Bad habits you need to drop as a student
Bad Habits isn’t just a song by Ed Sheeran (sorry, I had to). As the Danish studying student I am, I will metaphorically represent my bad habits as being accumulated in an archive in the back of my head, which I have unintentionally carried with me for the past 20 years without ever looking into it. But, this ends now! In this blog, I will face my bad habits and, hopefully, we will all be inspired to do something about them.
If you’re an avid reader of the blog you will notice how I wrote a guide on how to stop procrastination in the beginning of February (still working on letting go of that). This sparked the idea of investigating more bad habits that I want to leave behind me. I quickly realized that leaving them behind was easier said than done, so my new question became: Are there other bad habits I want to work on? And, yeah, obviously there is. So, here are five bad habits I and fellow students would like to conquer! See our tips on 5 good habtis you need to adopt as a student
Five bad student habits
Using my phone before bed
Studying at the wrong place with the wrong people
Not asking for help
Overthinking
Doing stuff last minute
5 bad habits you should drop as a student
#1 Using my phone before bed
Ah yes, the invincible 1st place holder of bad habits. Using your phone, TV or laptop before bed time. To be honest, I don’t know anybody who doesn’t do this. This is despite age, profession and level of self-discipline. Whether you’re the type that checks and answers your work email, the type that watches an episode of your favorite TV-show or the type that scrolls through Instagram and Reels (that would be me), this is a habit we will have to leave behind. The side-effects of using your phone before bed are many, but to keep it short and sweet I will highlight one: The blue light from your phone is not only bad for your eye-sight, but it also suppresses the hormone called melatonin. