful people practice in the mornings, as interviewers and researchers report. 

“If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.” – US Navy Admiral William H McRaven

Throughout the last semester (Fall 2021), I was able to start this habit right away and keep it throughout the semester. Although there were some days when I had to rush out of bed for class, causing me to not have enough time to make my bed, I would always find time to do so, even if it was right before I went to bed. Although I don’t have a tracker for it as I normally would for my habits, it was something that I really valued in my day.  

There were some days when I would have friends over on a whim, and I would be glad that I made my bed. Normally when someone walks into your room, the first thing they would see is your bed and having it tidy gives your guests a good first impression.

As I continued making my bed throughout the previous semester, I realized that it also gave me the incentive to keep the rest of my room neat. Once I got into the motion of making my bed, I would feel awake and energized (whether in the morning or at night) and I would then proceed to organize my desk, toss out any trash that has been laying around, sorting out my laundry, and other small adjustments around my room. To be productive, I normally rely on a burst of energy, and I found that making my bed in the morning was that spark that kept me going for the rest of the day.

Overall, this was a habit that was able to help structure and organize my days throughout the entirety of last semester, and it is something that I will be continuing this semester and onwards. Therefore, I also recommend that you try this out and start off the semester with a small and simple healthy habit.