College is independence.
Whether this your first semester of your freshman year or you’re an experienced senior, there are a few bad habits that many students tend to fall into.
Habits can be hard to break, but with a little determination and practice, these bad habits will be broken in no time.
Procrastination
Procrastination can be one of the most common bad habits to fall into and the hardest to break.
Thinking there is enough time to finish an assignment and leaving it to the last minute is not an effective way of learning. When homework or a project is assigned, the best way to accomplish the work is to start immediately.
Doing a little work on it each day is an effective way to finish the assignment and make the entire project feel less stressful.
Leaving assignments until the last minute can result in a race against the clock.
Not getting enough sleep
You probably laughed reading this. You’re probably thinking, “I’m a college student. I don’t have time to sleep.”
According to a study completed by Stanford University, college students should get at least eight hours of sleep a night. While this could be difficult to obtain, it will benefit you in many ways.
In a study done by the National Sleep Foundation, a full night of sleep can be the first step to better grades.
To get technical, lack of sleep slows down the cognitive function in the brain. This is the part of your brain that regulates attention, problem solving and concentration. Getting an adequate amount of sleep can improve these functions and keep you alert throughout the day.
The best way to develop a healthy sleeping habit is to be consistent. Each night, go to bed around the same time, giving yourself about eight hours before you have to wake up. The more sleep you get, the less tired you will be the next day.
Skipping class
After a long night out, the last thing you want to think about is getting up for class in the morning, so you skip.
Why? You’re tired? You didn’t finish your assignment? You probably have a lot of good reasons to skip class.
However, when you skip class, you miss crucial information that is necessary for the course.
Most professors dock grades after a significant number of missed classes and those grades can be hard to make up.
As college students, we have the obligation to attend class.
The best was to break the skipping habit is to start thinking long term. When you begin working, you can’t skip because you do not feel like going. If your reason for skipping class would not be a good reason to call out of work, go to class.
Save your absences for days when you are sick.
Staying in or going home every weekend
There is always something happening on campus. Whether it’s a game or a CAP Board event, there are ways to have fun on campus.
Attending events gives you the opportunity to meet new people and try something new.
Stay on campus for a weekend and see what events take place.
Watching copious amounts of Netflix is always fun, but college does not last forever. Go to a soccer game, get your friends together and create a Quizzo team or just hang out on the commons when it’s a nice day.
Cabrini offers so many events, you just need to show up and have fun!
Bad habits can be hard to break, but with determination, any habit can be broken.
