50 Things That Top Students Do

50 Things that Top Students Do

Listen to everything they’re taught, not just hearing

Take notes

Listen to opinions they don’t like

Be open to having their minds changed

Don’t listen to music with words when studying

Practise

Commit

Keep a regimen of self-discipline even in the face of a lack of motivation

Take breaks

Sleep regularly and more than expected

Work very hard during the day

Exercise

Plan in advance

Get small tasks done when there isn’t time to do bigger ones

Engage

Take failures as a learning curve

Think positively

Do their best work at the start of the year so they get more slack later

Talk to those who teach them

Debate

Do a little every day instead of all at once

Ask for help

Help others

Drink water

Work hard but work smart

Know what study setup is their most productive

Hold themselves accountable

Figure out which work is a priority

Don’t waste time re-reading as a form of studying

Find out things they don’t understand

Test themselves frequently

Work backwards through things to understand why something works

Learn more than they need

Have more interests and hobbies than just academics

Find out the most important concepts in a course

Learn the most important 20% of the course to get 80% of the grade

Don’t complain

Tailor their courses to focus on what interests them the most

Play hard after working hard

Read in advance

Know how to say no but don’t say no unless they have to

Take every opportunity they can

Eat well

Defend their personal beliefs

Don’t use other people’s successes/failures as an excuse for anything they do

Don’t let studying become the main part of their life

Understand that everything is temporary

Set goals, short- and long-term

Put their phones away/on silent when studying

Don’t expect any results immediately