The Super Productive Morning Routine For Every Online Student

Our elders always ask us to have a productive morning routine, but have you ever thought why they say so? It is because no one likes to have a bad start to their morning. that often ends up getting them late for work, forgetting an all-important assignment, or leaving the packed lunchbox on the kitchen counter in a hurry. As the fan of a quote by Richard Whately: “Lose an hour in the morning, and you will be all day hunting for it”, we believe that mornings set the tone for us for the rest of the day. However, a consistent routine in the morning creates advantages for health and performance, as research shows.

A healthy repetitive behavior reduces anxiety. Studies have also shown that long-term healthy lifestyle modifications rely on routines and habits, which take consistency to inculcate. And who else can better than a student understand the importance of losing a day during exam preparations? It knocks them off their game and messes up with their mood for the whole day.

Following a set morning ritual, especially for online students, can be a double challenge. On the one hand, the flexibility in learning and the comforts of staying all day at home help them in many ways, while on the other hand, the easy access to gadgets, uninterrupted internet, and the leverage to procrastinate make them unproductive and lazy. While some students who belong to a disciplined household and strict parents find it a cakewalk to wake up early, follow a schedule, and complete the daily targets, not all students fall under this category. Most of the students who are new to digital learning and exposed to this information age struggle to maintain a morning routine, stay focused, and be productive every day. The good news is that just a handful of simple routines—supported by easy-to-access tools such as your smartphone—can help you adopt a winner’s mindset, even first thing in the morning. However, let’s first understand the concept of having a morning routine.

What is a Morning Routine?

A morning routine is, as it quite simply says- a set of habits or activities that you do once you wake up in the morning. It sets your day upright and has visible effects on your focus and productivity. It may involve activities such as meditation, exercising, and journaling to reading and writing.

A Guide to Create The Perfect Morning Routine For Online Students

We understand that, being an online student, you often get tempted by a classic roll-out-of-bed habit. Students who stay home all day and learn online usually wake up minutes before their virtual class and attend the lecture in their pajamas. They don’t realize that this will become a habit in the long term and trouble them in the future. But, here, we have a step-by-step guide for online learners to follow and set their morning routine for maximum benefits.

1. Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Unlike popular belief, our research says checking your bedtime routine first to get a quality 7-9 hours of sleep every night weighs much more than randomly setting an alarm to get up at 5 am. We further advise students to listen to the needs of their body and mind and tune their sleep cycle accordingly. For instance, some of them can wake up fresh after 8 hours of sleep while others can get the same feeling after 6 hours.

Once they understand the sleep pattern and its relation to their morning mood, they can adjust the alarm accordingly. Remember not to press the snooze button for it may break the pattern and mess up their sleep-wake training. Using smartwatches and apps to monitor sleep duration, sleep quality, REM, wake time, etc., can help students immensely in adopting fine-tuned sleep habits.

In general, it is suggested that students should put down their electronic gadgets and log out of social media an hour before bedtime. Giving our brains a break from the constant thinking and juggling by watching videos, online games, and reels is required. Therefore, before sleeping read books or practice mindfulness activities and see how quickly you fall asleep.

2. Wake Up Early

This may sound pretty cliche, but it is a tried and tested method of being more energetic and productive. You must have heard the phrase, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy, and wise.” This is true for online learners as well. Try waking up at around 5:30 to 6:30 am and see how much extra time you get as compared to your peers to finish your important tasks. Using an alarm clock that mimics natural sunlight makes your waking up more pleasant. Make sure you do not push the snooze button of the alarm clock because studies have shown this has a disturbing effect on your body clock. People who regularly snooze have elevated resting heart rates and show lighter sleep before waking.

3. Hydrate Yourself First Of All

Water makes up 75% of body weight in infants to 55% in the elderly. It is an essential component for cellular homeostasis and life. As we sleep for long hours our body gets dehydrated. Supplementing your body with enough water and electrolytes in the morning will replenish the diminished minerals and kickstart your metabolism as well. Adding a slice of lemon in lukewarm water can supply your body with vitamin C, and sipping it slowly can freshen up your mood as well.

4. Adopt a suitable Exercise Regime

Physical activities and exercise are key to good physical and mental health. Exercise is documented to release endorphins in the human body that are considered a natural antidepressant and positively charge up our mood. Invest your first 20-30 minutes of morning time in stretching, jogging, yoga, or mindfulness activities, depending on your settings and weather. It will also increase your cognitive abilities and concentration.

5. Break The Fast with a Healthy First Meal

Do you know why the first meal in the morning is called breakfast? Well, as the name suggests, when we go to sleep for about 8 hours at a stretch, after dinner or our last meal of that day, the body experiences the fasting period during the entire sleep duration before we eat again in the morning. Our body utilizes the energy produced from the last meal’s digestion and, if needed, from the stored fats.

Therefore, we need to refill with the most nutritious food items in the morning for the body to get going for the day. Breakfast is also considered the most important meal of the day for the same reasons, and therefore, enough protein, good fats, minerals, and fiber should be taken. As students work more mentally and the brain needs a steady supply of glucose to function, experts also suggest smaller and regular meals for them.

6. Planning Your Day

Once you are done with the daily morning rituals, begin with some serious business. And the most important aspect of that is careful and strategic planning for the entire day. Break the goals and targets into smaller achievable fragments and set a deadline to complete them. Use calendars, sticky notes, and apps to help you out in the planning process. You will see a significant boost to your morale every time you complete smaller targets and this will drive you further in getting more and more productive. You can also reward yourself with smaller perks, such as a square of your favorite chocolate, for every little achievement you accomplish.

