Whether you’re a homeschooled student or a student taking live classes from home, you may find it difficult to keep a consistent daily schedule.
You start the school year feeling motivated. You wake up at the same time every day and get your work done on time.
But once a few weeks have passed, your schedule starts falling apart. You wake up right before class starts (and sometimes after), and you stay up late finishing work you procrastinated.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Attending classes from home introduces many distractions that make it difficult to stay consistent.
However, creating an effective, balanced daily routine can help you get organized again!
In this article, I’ll be sharing my daily routine as a student at home (actually two—one for when I was homeschooled and one for when I took virtual classes during the COVID-19 pandemic). Both of these daily routines helped me stay on task while maintaining a good balance between school and personal life.
In addition to my daily routines, I’ll be discussing why having a daily routine as an at-home student is so important and 3 simple steps to create your own productive daily routine.
Disclaimer: Although I represent my daily routine to the best of my ability, my schedule changed slightly from day-to-day based on my commitments and how I was feeling. You should never feel obligated to stick to the same schedule every day. Instead, you should make adjustments according to your needs.
Ok, let’s jump in!
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Why is having a daily routine essential as a student?
Before I get into my daily routines, I want to take a quick moment to explain why having a daily routine is so essential.
Boosts Productivity
Planning your day ahead of time enables you to start each day with purpose. When you know exactly what you need to do and when you need to do it, you’ll feel less scatter-minded and more driven.
In fact, following established daily routines is a characteristic of most successful people.
For example, Apple CEO Tim Cook wakes up at 3:45 am daily, tackles his email inbox, then heads to the gym at 5 am. Then, he showers, gets dressed, grabs a coffee, and commutes to work. (You obviously don’t need to follow a schedule as extreme as this, but this example illustrates how important having a daily routine is for successful people.)
Consistency enables you to be purposeful and productive in the long term.
Reduces Stress
If you plan out your day in advance, you can ensure that you allot enough time to get to everything you need to.
Without a daily routine, you’ll likely find yourself scrambling to get work done in the later hours.
Promotes Health
Having a daily routine as a student at home can also help you address your mental and physical health.
When learning from home, it’s easy to feel isolated from peers. However, by creating a daily routine, you can make time for socialization. Schedule time to call a friend or participate in a study group.
Additionally, sitting in front of a screen for hours daily can be detrimental to physical health. By having a daily routine, you can make time for beneficial activities, like exercise and healthy meal prep.
Also, setting times for waking up and going to bed will keep your circadian rhythm in sync. A messed-up circadian rhythm can lead to numerous issues, including lower sleep quality.
Daily Routine of a Student at Home (Homeschool Edition)
When I was homeschooled, I didn’t have live classes. I took 4-5 classes each semester and was assigned work with deadlines.
As a result, I had plenty of flexibility in planning out my day.
Here was my daily routine:
Wake Up/Eat Breakfast: 7:30 am – 8:00 am
Subject #1: 8:15 am – 9:15 am
Extracurricular: 9:30 am – 12:15 pm
Lunch/Break: 12:15 pm – 1:00 pm
Walk My Dog: 1:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Subject #2: 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Subject #3: 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Extracurricular: 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Subject #4: 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Dinner: 6:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Exercise: 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Shower: 8:30 pm – 8:45 pm
Catch-Up/Get Ahead: 9:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Read/Get Ready for Bed: 10:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Daily Routine of a Student at Home (Live Virtual Classes Edition)
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I took live virtual classes for over a year.
