3 Mistakes to Avoid as a Student

As a student making mistakes is okay, but more importantly, learning from those mistakes and gaining valuable lessons from them should be your goal. This way, by the time you reach undergraduate school, graduate school, or your career, you already have important tips and tricks to help you succeed. In this blog post, we will outline common mistakes students make throughout their academic journeys, and how you can look out for and avoid making them again in order to move towards academic success. 

1- Not knowing your learning style: As a student it can be highly beneficial to learn about your learning style. Knowing your personal studying do’s and don’ts can help you save time when it comes to studying for your next test. You can figure this out through trial and error but you can also try taking a learning style quiz from reliable resources using a website such as educationplanner.org. To give you an idea you might be a visual learner (someone who learns best using mind maps, diagrams etc.), an auditory learner (listening to videos, lecture recordings), or verbal (talking about a subject or explaining it). You might be a little bit of each, or prefer to use different methods depending on the particular subject you are studying. Regardless, make it a point to learn about your learning style, which will allow you to better understand and apply your knowledge when needed. 

2- Cramming- It is so easy to come up with excuses, delay your work, and procrastinate until the last minute causing you to cram. Cramming can increase your stress levels many fold and lead to less than desirable results. It’s much easier to do a little bit of work or studying everyday than to avoid your work for as long as possible, forcing yourself to do it at the last moment. When you cram for a test, there is also sometimes the realisation that had you studied for it in time you would have genuinley enjoyed learning the content in more depth. Give yourself the opportunity to enjoy what you are studying or working on at a relaxed pace by studying a little bit each day rather than cramming everything in the night before, putting yourself under unnecessary  stress and pressure that could have been avoided.

3- Not using free time effectively: If you scheduled everything you had to do on a busy day, you would be surprised to still find little pockets of free time. Even if the free time consists of 10-15 minutes before your next class on a busy day, you could use this time to quickly go through some flashcards or a page of your notes. This way you can save or create more time later in the day or simply get a head start on some of your work. If you were to use the small pockets of free time you have each day it could compound to a few hours of time used effectively! Don’t forget though, that using free time effectively isn’t always about studying. Sometimes it could be taking a break doing what you like, catching up with a friend or giving yourself some rest! 

There you have it! Three mistakes to avoid making as a student. The sooner you learn to implement these habits, the better you will get at using them and reach your desired academic goals and outcomes. Good luck!