Five academic resolutions for students this new year

A new year is upon us, and so it is the time to resolve to cast away bad habits, and take up good ones. Most people end up making a couple of resolutions around this time, but very few people actually sick to them. Many will end up being that perfect gym customer, signing up for a whole year, then never even entering the building once February comes by. Others might pledge to start saving money, but will soon find the temptations of online shopping too hard to resist.

For students of all ages, the new year is a good time to review your study habits, and work out where you could make some effective changes. For many secondary school students the approaching summer will bring with it exams, GCSE`s or maybe A-levels - so this time of year is the perfect point to ascertain what parts of your course you need to focus more attention onto. Even though the exams are many months away, if you get into good working habits now, you will will be in a good position later. Here are five good academic resolutions that your might consider taking up.

1. Don`t procrastinate.

If you`re anything like me, you`ll know how much time you can spend putting off doing a piece of work. I generally spend as much time at my desk avoiding doing an assignment, as I do actually working on it. This means I`m effectively spending double the amount of time I need to on a piece of work, wasting hours every week, and squandering time I could put to better use. It is always best to set to work as soon as possible - if you have a week to complete an assignment, at least try to get a good start on it on the first day, that way you will feel better having started it, and have a good idea how much time it requires to be completed.

2. Make a list of your weakest points in each subject.

No one likes to enumerate their own flaws, but unless you are quite clear about which parts of the syllabus need the most work, you may find yourself spending too much time on the areas you are comfortable with, and already have a good understanding of. Our natural inclination is often to avoid confronting the situations that most need out attention, and busy ourselves in areas we already comprehend fairy well.

3. Eat better.

This might sound like a strange resolution as regards academic improvement, but there have been numerous studies showing that students frequently turn up at school without having consumed a proper breakfast. At the start of the school day you should ensure you have a a sizeable meal, as if you are hungry you wont be able to study or work to your full capacity. A supplement to this point could be taking care not to overindulge with alcohol, (hopefully advice pertaining to university students only) as this will obviously impair your abilities the following day.

4. Exercise.

This point might not be known to all, but exercise promotes brain activity. Spending too much time cooped up inside, leading a sedentary lifestyle, even if it is surrounded by text books, can only allow so much learning. Try to get a healthy balance between indoor and outdoor time. Team sports are a great way to socialise, manage stress, and permit a distraction from your studies that will actually help them in the long term.

5. Employ caution with social media.

This point certainly applies to everyone, but students should be especially careful what they post on their social media accounts. It is not unusual for employers to scour the social media sites of prospective employees, and they may not look too favourably upon some of the things in your account, even if they were posted many years ago. The maxim of `once something`s on the internet its there forever` is only too true, and it would be a terrible shame if all your good academic work at college or university was to be undone by a contentions, or controversial posting you made during this time. By adopting a resolution to be careful what you post you can avoid any future problems.