If you want to achieve academic success, then you have to study smart. An article published on Life Sciences Education revealed that students who dedicated all of their study time to active learning strategies scored better results compared to the rest of their peers. In the study, researchers emphasized that students’ learning habits mattered more than other factors, such as the time and frequency of their study sessions. Thus, students have to form good study habits to improve their academic performance. To get you started, here are some strategies:

Address Your Tendency to Procrastinate

To fully establish good habits, you’ll have to eliminate the bad ones. According to The Conversation, more than 70% of college students are guilty of procrastinating while studying. This is because some students lack the motivation to start on their schoolwork. 

To remedy this, recall your personal goals, as they will remind you of why you’re studying. Maybe you aim to be a teacher or an engineer one day. To attain your goal, you need to put in the work. Alternatively, instead of focusing on long-term goals, you can break your tasks up into smaller chunks. This will reduce your tendency to procrastinate because it makes your workload more manageable. 

Put Your Phone Away

You also need to remove any distractions to make room for good habits. Our article ‘Smartphone Addiction’ highlights that teenagers and young adults are extremely dependent on their gadgets. These technologies can make it easier for you to connect with your peers and even research your chosen field. However, you have to learn to draw the line when smartphone use gets in the way of your studies.  

Luckily, there’s a simple fix for this. Move your smartphone away from your study area. You can also install app blockers so that you can stop yourself from opening social media accounts while you’re doing schoolwork.

Be Consistent

At first, new study strategies may seem easy to turn into habits. Over time, however, you may find yourself breaking the chain and becoming less consistent. Though you may think that your circumstances are to blame, the book Atomic Habits states that your internal “system” could be preventing you from breaking your bad habits and forming new ones. The book explains that you need to shift your perception to allow for consistency, even when you lack time, motivation, or momentum. So if you want these good habits to take root, shift your perception by making them a non-negotiable part of your daily routine. For example, prioritize studying at the designated time and staying off social media, and it’ll soon become routine. 

Join a Study Group

Speaking of consistency, you can turn good practices into daily habits by joining a study group. Whenever you feel unmotivated, your support network will keep you in-check and give you a much-needed push. This is why the book Drive recognizes a sense of belonging as one of the most important sources of intrinsic motivation. By choosing to surround yourself with brilliant individuals, you’ll feel driven to implement your strategies and become consistent with your habits. As an added bonus, you’ll also be in the company of students who can help you out with any concerns. For instance, if you don’t get a certain part of the lesson, other members can pitch in and clarify things for you.

It can be challenging to form new habits, but your efforts will be rewarded when you see improvements in your academic performance. To build new habits, start by learning how to combat procrastination and distractions. Then, remain consistent with your strategy and surround yourself with helpful peers, so that you can solidify your habit. Committing yourself to your studies isn’t always easy, but with the tools and resources, plus the right mindset, you can ace your academics.