How to be SUPER PRODUCTIVE at Home After School + 10 Must Know Tips

How to be productive at home after school

Do you ever go back home thinking you want to be productive and get all your things done… and then you go back home and you just — don’t feel like doing anything? BECAUSE SAME. So, I have been testing out several strategies over the years and figuring out what actually works to get out of a slump and be productive at home after school.

And I am quite proud to announce that I finally might have unlocked the secret to at-home productivity wink

I want to help you have a productive study day at home too!

So, here you go! Your guide to having the perfect, productive, after-school study routine. Whether you are studying in high school or college, this after school routine works for any student or teenager.

Best Study Routine to be Productive at home after School

This routine is really effective in increasing productivity when studying at home. I have also explained how each of these steps will help you to be productive studying at home!

1. Make your to-do list on the way home.

Don’t wait till you are home. Your travel/transport time is very valuable and it’s important to make good use of it.

plan and do your to-do list when you are travelling home

If you are someone who likes to plan according to time and likes to create a schedule, do it during the time you are on your way home from school.

If you are someone who just needs to scribble down the things to do roughly, do it during that time too.

Whichever type of “planner” you are, make sure to do it before you reach home.

If your travel time is not ideal to do that, you can try doing it during your school breaks or in between classes. I always have a notepad in my pencil case because it is so convenient to jot down things to do there and then.

Point is – don’t do your planner or to-do list when you go home. Usually, spending time to write your “schedule” is a form of procrastination. The key is trying to get into the actual work as quickly as possible when you reach home. So, make your to-do list earlier!

2. Refresh yourself first

You probably had a long day at school and your body and brain are likely to be tired. So, quickly take a shower (or wash your face if you don’t want to shower).

wash your face to get yourself refreshed to be productive at home after school

3. Grab a healthy snack

You need to fuel your body with the right food so that you get the energy boost to be productive.

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4. Set up your workplace

Tidy up your area, it clears your mind and helps you be more focused. Get everything you need for that productive study/work session and set them up at a conducive environment.

set up your workplace to be productive at home after school

Make sure you have everything you need so that you don’t need to get up each time you need something (they are opportunities to get distracted from your work!)

Make sure distractions such as your phone is NOT in your workplace. Organize your workplace well.

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By now, you should be feeling active and refreshed to do your planned tasks. This is usually enough for me to get motivated and started on my work… BUT sometimes, I will take a seat and my mind just blanks as I stare at my homework. Or I just start feeling really really sleepy.

In that case, here are some Actionable Tips that work like a charm to make you Productive AF 😉

(You can use one or a combination of the below tips to get you motivated to study after school at home)

I have summarised the below tips for you so that you can refer to it anytime, anywhere 🙂

How to get motivated and study effectively? (At-Home Study Tips)

1. Set rewards for yourself

Find something you want to do.

It can be scrolling through Instagram, playing your phone game, eating a cookie, or just chilling on the bed doing nothing. Whatever it is, make a deal with yourself that you can only get “rewarded” if you complete whatever tasks you had to do.

Tip: You can get a friend/family member to monitor so that they can make sure you only get rewarded when you complete your tasks.

2. Move around

Do some simple stretches to activate your body. Stretching will get the blood flowing and make it easier to get started on your task.

try simple stretches to be productive when you get home from school

Try simple stretches such as bending over to touch your toes. Or you can drop down and do some pushups or crunches. Or do a few jumping jacks. As long as you can make your mind more alert 🙂

3. Write a short note to motivate & encourage yourself

When you are feeling unmotivated to start work, get a post-it note or piece of paper, and write a “letter” to yourself. Tell yourself why you want to be productive and write about how good it will feel when you’re done with your homework.

End it off with a “you can do it!” and stick it on your pencil case or somewhere you can see when you are doing your work.

Speaking off motivation, you should join The Highly Basic List (if you haven’t yet) to get weekly motivation & inspiration 🙂

4. Choose a different task

If you are finding it really difficult to get yourself motivated to start on a task, switch it up, and choose something else. Start with the task that you can complete the fastest or a task that you like doing the most.

