Student life is one of the most exciting times of our lives without a doubt. But has it ever occurred to you, what makes a good student? Well, we’ve been following some ground rules for a long time, like time management, a hygienic lifestyle, and an organized lifestyle. That works of course, but following the same patterns and routines makes you bored and that’s why we sometimes like to get off the track and want to enjoy our time, and that’s where things begin to get messy and out of routine.
The most interesting part is this kind of awkward situation almost happens to every student once in their life. Some get used to it but some struggle to avoid it. Creating positive habits now helps provide the groundwork for future success throughout the tough stage of student life. Unfortunately, many students develop negative habits that might affect their academic and personal development. Realizing and staying away from these negative behaviors is necessary to reach one’s greatest potential.
So my hardworking fellows, in today’s article we’re going to discuss bad habits you must avoid to focus and concentrate on your career properly. I’m listing 10 such habits that I’ve personally faced, do let me know in the comment section if you’ve got more in mind.
Habits Every Student Should Avoid
Poor Time Management
There’s a reason we’ve been taught from our childhood to manage our time and always complete our work on time. I hope if you’ve ever heard from your elders what they used to say about time, “Time is money“, yes actually it is. Poor time management frequently leads to high levels of stress, incomplete work, and last-minute rushing. Overcommitting to activities, underestimating the amount of time required for tasks, and neglecting to prioritize important tasks are common time management errors.
How to manage your time
To manage time better, prioritize tasks based on importance and deadlines. Make a weekly plan that provides time for socializing, learning, and relaxing. Employ time-tracking applications and to-do lists as useful tools, and stay away from time-wasters like excessive social media use. Especially, in this modern world, we’re badly addicted to social media, learn how digital media is affecting our lives and try to reduce your online surfing.
Multitasking
A lot of students think that multitasking allows them to do more. Multitasking, however, may reduce concentration and productivity, resulting in less productive work and more stress. Don’t get inspired by the sci-fi thriller movies or anyone who multitask, the truth is it ruins your work and outcome. When we multitask, we lose focus and precision in our work.
How to avoid multitasking
Concentrate on one task at a time rather than multitasking. To increase focus, use strategies like time blocking to allocate certain periods to various tasks, block out distractions during study sessions, and engage in mindfulness exercises. To get the best results always do important things first and prioritize your tasks accordingly.
Procrastination
Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing tasks. A common habit of almost every second student is poor planning and keeping delays in important tasks. At one point it seems okay that we can do it later but when the time comes it feels like a burden. It is a common problem among students and is frequently brought on by a lack of enthusiasm, a fear of failing, or poor time management. Delays might result in more stress, poorer test performance, and guilt.
How to avoid procrastination
To overcome procrastination, break tasks into smaller, manageable parts. Give each task a clear due date and use time management strategies like the Pomodoro Technique to maintain focus. When you finish things on schedule, reward yourself to create a favorable link with productivity.
In the late 1980s, Francesco Cirillo created the Pomodoro Technique, a time management strategy. In order to understand how to manage time and how to make it valuable which increases production, this systematic approach is composed of procedures, instruments, concepts, and values. Its foundation is a set of ideas derived from self-awareness and self-observation.
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Lack of organization
Organization is key to a student’s success. Most students don’t understand this even by the end of their college degree. It has a huge impact on your academic career and costs you a lot of extra time. Without proper organization in your life, you feel overburdened, forget your homework, and may miss important deadlines. A disorganized workspace, missing notes, and an unclear study schedule are indicators of poor organization.
How to keep yourself organized
Maintain a planner or digital calendar for tasks and due dates to enhance organization. Keep your workspace neat and orderly by classifying your study materials into folders or binders. Create an organized atmosphere by creating a daily schedule that provides time for studies, breaks, and leisure.
And a fun fact! for important quick reminders, you can use sticky notes clipped to a computer table or wardrobe, and remove them once the task is completed.
Skipping Classes
Well, from personal experience this one seems a lot of fun, especially in the early days of college time. You and your bunch of friends just disappear like a puff of smoke and instead of studying you prefer enjoying your time in your preferred ways. Skipping classes might seem harmless, but it can have long-term negative effects. Students need to catch up on important discussions, lectures, and resources that are necessary for their education.
