Did you know that an evening routine can determine whether or not you’re productive the next day?
I didn’t know that either until I started to realize how my evening routine reflected my productivity levels during the next day. Having a bad evening routine resulted in more procrastination and fatigue.
If you would like to become a productive student, it starts with how you end your day, and in this post, I will be sharing with you 14 things you can do before bed.
Plan your next day
In order to have a productive day, it’s important to start planning your to-do list and your goals for tomorrow. For example, one of the tasks on your to-do list may be to complete your class reading or finish a particular set of flashcards.
This will help you to spend more time getting ready for school or preparing for your morning classes.
Read for 30 minutes
I have found that during lockdown earlier this year, I was able to achieve my reading goals, which was to read for 30 minutes every night. However, since beginning university, I have found that it’s even harder to stick to my reading habit.
If you are finding it hard to read for 30 minutes every night, I would recommend adding your reading habit to your daily task list. If you add it to your daily task list, you are more likely to read for 30 minutes.
If you’d like to read more on building habits effectively, check out this Complete Habit-Building Workbook!
Journal for 10 minutes
There are many benefits to journaling, including releasing all of your worries and negative thoughts. Negative thoughts can stop you from achieving your goals, and it’s important to eliminate them before they control your life.
For many students, it’s hard to stick to a journaling habit every night. Instead of focusing on journaling every night, I would suggest aiming to journal once a week. I have found that this places less pressure on myself if I don’t journal for a couple of nights.
Practice gratitude
Gratitude is when you learn to appreciate something or someone. There are many benefits to practicing gratitude, including having a positive outlook on life and reducing stress.
I have found that gratitude has allowed me to become more appreciative of the grades I receive during a practice exam. If I don’t receive the grade that I wanted, practicing gratitude allows me to look at the positive side of the situation, which is that this grade will help me to prepare for the next test (achieving my dream grade).
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Turn off your notifications
Turning off your notifications will allow you to spend more time on your evening routine. Whether your evening routine consists of reading a book or completing a Duolingo level.
You will find it easier to focus on your evening routine and spend less time scrolling through social media. This is a highly effective way to break your phone addiction.
Create a relaxing environment
After a long stressful day, it’s important to prepare yourself to slow down and relax. As students, it’s easy for us to jump right into studying after a long day, but the truth is you will not retain the information studied.
That’s why I would suggest creating a relaxing environment for yourself, such as turning on your fairy lights and diffuser. The relaxing environment is unique to you, and it should allow you to relax before sleeping.
Visualize tomorrow
By visualizing the next day, you will have a positive mindset surrounding the activities you’ll complete tomorrow.
The key trick to visualizing your tomorrow is to write the positive statement (an affirmation) in the present tense as if it had already happened. For example, your positive statement may be: “I have completed all of my tasks, and I’m now spending time with my family.”
Prepare your clothes the night before
If you’re a non-online student, you’ve probably experienced the rush of preparing your clothes in the morning.
That’s why, I would suggest preparing your clothes the night before. This will allow you to spend more time preparing for your classes and creating a healthy breakfast in the morning.
Drink plenty of water
You would have heard that it’s recommended to drink eight glasses of water per day, but many students don’t reach their recommended intake. According to Healthline, there are many benefits to drinking water, including improving your concentration and improving your body’s digestive system.
If you struggle to stick to the recommended intake of water, I would suggest carrying your water bottle around with you or leaving a glass of water beside your bedside table. This will help you to remember to drink your water throughout the day.
Take care of your skin
As students, it’s easy to neglect our skin from focusing all of your energy on studying and social activities, but it’s important to start taking care of yourself now.
From starting to take care of your skin now, you will reduce both the early signs of aging and protect your skin from pollution impurities. Believe me, you will thank yourself later for taking care of your skin.
Clean your space
Have you heard of the quote ‘a clean space means a clear mind?’
It’s true what the quote says, and cleaning your study space will allow you to maximize your productivity. A messy space will redirect your focus from your studying to your surroundings, making it harder for you to have a productive day.
I would highly suggest cleaning your study space at the end of each study session, to ensure that you can maximize your productivity.
Organize your study notes
As students, it’s easy to build a mountain of study notes for every class, but if every class note is useful, then I would suggest keeping your notes organized in a folder.
There are many ways to organize your study notes, including organizing them into modules, topics, or classes.
If you are someone like me, who has the majority of your study notes digitally, then I would suggest printing the study notes and placing them in your physical folder. This will help to avoid losing all of your study notes.
YOU’LL LOVE THIS: How To Take Notes You’ll Actually Use
Create a productive schedule
Similar to what I had written about creating to-do lists, but just taking it further and building an effective daily routine.
You can easily create a schedule in Google Calendar or the app Notion. And creating a productivity schedule will help you to both complete all of your tasks for the day and strive towards achieving your academic and personal goals.
Surround yourself with positive people
There is nothing better than spending the last of your day with your family or friends; spending more time with positive people will help you to have a positive outlook for tomorrow.
There are many things you can do before bed, such as watching a movie together or playing a board game (Monopoly is my favorite!).
Conclusion
I hope that these 14 things to do before bed will help you to create an effective evening routine, which will increase your productivity throughout the day!
If you’d like to read more, give these posts a look!