The success of completing that task will help you get onto the momentum and continue being productive!

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this is the most effective after school routine to be productive at home after school. if you are having trouble starting or getting motivated to study, try one of these 10 tried-and-tested tips to get motivated to start studying! So click on the link to become SUPER productive after school! #productivity #school #studying #homework

5. Schedule blocks of time to work on daily tasks

If there are general things you need to do daily, such as homework, you can set a specific period to do it every day.

For example, you can allocate 4 pm-6 pm to be study time.

If you are just starting to do this, you can set an alarm/reminder on your phone to remind you about this time block. But after regularly doing this, you will start to develop the habit of doing that specific task every single day.

This helps with being more motivated to study/work as it is now part of your daily after-school routine and it “eliminates” the need for you to choose between doing the work or not. Repetition is truly powerful.

6. Have a study buddy

When you have someone to do your schoolwork with, you are holding each other accountable to do the work. You wouldn’t want to let the person down or cancel plans just because you are “unmotivated” so you will be much more likely to start the work.

study with a study buddy to be more productive at home after school

You can study with your study buddy (over a call or face-to-face) together or you can just promise each other that you will complete a specific task by the next day.

But studying concurrently with your study buddy is surely more effective as you can make sure you don’t get distracted and stay on task. It will also be helpful to clarify and discuss any doubts you have there and then!

7. Listen to some music

listen to music to be more productive when you are studying at home after school

Music is the number #1 thing that gets me through my mundane to-do list without sleeping. I am not joking but I start yawning almost immediately every time I sit down to do some work!

Tip: it will probably be more helpful to listen to high-tempo tunes that are faster and louder so that it keeps you awake

8. Have something/someone to redirect you when you get distracted.

Sometimes, distractions are just inevitable. In that case, when you start to lose focus, it will be super helpful to have someone to remind you to get to work.

If your distraction always involves picking up your phone, you can use the app called Plantie. It is a free app and you can set a timer to block out a period where you are not going to use your phone. If you exit the app and try to use your phone, the plant will die 🙁

Here are other apps you can use to stay focused.

This app is surely my personal favourite and I use it whenever I want to deep focus on a task.

If you are using an iPhone, you can also use downtime.

use downtime to stay focused and be productive at home after school

9. Get inspired

There are so many blog posts, podcasts, books, YouTube videos, etc. waiting to inspire you. Sometimes, all you need is someone on the internet to tell you

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10. Take a short nap before getting started.

If all else fails, take a nap. You must be exhausted if all the above methods didn’t work to get you motivated to do work. So, just accept that you are in a slump and take a short, power nap 🙂

And there you go! Those were my top tips on how to get yourself motivated when you are trying to be productive at home after school.

If you love these tips, you would surely want the FREE reference sheet where I summarised the above tips for you!

FAQ on how to be productive at home after school

How to be productive at school?

School can be one of the most conducive places you can study at. You can study during breaks or stay back after your lessons. There are study spots and libraries in most schools. These are great places to study without distractions.

You need to ask yourself if you study better alone or with friends. If you study better in groups, school is a great place to be productive with them.

Make sure you have an agenda in mind. Tell yourself that you will only leave the place once you are done with whatever you planned to do.

What to do when you’re bored after school? How to spend time after school?

The best thing to do at home after school is to study. But if you don’t have any home/school work to do, you should take this time to do something productive. Read things to do when you are bored at home.

Weekend Study Routine

If you want to study and get some work done during the weekends, you should first wake up early! Having an early start is essential for a good weekend study routine.

It would be helpful if you have done your to-do list the previous night. But if you have not, do plan for the day.

Since you do not have school and you have a long day ahead, you might not feel the need to start work early. So, create your own deadlines so that you don’t end up cramming up all your work at the end. Make sure to incorporate breaks!

Eg. study for an hour and take a 20min break, then go back to study again

How to be more productive at home after school

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