Are your grades not what they should be? Many young adults find themselves overstretched and overwhelmed by their educational pursuits!
Well, positive change requires effort. Numerous success experts cite the key, commonsense principle that you succeed by what you do —not by who you are or how you look. To do well as a student, it is important to have the right traits and approach. You should imbibe a few characteristics that can help you a lot when it comes to dealing with school pressure and succeeding at the end of the day.
Let's examine some traits that all successful students share—traits we should all strive to develop.
Focus
To graduate with flying colours, you definitely need to have focus. You should know what your goals are and commit to them. They should be on your mind every single day and you should never lose sight of them. You should only spend your time on the things that can help you reach your goals. If you are easily distracted, you are unlikely to succeed.
Hard Work/ Determination
A potentially successful student is one that is not afraid of hard work. You cannot sail through school by doing the bare minimum. You need to actually put in effort and energy. Studying hard or learning new things should not be concept that should scare you as a student.
You have to have the grit or determination to dig in your heels and not wait till the last minute to ask for help. Talk to your professor or teacher privately during office hours to explain your situation. Then make a commitment to do extra work if necessary to master the material. Going the extra mile and making the effort to get help will show your instructor that you're serious about the class. This may enable you to get extra tutoring from the teacher or from his or her assistant. Of course, extra help will only matter if you are making your own best effort. Put in the extra time and don't give up!
Initiative
Not everything will be spoon-fed to you. As a student, you ought to recognise the things you need to do even though there is no one to clearly state them for you. You have to take initiative and make decisions on your own. If you keep waiting for others to start something before you do it, then you will not go far.
By taking an active role you will help clear up any concerns you might have about the content or gaps in your understanding—and it will also help class time to fly by. This is also good time management! If the teacher's answers still leave you without a clear understanding of a concept, then take the initiative to ask for extra tutoring from the teacher or another student.
Organization/ Time Management
Setting up folders or binders for each class is a simple way to keep papers in order so that you can grab them at a moment's notice. If you write papers on a computer, setting up a folder for each class helps in the same way. Maintaining a basic filing system not only helps you with your studies, but also develops useful skills that will serve you well when you enter the professional workforce. Additionally, a daily or weekly planner is a valuable tool for recording due dates for exams, projects or events.
There are only so many hours in a day, and many students have to juggle their studies, extracurricular activities and even part-time jobs. To make the most of your study time, set aside some of it every day to go over your notes or readings from each class. Studying or reviewing class material a little each day helps you retain long-term the information needed for an upcoming exam or project.
Willingness to learn
You are studying so you can learn, this means the willingness to learn should come naturally to you. You must have a thirst for knowledge and do all you can to get it. This way, once you graduate, you become a better, more-learned person than you where when you got admitted into the school.
Self-Discipline
Finally, no amount of organization, time management, participation or grit will matter one bit if you don't exercise the self-discipline to implement these strategies. As a student you will have to be dedicated and self-disciplined to reach your goals. You will simply have to make yourself do things that may not come naturally—and often it won't be fun. Taking steps to be a successful student probably won't come easy at first, but if you introduce just a little of the above strategies into your academic life one day at a time, you will be well on your way to becoming a successful student!
