The Habits Of Successful Students

Executive Summary

Focused students are presumed to employ successful habits in their studying practices, which are believed to dictate their success in terms of academic excellence. It has become imperative that scholars review some of these habits and try to link them with student behaviour to determine whether the habits are compelling enough. There has been a need to examine the appropriate recommendations which are used to instill these habits among students. This essay paper identifies ten habits that characterize successful students as well as the five recommendations which are used to instill these habits among students.

Introduction

Being a student and having the opportunity to learn new information and expand your knowledge is important for every individual. According to Suskie (2018), students can get the opportunity to interact with like-minded people in life and also get the opportunity to be taught by professionals who guide them on how to improve their lives. But it is imperative to acknowledge that not every student gets to attain his or her objectives and goals when pursuing his or her studies. This draws us to an important question, what are the habits of successful students? Are these habits practical, psychological, or can they simply be learned and be practiced in the daily lives of students? This essay paper seeks to examine and evaluate the ten habits of successful students. Some of these habits are linked to the personality of a student, but most of them can be practiced and exercised by a student.

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The 10 Habits

1) Organisation

A successful student is an organised student. For a student to succeed in pursuing his or her studies successfully, the student has to remain organised (Luhmann, 2018). A student has to be able to organise his or her study materials logically and efficiently. This is essential as the student will have easy access to the study materials during class sessions and also be in a position to assign different study materials to different subjects being learned.

2) Less preference for multitasking

Successful students avoid multitasking. There is a misconception that multitasking is a given advantage for a student. According to Adler and Benbunan-Fich (2012, p.156), multitasking for students is wrong as it lowers their concentration levels. By multitasking, a student is aiming to complete an academic task as opposed to trying to understand what he or she is studying. Students are encouraged to concentrate or one thing (or study) a time and avoid unnecessary distractions.

3) Having an agenda

Successful students always have an agenda. Before the beginning of a semester, ambitious students usually have set out their learning targets. This involves drawing out a workable plan which will guide them on attaining their objectives. A successful student always plans for his or her assignments, and it is not uncommon to find focused students with a planner. By equipping themselves with study planners, students ensure that they do not forget their assigned projects, especially long-term projects. Moreover, such study planners ensure that they effectively research their assigned academic literature.

4) Division of tasks

Successful students always divide their tasks when studying. Proactive students avoid studying in a stretch. A stretch study approach has been linked to laziness and unproductiveness, especially among younger students (Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, 1998, p.43). By dividing academic tasks, then a student is in a position to understand a semester syllabus and break it into several components. By breaking down the syllabus, then it is possible to create a suitable study plan that will ensure the student is engaged with his or her studies.

5) Active participation

Successful students actively participate in their classes. To efficiently understand and retain most information being taught in a classroom, a student has to participate in classroom sessions actively. According to Slavin (2019), successful students ask questions, volunteer to explain the concepts being taught, and always raise their questions when prompted to. By performing these set of actions, not only is a student able to understand the material better but can instill a positive approach towards education.

6) Adequate sleep

Successful students get adequate sleep. Burning the midnight oil has always been the norm for students interested in study or completing the tasks which they feel need their attention. Studying for long hours may seem attractive, but it is not necessarily productive. To efficiently focus on your studies and boost your memory capacity as a student, you need at least 7 hours of sleep. With adequate sleep, a student becomes refreshed and can efficiently concentrate on his or her studies; therefore, getting proper rest is a successful habit for successful students.

7) Avoiding a perfectionist persona

Successful students avoid adopting a Perfectionist Persona. Learning is a process, and a student should always be open to consultation and avoid trying 'too hard.' Such students always reach out to their tutors or professors for assistance whenever they feel that they have not properly understood a concept. Moreover, these students understand that the only way they can improve their skills is through active consultation either by reaching out to their peers or teachers.

8) Engagement with a Study Group

Successful students always identify and engage with a study group. After being taught, focused students normally formulate study groups with classmates where they get to go through the key concepts that have been covered in a class. Study groups are efficient, especially before a test or a class session that requires students to have grasped essential key points from the previous class. Moreover, study groups ensure that students grasp the fundamentals in the right way.

9) The use of additional study resources

Successful students incorporate the use of additional study resources. Focused students are not afraid to research, and they do not confine their learning to the study materials and literature that has been handed over to them by their tutors. They also go the extra mile and search for educational resources that complement the learning materials that they have been given to research on; this includes researching online academic databases, related academic articles, and journals. By widening their research scope, students have the advantage of finding multifaceted approaches to tackling their assignments or projects.

10) Involvement with extra-curricular activities

Successful students are involved in extra-curricular activities. Successful students do not only involve themselves with academic particulars, but they are eager to engage in extra-curricular activities. Extra-curricular activities allow students to 'wind off'; such activities allow students to relax and extend their circle of friends; thereby, they can learn something new or discover new ways of approaching a problem. Extra-curricular activities also allow students to improve on their social skills, which they will find useful when they seek consultation with their peers and lecturers.

Conclusion

The habits that define successful students are practicable and can be applied by any student. These habits include; being organized, avoiding multitasking, having a clear study agenda, dividing academic tasks, actively participating in classes, getting adequate sleep, preventing a perfectionist persona, engagement in study groups, incorporating the use of additional study resources, and engaging in extra-curricular activities. As demonstrated, these habits can be carried out by any student; they just require a student to be focused on implementing them. What is interesting about these habits is that they are behavioral habits which can be improved on for example when students are encouraged to be organized in all aspects of their academic life, they have the opportunity to practice on how to organize their study materials and create study plans that allow them to plan their study activities. Notable psychological attributes from these successful habits include actively assuming an active persona that helps a student to engage and participate with others actively and actively in a classroom. As much as this is a psychological trait, students can learn to improve their interaction capacities by aiming to be more open-minded and volunteering to spearhead discussion sessions. Therefore, we can conclude by highlighting that every student is capable of incorporating these habits into their academic environment.

Recommendations

To implement the discussed ten habits for successful students, a student has to; work out of a suitable learning style, identify a productive place to study, plan for study times, eliminate any distractions, and finally take useful notes during a learning session. By working out an appropriate learning style, then a student will be in a position to plan his or her study sessions and organize the study materials which will be used. By identifying a productive place to study, then a student will be in a position to avoid unnecessary distractions when studying, and consequently, the student will be able to improve his or her concentration levels and avoid multitasking. By planning for study times, then a student will be able to efficiently study at the recommended hours and also get the time to get enough rest and also allocate time to extra-curricular activities. By eliminating distractions, then a student can set an academic agenda where it becomes possible to plan for assignments and research on assigned tasks. And finally, by taking useful notes, then a student can use these critical concepts in researching for additional study resources that will assist the student in complementing the knowledge that he or she already possesses.

References

1. Adler, R.F., and Benbunan-Fich, R., 2012. Juggling on a high wire: Multitasking effects on performance. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 70(2), pp.156-168.
2. Luhmann, N., 2018. Organization and decision. Cambridge University Press.
3. Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children. (1998). National Academies Press, p.43.
4. Slavin, R.E., 2019. Educational psychology: Theory and practice.
5. Suskie, L., 2018. Assessing student learning: A common sense guide. John Wiley & Sons.