Imagine if Harry Potter went to online school.
“Expecto patronum” at home and your whole muggle neighborhood goes crazy. Muggles on crack.
Harry is frustrated as hell. He can’t go to his friends or hang out at Hagrid’s or even practice his magic.
Maybe if Harry was able to settle into a cozy space, move out of the Dudleys and all.
Perhaps if he got a soft sloth pillow to snuggle with while he did his Charms homework, it would’ve been a little better?
Maybe a routine would help.
Okay, the Harry Potter metaphor went on a little long, but it worked right?
If online school sucks for you, as it probably does for most people, then keep reading on.
In this post, I’m going to give you six ways to structure your day in a way that might even make it… fun.
1. Have an online school morning routine
Every choice you make from the moment you wake up influences your day and your mindset.
Research shows that when you wake up, your mind is in the Theta state.
This means that when you first wake up, your creative mind is partying.
This is when you can train your brain to channel your thoughts in a way that serves you.
Establish a morning routine that works for you, that makes you feel powerful.
And when you utilize that, you can take on the world and the heaps of stress that come with online learning.
Need some inspiration? Check out these morning habits you need in college.
2. Start with what you love.
This is important advice, so listen closely.
I used to hate mornings.
No, not because I’m a lazy bum who just loves sleep way too much, although there is truth to that.
But because I believed that my morning had to be superman-saves-the-world-by-seven-am productive.
Then I started reading for an hour every morning, for fun.
Right after breakfast, I sip my coffee and I read a novel.
No, not a self-help book that tells me to get off my bed and get to work.
A novel. Because I enjoy it, and it recharges me.
Then I go work out. I really don’t like to work out, but I have more energy now.
Identify what recharges you. Hint: your phone does the opposite.
Related: I quit social media, here’s why you should too.
3. Have a study schedule
Your routine is individualized.
Because your life is unique and you need to make a routine that works for you.
This means being realistic but also planning to make sure you stay on top of things.
I like to use Notion to schedule my days. Nothing crazy, just an outline of what to do when.
I used to be a devoted paper planner, but I’ll admit that switching to digital planning has saved me a lot of time and energy.
Maybe it can work for you too.
Plan your day and your week in a way that will help you get things done but not leave you overwhelmed.
This will take some time, so feel free to look at inspiration and how others plan their day.
But don’t feel pressured to follow someone else’s routine and schedule just because you saw it on YouTube.
4. Create an environment to focus
My studying used to go something like this:
- Open up my laptop
- Go on YouTube.
- Go on Instagram.
- Scroll through all 8 of my Gmail accounts.
- Open my book and stare mindlessly for five minutes
- Decide it’s too hard for me.
- Escape to Instagram.
I didn’t know what to do to help myself because I just couldn’t focus.
Planning plays a crucial role in focus. But so does your environment.
And not just your physical environment, but also your digital environment.
Most of us have 20 tabs open all the time, just in case.
But you probably don’t need any of those tabs and they’re just getting in the way of your focus.
So when you sit down to study:
- Know what you have to study and planned to study at this moment
- Close all other tabs if possible and remove distractions
5. Schedule frequent, recharging breaks
When I am studying something that requires intense focus, I do either one of two things:
- Get too much in the zone and don’t allow myself any breaks
- Never get in the zone at all and taking breaks every twenty seconds
I used to be a big fan of the Pomodoro method.
However, as my ability to focus started to improve, I became more flexible with how I study and for how long.
It’s still important to me to take breaks.
But instead of taking a five-minute break every 25 minutes, I take a longer break after a few hours of mindful and deep work.
Context is important in this case.
My hardest class which takes up all my time this semester is Calc 2, which requires a lot more time and flow.
But one thing is for sure:
Stepping outside for a walk and just getting away from your computer will only help you focus more.
6. Stop studying.
Schedule your day like a 9-5 workday.
When you’re studying or working from home, it’s easy to stay in “work mode” all day.
It doesn’t have to be 5 p.
But have a set time when you put away the work and do something to relax, recharge and rest.
For me, this is anywhere between 6-9 pm.
Flexibility is key here, what’s important is that you have an hour or two before the day ends to yourself.
Around 8 pm most nights, I stop studying.
I spend some time with my family, watch an episode on Netflix (currently streaming between Jane the Virgin and Medici: Masters of Florence), or read a book.
It’s also important to spend some (but not too much) time planning the next day, so you know exactly what to tackle tomorrow.
Drop a comment on how you’ve been structuring your online school routine, I’d love to hear from you!