6 Biggest Mistakes Students Make- and How to Avoid Them

Afterschool

February 8, 2021

Ever heard of the popular quote “don’t study hard but study smart”?

You can be studying 20 hours a day and perform worse than students who spend 2 hours daily to study. Why is that so? Let's look into some of the reasons why this might be happening.

1. Skipping breakfast

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Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day. As the old saying goes, eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper, breakfast offers you the energy and kick starts your metabolism to start a new day. It's not only essential for your body but for your brain too. So, the next time you want to skip your breakfast before school, remember that your productivity and your mood for the day won't be as great. It's not worth ruining your whole day when you could be making a great breakfast within 10 minutes.

2. Lack of Sleep

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As a student, you may feel that you are only productive at night. This is due to the fact that after school ends, you are worn out. Most of you would even take naps in the afternoon or attend extra classes. On some days, you have to go for extracurricular activities. This is the reason why many students prefer to pull an all-nighter to complete assignments and to study. What you may not know is that night sleep is crucial in comparison to afternoon sleep. So, try to manage your time well and avoid taking long naps in the afternoon. You can take a power nap and once you are feeling more refreshed and alert, you can utilize the rest of the day efficiently.

3. Procrastination

Via JianHao Tan (YouTube)

For almost every student, it is common for us to procrastinate till the very last minute before we start on a task, whether it be homework or studying. We don't see the urgency in studying or completing a task, because let's be honest, you can copy your homework from a friend the day of submission or study a night before your exam. To overcome this, you can make a schedule and stick close to it. You can also inform friends and family to check up on you at regular intervals.

4. Cramming up revision

Via JianHao Tan (YouTube)

Procrastination often results in last minute studying. Cramming up your head with information a week or even worse, a day before your exams is a typical behavior among students. You may remember the information short-term, and once your exam is over, you forget all about it. So, the best way to revise is to space your revision. Make sure that you study everyday even if it is for a short period but be consistent.

5. Rote Memorization vs Comprehension

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Imagine having to memorize all of your textbooks and revision books, each of which consisting more than 200 pages. It is exhausting, time consuming and impossible to do. Surprisingly a lot of students still practice this passive method of studying. Memorizing hinders your ability to think. But of course, there are some things that you need to learn through memorization like mathematics formula, periodic table in chemistry, etc. So, what is the best way to learn you may ask? The best way to learn is through comprehension. You need to construct an understanding of a subject through meaningful experiences. In short, you understand instead of memorizing.

6. Poor Time Management

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Lack of practice results in poor time management during exam. if you are spending too much time on the first few questions, you are not alone. It is a classic student mistake especially for those who lack practice and don’t time themselves during practice. Time is critical during exams. Practice more so that you will be able to estimate how much time to spend for each question. This will give you extra time for trickier questions and for you to recheck answers in the end. If you fail to manage time well, you are likely to get more anxious and you will lose focus.

These are some of the common mistakes almost all of us make, especially when the exam is nearing and we get all jittery. Avoid making these mistakes and you will see how much your academic performance as well as your life in general improves. These tips remind you to care for your physical and mental wellbeing especially during exams, owing to the fact that your health is the priority at every moment.

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