This is me visiting Santa Fe last semester. I don’t know what this picture has to do with routines.

Who wants to read a blog entry about routines? Routines sound so well, you know, so routine. Please hear me out.

A routine can really come in handy when the semester gets hectic (you know this will happen) and stress levels increase.

Here’s what I mean.

A routine is a set of behaviors you engage in regularly. These behaviors are simple, sequential and repetitive.  A routine is set up to accomplish a daily task. Maybe your task is to get to class on time. You create your routine step by step. The more often you do the same set of steps the easier it becomes. Pretty soon it is a routine.

A routine does not require justification for doing it. The routine doesn’t require thinking. It is automatic. This makes a routine easy. You just start and the routine takes over. You don’t have to convince yourself to go to class. You just make it a routine. You don’t have to explain why you are studying on Sunday afternoon. You just make it your routine. No reasoning is needed to go through your routine.

Ruth’s tip for today: Routines make life easier.

Here’s one routine I would like you to establish this week.

Preview what will be addressed during class meeting before class starts. How?

(choose one or more)

• Look at the syllabus for the lecture topic for today.
• Read the main headings of the chapter reading assigned for today.
• Read the table of contents for the chapter assigned for today.
• Re-read notes from previous class meeting.

Review what was covered in class immediately after every class meeting. It’s tempting to leave the classroom as quickly as possible. But if you’ll just establish the routine of review after every class immediately then you will reap many benefits such as better grades (not sure what other benefits would be). How?

• Ask yourself what were the main points of today’s lecture? Then answer yourself in paragraph form or bullet points.
• Text yourself a message.
• Send yourself an email.
• Call your grandmother and tell her what you just learned in class. Well that one might be a little extreme but hey, it would make grandma real happy.

The preview-review routine will definitely improve your grades.

Try it this semester.