How to Be a Better Student

It is common for students not to think too great of themselves in their studies. I totally understand this feeling because everyone who can surf the internet attended high school, even though some of us did not go to university.

What I am trying to say in essence is that we all sometimes have that feeling of being a bad or an average student. Some of us sometimes assume that maybe some students are naturally born with overdose smartness because: no matter how hard a quiz, test, or an exam is, those set of students that we carry in high esteem in school always seem to get things right and for some us it is the opposite.

Let me share a little story of myself with you guys. I was the best student in all classes I went through while I was still in school. But again, I have been smart enough to know and will always tell my friends that good grades do not make me the best student. But good grades in school are necessary because it is a significant part of education, and good results in school are the benefits of intensive focus and studies.

Being a successful student does not necessarily mean you are more intelligent than your peers. Discipline, focus, studies, patience, and winning mentality make a successful student.

For those of you here, who think you are not smart, relax. I am here for you guys!

Without wasting much of your time, let me share with you ‘the secrete to become a better student.’

I am sure that after reading this article, you will completely change the mindset of how you used to see yourself as a bad or an average student.

Don’t rely on Motivations:

If you are really sure about changing your performance in school and becoming a better student, you don’t have to wait for chances. You have to create and take ‘chances’ for yourself.

Good students don’t wait till they are in the right mood for studies before studying. They do so even when their spirit is reluctant. Students you see as a better student than you can ever be: aren’t more intellectually gifted than you are. They are better because they pay more time on studies than you do. They are better because they don’t wait to be motivated by things before studying. They rely on the systems that they have set in place. They are their very own motivation!

Successful students rely on systems that enable them to get school-related works done, even when they are not in the right mood to do so.

The moment you start creating chances for yourself, being your own motivation, carrying your books to study even when your spirit does not say so, that moment your journey to becoming a better student kicks off!

Make sure to write everything down:

To be a better and effective student in school, make sure you listen attentively to what is being thought and also write down everything you have been thought in school. Do not neglect some because you feel it is not necessary for you to write down. You can need that stuff you have overlooked in the future.

So, be it homework, dates for tests and exams, project deadline dates, dates for school competitions, school and family events, etc. You must write everything down.

Do not assume you can remember all things, so it is not necessary to write them down; as a good student, you must write it all down.

You might think I am over exaggerating these things. But trust me, every bit of information I have given matters on your journey to becoming a better student.

Create your weekly schedule:

Other than having a general weekly schedule that maybe everyone in your house follows, it is very important for you to create your own rough weekly schedule; even though it may look impossible to accurately follow a schedule, you still need to create one.

On this schedule, carefully draft down all recurring weekly commitments such as school activities, family and social events, religious activities, and extracurricular activities.

Then make out regular time weekly for studying and writing your homework.

An example of a rough week schedule for studying and writing of home works as well as other activities away from school could be like this:

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays: 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Tuesdays and Thursdays: 5 pm to 8 pm
Saturdays and Sundays: 3 pm to 6 pm

After successfully creating time for your schedule, chip in the activities to be done weekly for each time that you have written down: this really helped while I was in school, and I am positive it will do good for you as well.

Avoid distractions of any kind while studying:

Distractions are the main and biggest obstacles that can hinder a student from doing well while studying.

In other, for a student to avoid distractions, the student first all needs to avoid the mindset of thinking he or she can handle distractions while studying. Do you get this at all? Do not think you can manage to do other activities and still be able to focus on your studies at the same time. Avoid that mindset!

Most of the things that distract us while studying in this digital era can easily be avoided when you are a disciplined person

Now, here are some ways to avoid distractions before they start to play with our heads while studying, thereby defeating that willpower we thought we had to handle both distractions and studies.

Make sure to turn off all notifications on your phones or tablets before you start to study.
Delete any applications that you have on your phone that often serve as a means of distraction to you whenever you are studying.
Keep your phones, tablets, laptop, or any gadget that may serve as a means of distraction to you far away: because these things can distract and divert your focus while studying.
Set a very long and complicated password to unlock any of your gadgets. Don’t overlook this! Having a very long password on your phone will keep you off your phone anytime you think of surfing around it while studying.
Restrict access to the internet before you start to study:
If you would need any the internet for studies by any chance, make sure to have just one tab opened in your browser.
When making these changes on your phones before studying, make sure you have someone who will help you keep an account of all changes you have made just in case you forget.

