Establishing Healthy Student Routines

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDENT ROUTINES

You will find that routines are commonplace among successful people, whether professionals or students. Establishing good habits for study skills and other tasks allows for greater efficiency that carries over to life as a college student and ultimately success in the workplace. Routines promote performance and often result in positive health effects, including reduced stress and better sleep.

HELPING CREATE A ROUTINE FOR YOUR STUDENT

Establishing daily routine is one of the most important organizational skills for distance learning because it is essential to productivity and academic achievement. Each day should have a set schedule that is as close to your student’s normal schedule as possible. Students will not only accomplish all needed tasks, but they will be able to compartmentalize their thoughts more effectively when they allocate time consistently to different subjects and tasks. You can help your student by establishing the routine with them and making sure they stick to it. Consistency allows daily routines to become habit.'

Using a schedule or planner is the best way to create a visual reminder of what needs to be accomplished. This can either be a physical written planner, calendar, or digital tool with schedules and to-do lists.

Some of the most important components to a routine include:

  • Consistent morning routine: Students should wake up at the same time every day, get dressed, and eat breakfast for a productive day of class and studying.

  • Schedule breaks and mealtimes: In organizing the entire day, you should include time for breaks, as well as meals, to ensure students can step away from the work and come back productively.

  • After-school time: Designate hours for focused studying, as well as extracurricular activities in which they participate. For activities that have been cancelled, look for alternate outlets and hobbies for consistency.

Not only will setting this routine allow for greater academic performance, but it establishes strong time management and organizational skills that can be used when they return to the classroom and into college. The role of the parent is to help them create and carry out the routine. Just as we use the “scaffolding technique” in academic coaching to give students the support and structure to eventually remove it (similar to scaffolding on a building), you are providing them with the support to build and practice their daily and weekly routines. As your student becomes more proficient in following routine, these organizational skills will become second nature and develop into habits for more efficient studying at the university level. According to MIT’s study tips for freshmen, productive study time should be divided into hour increments. Consider 50-minute work time (without distractions) and a 10-minute break.

THE SCIENCE OF STUDY BREAKS

Part of creating the ideal daily and weekly routine is scheduling for breaks and time away from the study space in order to keep productivity levels high. We recommend scheduling time into the planner for these breaks, not just for fun, but because science backs it up. Studies have shown that short breaks and diversions from tasks keep students focused for longer periods of time. Long-term retention is also improved when breaking up studying into shorter, more focused sessions. Researchers at the University of Florida and University of California San Diego found that studying and revisiting the content after breaks helped students absorb information more effectively for later test dates.

In order to keep study breaks effective, consider incorporating the following activities:

  • Exercise: Moving around can help students remain alert and trigger mood-enhancing hormones to return to studying energized.

  • Naps: 10-20 minute naps have been shown to increase academic performance.

  • Snacking: Eating a healthy snack will help keep students focused and prevent their mind from wandering due to hunger.

  • Meditation: Simple meditation practices are designed to improve concentration and eliminate stressors. With lots of studying, a moment to breathe can be reinvigorating.

Ideally, separate times should be scheduled for using cell phones. Cell phones keep a student’s brain racing and don’t effectively allow them to relax. When taking breaks, the brain is still working hard but focused less on the routine of studying and more on the processing of memories and experiences.

According to MIT’s study tips for freshmen, productive study time should be divided into hour increments. Consider 50-minute work time (without distractions) and a 10-minute break.

RESOURCES FOR CREATING A ROUTINE

Creating a routine and schedule from scratch can be time-consuming, so we have provided you with some resources and templates to make the process easier:

  • Weekly schedule: You can type directly onto this template for printing or easy reference. This should be filled with class times, as well as breakdowns of how each hour is spent from 8am to 5pm.

  • To-do list: This to-do list caters to a daily schedule and incorporates a personal check-in and mindfulness component. You can fill in the schedule beforehand and examine mood and energy that morning.

  • Sample schedule: Here is a sample schedule broken down by grade and offers online academic videos and resources.

Having easy access to these forms and templates allows you and your student to spend more time filling it in and implementing the routine into the week.

RECOMMENDED READING

For further information and resources on student routines and their importance, we recommend the following articles:

 
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