Here are some great habits to develop and implement that will help you achieve your academic goals whether you are in High School, College, or University:
Organization & Planning – Buy a weekly planner (there’s some really good ones in CVS & Office Depot) to write down daily assignments for each class as well as other essential To-Do Tasks. In addition, utilize the calendar on your desktop or google calendar because you can add events and even set an alarm to remind you beforehand just so you don’t accidentally miss an important meeting. Adding all of your test days for each class on this calendar also helps a lot! I’ve also personally found the “Notes” app on Macs and “OneNote” from Microsoft extremely useful for jotting ideas down in the moment it comes to mind, so that you don’t forget it later, and for easily organizing notes for each class all in one place.
Time & Stress Management – If you ever feel like you “don’t have enough time” to complete all of your assignments and studies, it might help to remind yourself that time doesn’t actually, technically exist; it only does up to the 4th dimension, and that is only because of the limits imposed by our own minds, where we perceive linear time due to our own ‘vertical thinking’ or as a convenient measurement for society as a whole to agree upon for various purposes. In fact, you can even practice bending time itself in favor of your own personal needs and desires – but I will go more in depth about that some other time. The most successful people are those who focus on the quality of work they are producing, rather than settling for something that is “good enough” just to “get it all done and out of the way” more quickly. This shows lack of dedication, and it yield unfavorable results which ultimately may put you in a position of constantly having to “race the clock” as if you are “racing to the finish line”, only the finish line never ends. Make sure you are completely on board with what you’re working on, and fully engaged during the process, so that you don’t fall into this trap. In terms of stress reduction, the best strategy is to give yourself breaks in between your assignments, where you can either take a quick nap or eat a snack. I take what I call “fun” breaks, where I reward myself after completing each major assignment by allowing myself to do something I really enjoy. Last thing I want to mention is that although in America, we tend to value well-roundedness and being involved in a thousand activities and organizations at once (exaggerating, but you know exactly what I’m talking about!) above all else, that is actually crazy. Do not take on more than you can handle. If you notice yourself already having some trouble keeping up with your readings in a class, do not go and join an additional organization.
Prioritize & Increase Productivity – While you are in school, and especially if you have lofty goals (like me) and are planning on completing your education, graduating, and obtaining your degree, you must make your education your #1 priority. You can attend to other areas of your life more afterwards, and give yourself a year’s break for example, but when your priorities are not straight, and you are simultaneously trying to accomplish 10 different goals all at once, your attention is split and not all of you will be on board with any one single goal which will not yield positive results in any of them. Make sure you get your priorities straight. You can even make a list and see what your top 3 priorities are and focus on those. For instance, schedule time-off from work for studying because acing your test is a higher priority and more important to you than your current job which is temporary). This is a key technique for being more productive as well in each particular endeavor.
Self-Care & Health: This is most especially important if you suffer from a chronic illness such as depression or anxiety. For anxiety, meditation, yoga, and breathing techniques do wonders. For depression, try to get out of your comfort zone and try new things out and pick at least 1 thing to do each day just because it makes you happy, or at least elevates your mood. Of course, the best course of action is to go to the doctor as soon as possible and determine whether you need medication for it, because you may be surprised: Many people who have certain (even chronic) illnesses or disorders don’t even know it. They literally go about their lives trying to “figure out what’s wrong with them” or why everything in their lives keeps falling apart. There are a lot of anti-psychiatric people nowadays who rant about unnecessary treatment and overmedication in our society, but if you really think about it: Doctors don’t have a PhD because they are dumb, or enter in a health profession centered around curing those who are sick because they don’t care about people. Sure, you can try other things like spiritual healing and holistic approaches which also work amazingly well for some people, and for some health issues but that doesn’t mean we should completely throw out everything in our current medical system either; Instead, we can build on it. Also, make sure you don’t ever go into taking a test while you are hungry and malnourished for obvious reasons. Eat a healthy and nutritious meal before starting your school work as well. Self-care is extremely important for your mind and body to function properly. Lastly, keep a water bottle with you at all times. It helps with energy levels and to recharge, especially when feeling fatigued.
