Dream On Wakeup Routine

I get asked pretty frequently about my different routines. So I thought I'd start sharing little rundowns of the different ones that I do throughout the days. Starting with (you guessed it) waking up! 

Oh, what's that? You hate mornings?

Believe me, I know how tough they can be! But I've also learned that the way to deal with their tough-ness is with a good, old fashioned routine!

5 Ways to Make Yourself Start a New Routine Today 

Don't believe me? Just adapt this “Dream On” wakeup routine to fit your own schedule, try it for a few days, and see if it helps! 

From my experience, structure in the morning really has a positive impact on the rest of the day!

If I wake up late, wander around aimlessly for a couple of hours, blah, blah, blah… it’s hard for me to stay going or feel that productivity vibe later on in the day.

Why You Should Be Writing Down Your Routines

Have you had a similar experience?

So, here's a quick run through of my morning routine! 

1 | Wake up with alarm: This is a big one! Waking up on time can make or break your productivity! When the alarm goes off, just jump up before you even have time to think about hitting snooze. I immediately start the coffee!

2 | Make coffee / Brush teeth / Wash face: These are super self-explanatory. On a good morning, I'll do squats or leg lifts while I brush my teeth to make the time go by faster! On a rough morning, I'll sit on the floor and try not to fall back asleep. 

3 | Drink coffee: Please. Just try to stop us.

4 | Read Jesus Calling: I have struggled and struggled to find a way to do a morning devotional. It can be tough to focus in the morning and that's why this book is SO perfect! Each day is only 2 paragraphs and 2 verses... Yes, I CAN do that at 6 AM!

5 | Meditate: I either do 2, 5, or 10 minutes, depending on how much time I have. The Happify app is a great guide through the meditation process, if you're just starting! Ashley Turner (my favorite!) also has one now, too! (Giam I think?)

6 | Happify Activity: So, that brings me to my next activity. The Happify app has tons of fast and free activities and they're the perfect way to start out in a good mood! 1-2 minutes and you're done!

7 | Read The Skimm & Eat Breakfast: The Skimm is just the best! Working with tiny children all day can make it difficult to keep up with news and current events. However, when they're skimmed for me, wittily paraphrased, and sent straight to my inbox, I can catch up in the time it takes me to eat breakfast (which is always greek yogurt and honey, btw)!

So that's how I start my mornings! You can screenshot and use this routine… adapt it into one of your own. Or just laugh at it.

How do you start your day? Is there anything you would like to add or improve about your own routine? What tricks do you use to get going in the morning? 

Study Tip Sunday: Mind Over Matter

Earn Better Grades This Semester with Skooli Online Tutoring! (Sponsored)

(This post brought to you by Skooli. All opinions are 100% my own.)

I can't even begin to tell y'all how many hours of my high school life I spent in math tutoring. I did after school tutoring with my own teachers (or basically any teacher that didn't mind being in the room with me for an hour as I stared at numbers on my paper, crying "I'll never be able to do this... it's too h-h-haaard"). 

And to add to the fun, I also went to an off-campus tutoring center twice a week. (If I walked in there today, they'd still have me working on fractions!)

But honestly, the worst part of all that tutoring was just the TIME that it took. I had just spent 8 hours at school, got out at 2:15, got home at 2:45, grabbed a quick snack, then headed out the door again to be at tutoring by 3:20. Some days, you just want to come home and know you don't have any place else to be. 

Well, rejoice because guess what? You can now have your cake and eat it, too. That's right... you can now come home AND get the professional tutoring you need to boost your grades with Skooli!

Skooli is a website that matches you up with tutors (from all over the world!) for specifically what you need! The best part? You can get the help you need while at home in your yoga pants! 

Here are some of the coolest things about Skooli:

Online tutoring provides the safety and convenience that students and parents need.
There is no dropping off and picking up from a tutoring center. There is no driving to and from a tutoring center after a long day or in the rain. There isn't even a risk of poor college students running out of gas on the way to tutoring! You are safely in your own home, on your own computer, on your own time schedule the whole time! 

You commit to just one session per tutor so you can find the perfect tutor for you!
When I was in my tutoring center in high school, I never knew who my tutor for the day was until I got there. There was one tutor who could break down things really well for me (and deal with all my tears).  The others were too vague, too broad, or explained things in a way that didn't work for my brain. Here, you have control over who your tutor is so you can optimize your study time! 

Skooli confirms tutors' qualifications and educational background. 
Basically, enough said. But with Skooli, you can be sure you are getting the best of the best. A real teacher, with real knowledge of the content you're learning, and a knowledge of how to differentiate instruction for different learners! Interestingly enough, Skooli is one of the only online tutoring services that actually does this! 

Parent progress tracking.
That's right. If you're a parent, you can can sign up and create an account for your child. This gives you the control to choose the tutor(s) who works best with your child, schedule times that are convenient to your family/work schedule, and view your child's progress (without having to schedule and show up for another conference). 

So, how does it work? Let me walk you through what to expect!

STEP 1: Start out by heading over to the website and easily creating your own account!

STEP 2: Time to get started! Yes, it's that easy. Just type in whatever subject you need help with!

STEP 3: Skooli will provide a HUGE selection of tutors, including their bios, pics, & qualifications.

STEP 4: Specify your specific education level to ensure that the most relevant tutor selection! 

STEP 6: Start checking out tutors to find one who's absolutely perfect to help you ace this semester! 

STEP 7: Use the easy scheduling too to choose the most convenient time for YOU!

Once you're in, here are features to optimize your tutoring session:

- Fast and responsive (aka no messages like "waiting for page to load" or "buffering") YAY!

- High quality video and audio to clearly connect you with the best teachers in the world!

- Progress tracking so that you can set study goals and track your progress to achieve them!

- Real time tools so that you and your tutor can draw, create graphs, or whatever you need!

- Screensharing. Show websites where you found info, your citations, spreadsheets, etc! 

- Share files, notes, images. That paper you're working on, your math study guide, anything!

Ready to get the help you need?! You can do it right here! :D

Did you try any tutoring last semester? How did it go? Do you think that Skooli would be a better alternative to traditional tutoring centers? Share your experiences below!