Since childhood, we’ve been told that high achievements in college predetermine one’s success in future career and life as a whole. Thus, everyone dreams about achieving it. Yet, when we arrive at campus, it often turns out that doing your best as a student isn’t easy at all. Hours of classes and lectures, loads of homework, stressful exams, and different extracurriculars often make students have too much on their plates. So how can one overcome this?
The right formula for accomplishment in college can be slightly different for every student. Nevertheless, it always consists of a few core components. In this article, we are going to define the key elements of success in college and give you a few tips to become a top achiever yourself!
Component #1: Willpower
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Probably every student faces certain doubts when encountering different college-related challenges. For example, it’s natural to start thinking, “I wish someone could write my paper for me,” when you feel tired from studying and have to write another boring paper. In some cases, it’s okay and even wise to delegate your assignments. But, on other occasions, it takes strong willpower to overcome such hurdles.
When being in college, young people have to call upon their willpower a lot in order to get over the challenges they are facing. Therefore, experts claim that willpower is one of the key factors determining academic success. In fact, it’s often even more important than your current experience and academic ability. After all, how would you keep yourself motivated to study if you lack the willpower to get through the challenges you are facing?
Component #2: Time Management and Self-Discipline
The second important thing that determines academic accomplishment is time management. It’s all about defining your priorities and allocating time for different tasks wisely. First of all, every successful student should be able to prioritize their studies above everything else. Also, they should be able to distinguish primary and secondary tasks. For example, when there is a big exam ahead and a simple essay due in a few days, the wise learner should prioritize an exam and spend nearly 100% of their time preparing for it. In this case, essay writing is a secondary task that can be delegated.
Along with effective time management, every successful student also needs strong self-discipline. On the one hand, self-discipline is about being able to force yourself into studying even when you don’t feel like it. On the other hand, it’s also about taking good care of yourself mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Both self-discipline and effective time management become crucial when students obtain the increased freedom associated with life on campus. Without them, it can be easy to neglect your attendance and homework. Thus, without these two abilities, it can be easy to underperform.
Willpower vs. Smart Time Management
There are varying opinions on what factors influence the nature of academic success the most. Some people believe that it’s solely about self-discipline and time management. After all, without these two factors, it’s nearly impossible to manage a busy student schedule. Others believe that willpower plays a larger role. Without it, it’s hard to stay on the right track.
So is it willpower or time management that determines your success? In our opinion, it’s both. College isn’t easy. It gives you increased freedom and, at the same time, requires increased commitment. Therefore, both of these components are crucial for success. Together, smart time management and willpower can help you tackle all your assignments one by one and retain motivation.
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5 Tips for Becoming a Successful Student
Now you know what components stand behind students’ success in college. What’s next?
In the list below, we’ve gathered a few simple, yet effective tips that will help you do your best in your studies and achieve greater results:
1. Define the Core Purpose
Why did you enroll in college? This is the question every student should answer in order to achieve success. A clearly-defined purpose will fuel up your willpower and help you achieve greater outcomes with less effort.
2. Set Realistic Learning Goals
Apart from having a big end goal, every successful student should also have smaller, short-term objectives. These goals should be realistic and time-bound. By setting and achieving them, you should be able to stay motivated and do better academically.
3. Find and Retain a Positive Attitude
According to numerous studies, a positive attitude can predetermine success in pretty much any undertaking, including studying in college. An attitude is a blend of thoughts and feelings related to something you are doing in life. When it’s negative, you will lack the energy and motivation to accomplish set goals. But, when your attitude is positive, you will easily get through any challenges facing you on this path.
4. Break Down Large Tasks
While in college, you are going to face a variety of complex and large tasks that seem too hard to handle at first glance. The trick to success in such cases is to always break down large tasks into bite-sized ones. Doing so will help you keep your workload more manageable and avoid burnout. On top of that, this approach will help you do any task better.
5. Monitor Your Progress
Lastly, one more tip for becoming a top achiever in school is to always keep track of your progress. Monitor your grades, knowledge, and overall performance. Always reflect on how well you’ve done in a particular class or semester. And most importantly, always look for ways to progress better and reward yourself for every accomplishment.
The Bottom Line
As was already mentioned, every student dreams about achieving more academically. At the same time, all young people are facing a variety of challenges on this path. And while some can overcome them, others give up in the face of these challenges.
After reading this article, you know what makes a student successful. Also, you have a set of tips that can help you achieve greater results yourself. Use this knowledge to reach the top too!
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