The famous ‘7 habits’ mantra may seem a little clichéd- but there’s a reason it became so respected a format in the first place. Learning these top habits from students who’ve proven they succeed can help you ace your exams.
Fix your thinking
Some students assume they know it all, and this hampers their learning. Other’s lapse into catastrophic thinking that they can never get it right, they’re going to fail etc. Neither of these mindsets will bolster you to positive progress in your exams. A deep-seated belief that you are ‘bad’ at physics will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Anxiety is natural as a student. It’s also natural to be better at certain subjects, and even certain parts of subjects. If you hit a snag, spend some time analyzing and understanding what went wrong so you can progress from the setback rather than beat yourself up about it.
Fix your timing
You want to be able to manage your time properly, without overcrowding your schedule. You want to be able to take some extracurricular activities and socialize a bit. You need adequate sleep, nutrition and relaxation to do well. Use planning tools like apps and calendars to make this easier for you to keep track of, and keep your studies planned and sorted. This ties in very strongly with your ability to study effectively- you can stare at a book day in and out, but if you don’t understand the information you didn’t study at all. There is a lot of help to get you studying effectively, make use of these resources.
Keep your goals SMART
A lot is said about Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Timed goals. Use this as a format when laying out what you want to achieve. How will you measure it? Is it achievable and realistic? What is the timescale you will be aiming for? What, specifically, do you want to do? ‘Learn physics’ isn’t a SMART goal. ‘Read and self-test the third chapter of your JC physics textbook by Friday‘ is.
Reward yourself too
There’s a fine line between taking breaks that are beneficial and being too lax with yourself. It will take a little experimentation to get it right for you. Likewise, you can’t possibly work all the time, setting reward is a good way to motivate yourself to work.
Don’t be afraid to ask
Everyone needs help. Even the most capable people in the world relied on someone else’s help at one point. It can be difficult to ask for help if you are proud, but pushing yourself forward into greater understanding is a great thing and should be celebrated, not a source of shame. Be sensible, though, at the level of Junior College, google isn’t the ‘person’ to be asking. Look for knowledgeable people with the right background, like TAs and physics tuition tutors.
Invest in Tuition
Nose to the grindstone may sound good, but in reality, it’s a recipe for disaster. Go for A Level physics tuition to let the tutor help you break down the syllabus according to important exam topics.
Learn to test well
Sadly, some of us just aren’t good with tests, there’s a lot you can do to help reduce that terrible test anxiety and make sure you perform as efficiently as you really are on test day. But it’s worth cultivating a good testing mindset, so you can truly show yourself at your best.
Focus
Multi-tasking is not something good for your studies as all it does is waste your time. We fool ourselves that we are good at multitasking, but most scientific research proves we merely lie to ourselves. Organize the space around you, free yourself of distractions like TVs and phones, and learn to focus on tackling your work. You will get through it quicker and will absorb more.