Moreover, that’s about cheating on your parents and even on your ownself.
How to avoid skipping classes
Establish goals for every class to maintain motivation and attend consistently. To hold each other responsible, choose a study partner. Remind yourself of the advantages of going to lessons in the long run, and ask for assistance if you are having trouble understanding the content. Think out of the box, if you enjoy your time today you may have to suffer tomorrow, not everyone among us is lucky, so spend your time wisely.
Not asking for help
Many students avoid asking for help due to fear of looking foolish or weak. However, getting help is essential for understanding challenging ideas and enhancing academic achievement. Students should keep in mind that peers and teachers are important resources and that asking questions is a sign of curiosity and readiness to learn. To not know everything is acceptable.
How to get help from other students
Attend study sessions or office hours, prepare targeted questions, and ask for help efficiently. Never hesitate, make new friends, and always expand your circle to get maximum help whenever needed. Moreover, to receive the help you require, make use of tutoring programs and internet resources.
Poor Study Habits
At some point, we can agree on this that everyone has their own way of studying. But, that doesn’t have to be a poor way of doing things. Homework in front of the TV, listening to music while trying to focus on some numerical, might look cool but that’ll never bring you any success. Poor study habits, such as cramming, studying in distracting environments, and not reviewing material regularly, can badly affect academic success.
How to avoid poor study habits
Establish a regular study routine and choose a distraction-free workspace to promote effective study habits. To prevent exhaustion, use active learning strategies like teaching others and summarizing material. You should also take regular pauses. Try to create a space before you study, your environment must be clean, sound, and open so you concentrate properly.
Excessive Use of Technology
Technology can be a helpful learning tool, but using it too much can cause distractions and lower productivity. Study time can be lost to social networking, gaming, and watching too much television. In my opinion, phones and social media interaction shouldn’t be allowed within the classes and educational auditoriums. Digital apps and socializing have their own place and are important as well, but during studies, it’s only a distraction.
How to avoid excessive use of technology
Use programs that block websites that distract you during study time and establish defined periods for recreational technology use to maintain a balance in your technology use. Always either switch off your phone or turn it to silent mode when you’re in class or group discussion. To promote healthier sleep, cut less on screen time before bed.
Neglecting health
Good health is essential for effective learning. Many students neglect their physical and mental health due to busy schedules and academic pressure. Poor eating habits, lack of activity, and lack of sleep are examples of common harmful behaviors. We need essential vitamins and minerals for our body and mind to work in accordance, and we get all those minerals in healthy foods and proper sleep.
How to take care of your health
Maintain a healthy lifestyle by eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and well-balanced. Get enough sleep every night, engage in stress-relieving activities like deep breathing and meditation, and exercise frequently to increase energy and decrease tension. Always follow a routine and must do 30 minutes of exercise daily.
Watching Adult Content
I’ll be very straight on this one, adult media and explicit content are only aired to destroy your life and youth. If you’re a student and badly addicted to adult forums and visit adult sites frequently, you need to stop it immediately. It has no benefits to you but only destruction to a career. Moreover, it badly affects your spiritual life as well. It leads to less self-esteem and distracts you from your studies as well.
How to avoid watching adult content
In the beginning, it may seem difficult to overcome such nasty habits, but actually, it’s very easy. Start with simple steps like avoiding hanging out with people with such a mindset, uninstall VPNs or proxies in your phone that connect you to such services, and always have an ad-blocker in your web browser so you don’t get to see such advertisements. Moreover, build your connection with God and pray daily to keep yourself away from such bad habits.
Conclusion
Students must break harmful habits in order to achieve their academic and personal potential. Students can increase their focus, output, and general well-being by identifying and changing these habits. Although it takes time and work to form excellent habits, the rewards are priceless. Never forget that having positive thinking and healthy habits will open the way for success.
Dheraj Behram is an aspiring educational leader from a remote village in South Punjab, currently pursuing a master’s degree in Educational Leadership in the US. With extensive experience collaborating with world-renowned educationists, Dheraj’s scholarly interests are the intersection of education and technology, particularly the benefits of partnerships in this area, the use of AI in education, and technologically advanced instructional design strategies.