Develop good reading posture:

Good reading posting can help you from getting distracted or falling asleep while reading. Good reading posture can boost your mood and enhance your memory to learn and absorb everything you have learned.

So, sit upright while reading, pull back your shoulders, and slightly lift up your chin. This posture will help a lot.

Do not multitask while studying:

It distracts a lot. Make sure to stay focused on one thing at a time. Multitasking means doing more than one thing at a time; it can affect students studying efficiency.

Unlike what we have in mind while we multitask, you will actually get things done right and quick enough when you place your full focus on one thing at a time.

Have the mindset that some persons are not more intellectually gifted than others:

Some researchers have proven that students who believe that they can improve and do better in school than there previously were actually become well.

You are not excluded from people who can do better in school. You can make up your mind that you can become better and smarter than your present, and with discipline, focus, and studies, you will achieve those feet of becoming a better student.

Know this; Intelligence is not for a selected few. It is a trait that someone can develop with time. Do not ever see yourself as a dumb fellow or conclude that you are not inclined academically. When you have the right mindset, you can be more intelligent than you have ever thought.

Do not study for too long:

It is normal that some persons cannot study for a long time. There is no shame in this. It is normal among students, even with those very intelligent students.

For most of us, the highest level of focus we can maintain in a streak while studying is 45 minutes. If you are in this category, then I will recommend that when you notice that you are beginning to lose focus while studying, always take a break of about 5 to 10 minutes.

In fact, it has been proven that most students tend to absorb more of what they have learned when they study for a shorter period.

So, it is better to study in a short period and absorbs more than to be struggling with your books because you want to go on a long study streak and end up not being able to absorb things you have been studying.

Engage in regular exercise:

Regular exercise helps you to loosen up from mental stress. It opens your mind and can help you to be able to remember every bit of information that you have studied or been thought. It also helps to enhance your level of concentration in studies, as well as make you more creative.

Other than the normal health benefits of exercise, exercise can also enhance your brain to be able to remember things.

Make sure exercise is among your weekly routine. You can make out a fixed time to exercise weekly; like 20 to 30 minutes of your time is okay for exercises.

Be well organized:

Another effective way to becoming a better student is; to always stay organized. If a student is not organized, he/she ends up doing things he or she could have done at the perfect time.

Things like wasting time looking for school items: e.g., notes, pen, etc., some even end up doing their homework in school because they forgot to do it at home.

These things will affect a student’s mental state and can affect his or her level of attention in school for that day.

Below are some ways to be a more organized student.

Set a daily reminder that reminds you of time to do your assignments.
Set tests and exams reminder. This will enable you to prepare beforehand.
Make use of the MyStudyLife app. It helps students a lot.
You can also decide to make use of a planner or Google Calendar that reminds you of the dates for various school events.
Make sure to always clear your desk at the end of school hours.
You can as well make use of the Google Keep app to do a ‘brain dump.’

Try to break down big tasks:

Breaking tasks into smaller ones will make solutions easy for them. If you don’t break down tasks, it will look big and complicated, thereby leading to procrastination.

Here is an example of what I am driving at: If you want to work on your history paper, you can decide to breakdown the task into smaller tasks like this:

Read Chapter 3 of your history notebook.
Read Chapter 3 of your textbook.
Do research going through about 5 to 10 articles.
Develop a statement for the thesis.
Write down the outline.
Write down introduction.
Write down main paragraph 1
Write down main paragraph 2
Write down main paragraph 3
Write down main paragraph 4
Write down main paragraph 5
Write your conclusion
And lastly, Proofread and edit

When you work like this on your history paper or any other paper, focusing on one task at a time, then you will be able to complete your work without procrastination.

Get enough sleep every night:

Make sure to get enough sleep every night (a minimum of 8 hours of sleep every night will do).

It has been scientifically proven that students who perform well in school are effective learners. And to become an effective learner, getting enough sleep at night is a vital part of the process that you should not ignore.