This was my daily routine at home during that time:
Wake Up/Eat Breakfast: 7:15 am – 7:45 am
Classes #1-#5: 7:45 am – 12:45 pm (50-minute classes with 10-minute breaks in between)
Lunch: 12:45 pm – 1:40 pm
Classes #6-#7: 1:40 pm – 3:30 pm
After-School Break: 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Extracurricular: 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Exercise: 7:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Dinner: 7:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Study/Do Homework: 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Get Ready for Bed: 11:00 pm – 11:30 pm
3 Simple Steps to Create a Productive Daily Routine as a Student at Home
Since every student has different commitments, it’s important to create a daily routine that works for you. Here are 3 simple steps you can take to do so:
Step #1: Make a List of Your Priorities
As a student priorities, your priorities may include:
- School
- Extracurriculars
- Social life
- Health
- Spending time with family
- Hobbies
When identifying your priorities, ask yourself, “What kind of a person would I like to become?”
For example, you may want to become a more health-conscious person. Or, you may want to become a more inspired person.
Create your priority list based on the vision of who you aspire to become. Having a vision will motivate you to stick to your daily routine more than just following a list of tasks daily.
Step #2: Rank Your Priorities
Next, rank your priorities from most important to least important.
It’s very difficult to address every priority daily, so you need to identify which are most important for you to address regularly.
Step #3: Block Out Time for Your Priorities
To create your daily routine, you need to designate specific time blocks to specific tasks. (This is a method called time blocking, which is very effective for boosting productivity.)
First, schedule your obligations. This will include live classes, extracurriculars, club meetings, and anything else you’re obligated to show up to.
Next, schedule time blocks in the order of your ranked list (from most to least important). Make sure to have a good balance between school and personal life.
Also, make sure you schedule breaks and consider your energy levels throughout the day. (Ex: Working out right before bed is unrealistic and will mess up your sleep routine.)
Quick Reminder: As I stated at the beginning of the article, your schedule will change based on day-to-day commitments and that’s okay! Additionally, it’s okay to experiment with different time blocks, as the original schedule you create may not suit your energy levels. You should always listen to your body’s mental and physical cues when creating an effective daily routine.
Resources to Help You Stick to Your Daily Routine
Sticking to a daily routine isn’t always easy.
But the good news is that there are several resources you can use to be productive and organized.
Here are the resources I’ve found helpful as a student at home:
Google Calendar
You can use Google Calendar to time block your schedule.
Physical Planner
Here are a few great options for physical planners:
As a student, you may also be interested in using a bullet journal to plan and organize. If you’re not sure what this is, you can read more about whether bullet journaling is right for you here.
Digital Planner
Digital planner apps can also be incredibly powerful.
As a student, I use Notion to plan and organize many aspects of my life. If you’re unfamiliar with Notion, you can read about how Notion can be used as a powerful student planner app here.
Artwork credit to ねこぽた。
Dry-Erase Calendar
According to Atomic Habits author James clear, visual cues can be very effective in motivating you to stay on task.
You can hang up a dry-erase calendar near your desk, or even a blank dry-erase board. On it, you can list out your daily tasks and cross them off as you complete them.
Being able to see your progress visually serves as a reminder and a motivator.
Final Takeaways on Daily Routine of a Student at Home
Learning from home introduces many distractions that often make it difficult to stay on task. However, by creating a balanced daily routine through these 3 steps:
- Make a list of your priorities
- Rank your priorities
- Block out time for your priorities (and experiment with different time blocks, if needed)
… and using resources, like Google Calendar, a physical or digital planner, and a dry-erase board, you can become much more productive and organized.
If this post has inspired you to create a consistent daily routine as an at-home student, let me know in the comments below!
For more posts on online learning and productivity, check out:
- 27 Foolproof Tips on How to Get Good Grades in Online Classes
- Productive Day Schedule For Students—Be Productive 12+ Hours a Day!
- 9 Guaranteed Ways to Overcome Procrastination for Students
- 9 Best Night Routines for Students to Skyrocket Productivity
- 11 Before Bed Journal Prompts for Better Sleep & Productivity
Learning With Angie is a place to share honest, unfiltered advice to promote student success. So if you’re a student (high school, college, or beyond) looking for tips on productivity, studying, personal growth, and more to reach your potential, this is the place! To read more about Learning with Angie, click here.
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