7. Customize Your Study-space

For online students, it is important to be in the right space while studying at home. Students often commit the mistake of taking flexibility for granted. They start learning by logging in to their device while lying on a couch or from a resting chair, etc., which is not advisable at all. Understand the importance of a sanitized workstation that is ergonomically designed for best productivity. Your concentration levels and focus are also determined by your surroundings. Therefore, we advise online students to set up their study tables in a quiet and pleasant place and arrange the devices, notebooks, accessories, water bottles, timers, etc., they need during a study session.

8. Prioritizing Subjects

Setting priority is an important aspect of planning and completing tasks on time. Online students must begin their studies with the most complex and difficult subject they struggle with first thing in the morning. For their minds are fresh, and they are full of energy supported by the lesser distractions, early in the morning comes in handy. Solving a challenging math problem and learning some science concepts also boosts confidence for the rest of the day. It also helps in finishing smaller targets from easier subjects, thus increasing overall productivity.

9. Take Regular Breaks

The importance of breaking the monotony and starting afresh cannot be undermined, especially when students are in brain-churning activities. Because, just like our body muscles our brain, eyes, and nervous system get fatigued after some time. Therefore, we advise online students to take regular breaks and relax their eyes, brain, and back for 5-10 minutes before starting again. Take shorter breaks after every 30-45 minutes of study and a longer break once every 2-3 hours of online learning sessions. In the long term, it increases their productivity while preventing burnout.

10. Staying Connected and Reflecting

This can be the most important advice from us for online students. Because they spend most of the day staying at their homes, they tend to get disconnected from the outside world. Over time, this may lead to social isolation and alienation, resulting in anxiety and depression. Therefore, staying connected with your peers through online study groups, discussion forums, etc. can help you be aware of the happenings around you. These activities will also help you reflect on your strong and weak areas during your online learning journey, thereby improving your academic performance.

How to Create a Morning Routine For Kids?

Creating a morning routine for kids can transform a stressful and chaotic morning into a smooth and hassle-free beginning of the day. Include the following elements when you are planning to establish a morning routine for kids-

1. Set the Waking Up Time First

It can vary according to your kid’s sleep needs and daily activities. In general, we recommend waking up between 5:30 am and 6:30 am for school-age children. Wake them gently and get it into their habits by setting up an alarm from early on. Remember, no kids want to wake up before their parents in general, so set personal examples by waking up early yourself.

2. Plan the Night Before

This is crucial to allow a quality 7-9 hours of sleep for every child. Staying up late must be avoided at any cost to get up fresh in the morning and have a productive day.

3. Create a Visual Timetable

Use colorful pamphlets and stickers to set reminders and paste them on refrigerators, walls, and in front of dressing tables for kids. It will help in constantly reminding them of the sequence of tasks and their deadlines.

4. Include Fun Elements

Children love fun-filled educational and habit-forming activities. Perform jogging, yoga, and meditation together. Use timers and alarm music they like to listen to and reward them when they achieve something they consider important.

5. Include Healthy Breakfast Without Fail

The first meal of the day will ensure your kid remains healthy and productive throughout the day. Therefore, use a diet plan according to their age and liking.

6. Allow Break time

Children need a break just like us after a heavy workload or a marathon learning session. Don’t be too strict and allow them some healthy break time and engage with them during their leisure time. It will improve your bonding and also increase their confidence.

7. Adjust as needed

While setting clear targets is needed, you must pay attention to their learning speed and not overburden them. Adjust according to the day and their moods. Never compare themselves to any other kids of the same age, locality, school, etc. Let them bloom at their own time while supporting them in the journey.

Benefits Of Creating A Morning Routine For Kids

Having a morning routine for your kids has many benefits apart from making their day begin with joy and being productive. Following are some of the key benefits of a morning routine for kids:

1. Time Management

With a set morning routine, your kids will learn the importance of time and its management. It will make them value their time throughout their life, making them more productive than their peers.

2. Independence and Responsibility

Once your child learns to wake up and do things on its own according to a set routine, they become independent and responsible. It also makes them confident to accomplish any task by setting deadlines and working on them with focus.

3. Healthy Habits and Discipline

The morning routine creates healthy habits in kids, and in the long term, they become disciplined toward other aspects of life.

4. Reduces Stress

Following a morning routine reduces stress in general by organizing the work and targets. A stress-free start to the day sets the mood for the rest of the day and keeps kids energetic.

5. Academic Performance

This is probably the most visible and key impact of following a good morning routine. Kids perform better in academics and sports as well due to increased focus and concentration.

6. Example Of The Best Morning Routine For Kids

The best morning routine for your kids will depend on many factors, such as their age, grade, family settings, and so on. For instance, morning routines for preschoolers can vary from middle and high school children. However, you can get morning routine ideas from the below sample and adapt them according to your needs

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is a good morning routine for students?

Ans: A good morning routine for students has all the elements we have mentioned in this blog. For instance, adequate sleep time, early waking up time, and setting targets to achieve during the day with clear deadlines. It should also have space for proper nutrition and regular breaks that need to be mentioned.

Q2. How to plan my day?

Ans: The best way to plan your day is to wake up a bit earlier than your usual time and, after your morning rituals, sit and prioritize the tasks at hand. Give yourself clear deadlines to achieve them while being mindful of the regular breaks to rejuvenate.

Q3. How to wake up early?

Ans: First of all, unplug an hour before bedtime on the night before and have a quality sleep of about 7-9 hours. Set an alarm and keep it a bit far from your reach from the bed to force you to get up to stop it. Use natural sunlight-mimicking alarm clocks and apps to play your favorite music to ease the process.

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