You’re in a unique position: in starting university, you’ve made a major life-change, so the old habits that you formed in high school will simply not apply anymore. You’ll develop new habits, of course. However, if you’re smart about it, you can create your own habits, ones that will help you to succeed and excel. Here’s how.
First, think habits: find out which habits make a great student. Take some time to decide which tasks need to be done on a daily, weekly, monthly basis to make you the best student in your field. You can finish one reading first thing every morning. You can study during all the breaks between lectures. You can start working before you check your social media when you get home every day.
Next, choose cues. Don’t fight yourself to get your work done. If studying is the last thing that you want to do, then likely it will be the last thing that you do. So make it routine. Set yourself a cue, your morning coffee, a lunch-time snack, an evening cup of tea. Then, every day for several weeks, start working on your readings, problem sets, etc. as soon as you’ve completed the cue task. Soon, you won’t have to think about it at all. It will become habit.
Then, set the routine. Have everything ready, so that after you’ve completed your cue activity, you can seamlessly get into the routine. Make sure that your bag is packed, or your books are open and on your desk. Then get right to work immediately.
Finally, choose a reward, and stick with it. This is a secretly important step. After you’ve completed the routine, you need to give yourself a reward, and it needs to be the same reward each time. Write down the number of pages that you’ve read, check off the exercises that you’ve finished, or give yourself a treat. Give yourself that specific reward only after you’ve completed the routine. Make sure that you don’t skip this step, and that you complete it every time. It’s the reward that will make the habit stick. Eventually, your body will crave the reward, and go right to the routine.
Don’t fight your impulses. By focusing on your reward and thinking about it several times every day, you can make studying a thing that you crave, and you can make being an amazing student just part of your routine.
First, think habits: find out which habits make a great student. Take some time to decide which tasks need to be done on a daily, weekly, monthly basis to make you the best student in your field. You can finish one reading first thing every morning. You can study during all the breaks between lectures. You can start working before you check your social media when you get home every day.
Next, choose cues. Don’t fight yourself to get your work done. If studying is the last thing that you want to do, then likely it will be the last thing that you do. So make it routine. Set yourself a cue, your morning coffee, a lunch-time snack, an evening cup of tea. Then, every day for several weeks, start working on your readings, problem sets, etc. as soon as you’ve completed the cue task. Soon, you won’t have to think about it at all. It will become habit.
Then, set the routine. Have everything ready, so that after you’ve completed your cue activity, you can seamlessly get into the routine. Make sure that your bag is packed, or your books are open and on your desk. Then get right to work immediately.
Finally, choose a reward, and stick with it. This is a secretly important step. After you’ve completed the routine, you need to give yourself a reward, and it needs to be the same reward each time. Write down the number of pages that you’ve read, check off the exercises that you’ve finished, or give yourself a treat. Give yourself that specific reward only after you’ve completed the routine. Make sure that you don’t skip this step, and that you complete it every time. It’s the reward that will make the habit stick. Eventually, your body will crave the reward, and go right to the routine.
Don’t fight your impulses. By focusing on your reward and thinking about it several times every day, you can make studying a thing that you crave, and you can make being an amazing student just part of your routine.