Focus & Concentration: The location you choose to study in can make a huge difference in your ability to stay focused on your work and continue being productive. Try out different coffee shops, your school library and other study places at your school, or a distraction-free area in your home dedicated solely for this purpose. For me, lighting matters a lot, because I study better in dim, yellow light like near a desk lamp so if you are the same way, remember to take that into consideration as well. Getting enough sleep also helps us be in a better mood and more motivated when doing schoolwork, rather than feeling lethargic and fatigued. If you still feel like you need an additional boost in energy, or help getting yourself in study-mode, I recommend listening to binaural beats and subliminals on youtube for “Getting in the zone”, “Getting in flow state”, or just any other kind of “study aid” in general. They work wonders! There’s even ones for acing your tests if you’re ever feeling especially nervous about your grades. I really like the saying, “study smarter, not harder” because it’s true most of the time. An hour of focused reading will be so much more productive than 5 hours of procrastinating and unfocused reading, which will cause you to not remember much of it later on.
Study Strategies: Try to do schoolwork at times when it is easier to stay in a positive mindset and attitude. Searching up affirmations online can be very beneficial too, if you are tend to be a negative thinker most of the time. Approaching tasks with thoughts like “I’m going to do great!” will cause you to do better, and it has a much more profound effect on your performance than you would think. Reminding yourself of everything you have already completed and accomplished throughout the day, instead of solely on all of the things that still need to get done, will remind you to be proud of yourself and therefore will motivate you towards wanting to achieve even more. It also helps prevent you from falling into one of those negative spirals where your own painful thoughts begin to totally ruin your day – for instance, thoughts that make you believe accomplishing particular goals is impossible – until eventually, you begin doubting your own abilities. Also, don’t wait until the last minute because that will lead to cramming and not retaining information properly in the long-term. Review lecture notes as your #1 study resource before moving on to read the textbook because professors, especially in college, put certain materials in their lecture slides for a reason and prefer those details to be highlighted. Your professor is also the one who makes your test, so they will most likely base it more heavily off of class lecture notes than other sources. My favorite study strategy is separating different concepts into their own categories. You can do this in a multitude of ways such as using flash cards with similar topics being put together in one pile; however, I find it even easier to use the “Table of Contents” from the course textbook and basically memorize how it is structured as a first step. The different headings and subtitles can be used as the “different categories” and you can even re-type it up and add additional important notes like vocabulary words from the textbook to it, with smaller font. The reason why I recommend doing this is because it is CRITICAL to not get confused and mix information from different topics up with each other. It also gives you a simplified “overview” of what you need to know, and helps in seeing the “bigger picture”, more “objectively” before you dive into learning very detailed information and complicated concepts. It helps in remembering the overall purpose for what you are learning, too. Last but not least, don’t forget to utilize online resources such as coursehero.com or Quizlet, where you can often find good notes and test reviews of the class material provided by students who have already taken that course in the recent past.
Social Support: First of all, make sure you surround yourself with people who uplift your spirits, and not those who bring you down or think they are “better than you”. It’s a good idea to minimize distractions by avoiding people who constantly keep you from your studies, but do reach out to people every once in a while and at least try to maintain a social life because connection is a basic human need (just like food or water) so it can be encouraging, during your break times, to have someone to talk to. It’s also a really great idea to get a peer academic coach, or at least a tutor for one or more of your classes, even if you don’t think you need it. Sometimes, they can provide valuable tips and resources that you may not have known about or thought of before. You may even be able to sign up for a mentor through your college or major, and even a career coach if your school offers it. Outside of school, having a therapist can be extremely beneficial too, and they can even help you plan things out and support you throughout your education. Sharing and comparing notes with other classmates, in case you missed some kind of important information from lecture by dozing off and such, is another great way to both enliven your social life and keep up with your education. Last but not least, see if any of your classes has an online group that you can join so that you can be in contact with other students taking the course. The most popular platforms I’ve seen students use for this purpose is GroupMe or a Facebook group. It’s a great way for students to help each other out and get their questions answered. For each test, your class can start a GoogleDoc through which everyone contributes to completing the study guide (or creating one, if your teacher didn’t provide one) together. Peer support helps a lot!
