10 Bad Habits Successful Students Don't Have

If you want to be successful, you should find out what successful people are doing. Then, you should do what they are doing. This is wise advice. Here is some more good advice; take note of the things that successful people aren’t doing, and avoid those habits as well. If you are a student, the latter bit of advice might serve you well. After all, college is full of temptations and ways to develop habits that can stop you from meeting your goals. If you are new to college and want to avoid developing bad habits, this list can help you avoid unproductive behaviors in the first place. If you are an established college student, this list can help you recognize, and then stop, behaviors that are unhealthy.

1. Flipping back and Forth Between Studying Online and Playing Online

You have some research to do or some coursework to finish online. You also want to look at some videos, scroll through Facebook, check last night’s basketball scores, and Snapchat with your friends. If you are tempted to bounce back and forth from one online activity to another, your schoolwork is going to suffer. So, nip that habit in the bud! Focus on the task that needs to be finished until it is finished. If the task is going to take hours to complete, it is fine to schedule breaks and to use the internet for recreational purpose during those breaks. However, the ultimate goal should be productivity.

2. Diligently Highlighting and Underlining

Yes, this is a bad habit. Don’t get us wrong, if your instructor witnesses you furiously jotting down notes and turning your study sheets into virtual rainbows of information with your highlighters, they will probably be impressed.  Unfortunately, when you take notes in this manner, you are often going to lose the salient points of the lecture while you jot things down. This most assuredly a step successful students avoid. Instead, try listing the major ideas on the left side of a piece of paper and the details on the right. This way you will always have the major points recorded. Another alternative is to use a notetaking app to keep your notes up to date and organized.

3. Ignoring the Syllabus until you miss a Class

In almost every class you take, you are given a syllabus that details which subjects will be studied and when. Just like most other students, the most successful people in your class will store this document for future use. Now, here is the difference. Successful students use the class syllabus to get ahead. In other words, they review the chapters and questions that will be discussed ahead of time, because they closely follow the syllabus.

4. Using Electronics in Class

With the exception of apps for taking notes, or snapping pictures of white board notes, successful students avoid using their devices in class if at all possible. They realize that this is a distracting habit where ‘necessary’ use can quickly turn into abuse.

5. Pushing Deadlines to the Limit

Many students plan long term assignments so that they can maximize the amount of time that they have until the assignment is due. If everything goes according to plan, this can prove to be a wise choice. Unfortunately things frequently do not go according to plan. This is why productive students make plans to finish their work before a deadline becomes an issue.

6. Burning the Midnight Oil

Successful students are willing to work hard and stay up late on occasion when a situation demands it. However, they also understand that getting enough sleep and using good time management skills are what leads to success – not sleep deprivation.

7. Attending Classes, but not Participating in Campus life

If you ask a successful student, they will tell you that the college experience is wasted if the only thing a student does is simply attend classes, and then come home. Successful students come to campus early and they stay late in the day to meet up with people and participate in activities.

8. Taking too Many Classes

It can be tempting to take a bunch of classes. Many students do so because they want to take care of a bunch of required credits quickly. Unfortunately, the amount of time away from home and the stress of a heavy course load, almost always proves that this is a bad idea. Successful students take on a reasonable course load and they balance hard classes with difficult classes.

9. Choosing a Major too Quickly

A successful student sees college education as a way to learn, to develop critical thinking skills, and to be exposed to new ideas. They don’t feel the need to lock themselves into a major before they are ready.

10. Doing Everything Alone

Many college students, especially younger college students adopt this belief that they must study, complete work, and participate in class without any outside help. Successful students regularly ask for help and they accept help when it is offered.