8 Bad Habits Students Should Break for Better Academic Performance

Introduction

For a student, one of the major tasks in life is to streamline one's academic journey and make the most out of it. What your child learns in their initial years of schooling will be a stepping stone for them to enter the formal world of education and build a strong logical foundation. Hence, it is important for you to pay a lot of attention to the quality of learning that your child gets and foster positive habits among them.

Many times, your child might feel distracted while studying and struggle to converge their attention to their studies. Well, such things are normal, but it is important to take the necessary measures to prevent this from becoming a permanent habit. This is the reason why parents must try to encourage their children to adopt positive learning practices and stay away from habits that may harm their learning outcomes.

8 Habits for Students to Avoid for Better Academic Performance

To have satisfactory academic outcomes, here is a list of activities that students must avoid at all costs.

• Procrastination

Procrastination refers to the process of delaying one's work and leaving it for the last hour. It's one of the most harmful habits for a child as it can severely impact efficiency levels. If your child doesn't do their task timely, it may lead to excessive pressure during the last days. Additionally, in the case of examinations and assignments, the child might not get enough time to give their best and end up not scoring very well.

• Not Having a Study Plan

A child who doesn't structure their day and avoids dividing it into various segments according to their schedule may struggle while trying to get all the tasks done. As per Study Plans Promote Daily Review, having a proper timetable to follow may increase a child's efficiency and help them set both short-term and long-term goals. Such study plans may also help your kid analyze barriers and roadblocks while completing their daily target.

• Using the Phone Continuously

Continuously using one's phone while studying may lead to problems while trying to concentrate. Constant texting or using social media can distract a child and severely impact their ability to retain information. Hence, it is always advisable for kids to keep their phones or other unnecessary digital devices at a distance while one is trying to study. This may lead to less or negligible distraction while studying.

• Doing Too Many Things

Doing too many things at a time while trying to study may severely impact one's learning outcomes. As per Frontiers in Psychology published in 2024, if your child distributes their attention into several tasks while studying, they may not be able to perform as well in tests and assignments as compared to a child whose sole focus is on their studies. Hence, it's always better for students to give all their attention to a single task and focus on it for the best results.

• Cramming and Not Understanding

For better retention of information, parents must encourage their kids to focus on logical clarity rather than rote learning. In certain situations, kids might focus on cramming the theory and simply writing it down in the examination without actually understanding the logic. This may severely impact a child's quality of knowledge and understanding and lead to problems in the long run. Hence, instead of cramming and scoring better marks, parents can focus on logical clarity and deeper understanding.

• Not Having Breaks

Constantly studying for longer time intervals may lead to low efficiency levels and burnout. As per Plos one published in 2023, if your kid takes effective micro breaks in between the study sessions, then they are more likely to remember and understand better. Hence, your child can take 15 minutes of breaks after 60 to 90 minutes of study session. However, it's important to get back to studying after 15 minutes and complete one’s study session timely.

• Not Taking Class Tests Seriously

Before the final examination, subject teachers might organize multiple tests for revision. All these tests serve a very important purpose and can help a child prepare well for their final exam exams. If your kid does not take these tests seriously, they may not understand their revision levels and end up struggling during the last few days before the exam. Hence, one should try giving their best to these class tests for slow and steady preparation.

• Lack of Proper Sleep

As per Sleep Science published in 2021, having a proper 8 to 9 as of sleep can have a positive impact on students’ cognition and memory. In fact a child who has had proper rest the previous day might come up with more creative solutions in classrooms and think out of the box. This is the reason why it's very important for kids to take proper sleep every day to give their best in academics and understand everything in the classroom.

Conclusion

A child's academic life might be filled with a lot of unexpected challenges. However, with the right kind of habits and mindset, most of these can be tackled very easily. During this time, parents can be a strong support system for their kids by guiding them to take the right decision at every point in their lives.