5 Most Common Habits of Highly Successful Students

When your child is struggling in school, you may think that something is wrong with them, that they are not cut out for academics, or that they have friends with bad influence. You might even blame recent events at home that may be impacting the child’s performance in school.

But in many cases, the issue is not as complicated as dramatic. You may think that doubling down on study time will deliver the results you want.

However, after working with thousands of children and learners, we have come to know that it is not that they hate learning or have a fundamental deficiency in learning some subjects; they just need to build the right habits.

There are consistent habits that we notice among the most successful students, and helping students develop these habits can help them become more successful in class and life.

There are various qualities and habits that you see in successful students. However, it’s impossible to impart all these to your child. So, we have picked the five most common and impactful ones that could change your child’s academic course.

1. Time Management

One of the top qualities of successful students is good time management skills. Time management is a struggle for many students, especially as the assignments become increasingly challenging.

Many successful students have mastered the habit of time management. Some use a planner. They write down their assignments as the cornerstone of staying on top of their schoolwork. This gives them a better sense of when things need to be done.

Students with good time management skills also know how to set goals. The goals don’t have to be elaborate. They can be small, achievable goals.

The students learn to pay attention to a clock and manage their time effectively. Without a sense of time and watching how it passes, many students tend to wait until the last minute to do the things that matter.

Simple habits, like having the child wear a watch regularly and look at it often, can help them understand the value of time and how quickly it passes.

2. They are Organised and Stay Organised

Successful students are big on organisation. Organisation is one of the most effective tools you can use to help students improve their performance in school. Without routine and disorganisation, students can fail in various areas, including academics. There are various ways you can help a student improve their organisational habits, such as the following:

• Have them set up a homework routine and do their homework at a consistent time each day.
• Ensure they get everything ready in the backpack the night before
• Colour code and label binders and folders
• Try to schedule a weekly family “clean sweep” to get ready for the week upfront.

It’s not enough to introduce new habits to your child that will help them become successful. You also have to ensure the habits stick and regularly revisit them accordingly.

For this to work, the entire family has to get involved. You can set aside some free time to review and revise their routine and uncover any overlaps and mess that may have accumulated due to failed organisational habits.

It’s not just your child who should embrace better organisation; you should embrace it as a parent, too. You should get your closet organised and lead by example. You should set things for work out the night before. Spending time planning out your week visibly so your child can observe you in action is the best way to help them learn and demonstrate how crucial organisation is for your children.

3. They Practice

One of the more common habits we see among students struggling in class is cramming, which is usually a result of not allowing enough time to prepare for exams.

Successful students study diligently. They plan ahead of time and set aside time each day to review their learning material. This allows them to complete quizzes and tests smoothly without a hiccup to their usual bedtime.

While cramming may work intermittently, it’s not ideal mainly because the student doesn’t have a strong sense of urgency until they are right up against a deadline. Another reason cramming is not a good idea is that it only puts information into short-term memory, while learning it over many nights and sleeping on it stores it into long-term memory.

Distributed practice, also known as spaced repetition, is an effective method that many successful students use. It simply means studying a little bit each day rather than cramming it all in one night before the test.

4. Take Notes in Class

Taking notes says a lot about the student. But it’s not just taking notes; it’s how they take the notes. Some students get into class and note down everything the teacher is saying. Others get into class and plop down at their desks, listening to the teacher until the teacher notices them and asks them to get out a piece of paper and write down what they’re saying.

There is a proper balance between writing too much and too little. Successful students know how to take down notes effectively. There are several methods they can use:

• The outline method is one of the easiest methods of taking notes. If the teacher is organised, they can present the material in an outlined format already. The student only needs to recognise when the teacher has moved onto a new topic and keep their notes relatively organised underneath each topic.
• Free-form method: with the free method, the student can express their inner creativity by taking notes however they like. They can draw diagrams and link notes with a mind map. However, if students take too many liberties, they can miss key information.
• Cornell method: This is a more advanced method that is best reserved for high school students. Using this method, students take notes during class in the right-hand column and then formulate questions and terms on the left-hand side soon after class. These later work as a study guide.

5. Make friends they can study with

Many kids are extroverts and have a vast network of friends they can reach out to at a moment’s notice. However, some kids struggle with making friends in class. No matter your child’s temperament, having even a handful of friends they can reach out to when they face challenges with classwork is essential.

Such friends can help your child with assignment clarifications or even set up group study sessions to study for an upcoming test. These can serve as a buffer against forgetting or missing class. In many cases, the students end up picking friends that have the same goals as them.

These groups prove to be essential tools for accountability and ensuring that students stay on top of assignments and exams.

Conclusion

The best thing about helping your child develop proper habits is that they carry them long after they complete school. It may be difficult to impart these habits, but once they stick, they can change the trajectory of your child’s academic performance and make it easier for them to develop a love for learning.