Research has proven that getting enough sleep can boost and enhance memory for effective learning. Try to always go to bed at the same time every day. And when you sleep, make sure to sleep for at least 8 hours each night.

If you are able to keep up with this, I am very optimistic that your memory will be more enhanced to absorb things that you have learned, thereby making you improve more on your academic performances.

Create a Conducive studying environment for yourself:

Another way for better performance in studies is when you always have a clean and conducive studying environment.

Below are a few tips on how to have a good and conducive environment for studies:

Make sure to always tidy your desk daily.
Make sure that everything you will need for your studies has been put in place in your studying environment.
Make sure to have a suitable reading light in the room/environment.
To avoid getting distracted by noise, you block your ears with the use of earplugs if necessary.
Have about two motivational quotes in relation to effective studies in your studying environment.
Have a well comfortable chair for studying.
Make sure to remove anything that can serve as a means of distraction in your studying room.
Have a calendar or a reminder that reminds you of important dates and deadlines of study events in the room. Let me further elaborate on the importance of this: Most times some students tend to keep track of dates of important school events in their head.

If you do this, you better stop and start trying to have a proper reminder for it, as students tend to forget dates of upcoming school events like tests, exams, practical’s, and a lot more.

Forgetting such an important date can disorganize you, thereby leading to poor performance on that event.

So it is advisable to always make use of reminders like Google Calendar or Google Keep that will remind you of those important dates. This will make you prepare for that event and do well in it as well. This bit of information is a key step to becoming a better student.

Always take notes during class:

It baffles me when a student says he or she does not take notes in class. Do not neglect the importance of taking notes. It is very important as it can help you focus, pay more attention, and learn the concept better. It can also serve as a reminder: it can remind you of things that were thought of in class.

Do not be shy to ask questions:

A great way of staying engaged is when you ask a lot of questions. Make sure to ask your friends and teachers questions so as to gain more knowledge of what has been thought.

Pay great attention in class so as to help you with logical and insightful questions. Don’t be scared or shy to ask your teachers questions about what has been thought.

Always eat healthily:

A lot of research has shown that: the better your nutrition is, the better your brain will function. And as you know, when your brain functions well, the better your school performance will be.

I have narrowed down some tips on how to eat more healthily.

Always eat vegetables and fruits.
Eat meat, fish, and eggs.
Eat nuts.
Stay away from processed foods.
Avoid too much intake of sugar and Tran’s fats.
Avoid the intake of artificial sweeteners.
Drink a lot of water.
Avoid beverages that are sugary.

Try to manage your stress:

Students who are unable to manage their stress when writing tests or exams tend to score low grades.

Below are a few things to do that will help you contain and manage stress.

Make sure to always perform deep breathing exercises.
Listen to cool music often.
Regularly spend time with friends and family members.
Do bodily exercises.
Read books.
Have a gratitude journal.
At the end of each day, take out some minutes to reflect on all daily activities.
Always do your homework, and make sure to submit on time.

Even though some of you already know the importance of these few tips, most students still do not practice any of them. Regular submission of homework should not be negotiable, and also try to do your best on any assignment given to you by your tutors.

This is the basic foundation of becoming a better student in school.

Always challenge yourself to do better:

Don’t be assigned to doing regular homework or assignment given by your class teachers alone. Go further than that; challenge yourself in solving puzzles and questions that require deep thinking outside the box of what your teachers have thought of you.

Go online, look for resources, and learn bits of pieces of information that are outside your school syllabus.

This will take you a step above your peers in class.

Always make out time to relax:

Other than getting good grades and outshining your peers in class, you have to be able to live a balanced life, as this is also considered an integral part of doing well in school.

To have a balanced life, you have to always set out time for relaxation to ensure that you do not completely burn out with school stress.

If you are able to apply all steps that have been explained in this article, with your total focus, I am assuring you that you will become a better student in school.

Do not put it as a burden upon yourself to try and implement all the tips at once. Remember; take things to step by step. With continuous practice, your dream of becoming one of the best students in the class will be a reality.

I wish you good luck as you take up the bold step to becoming a better student in school.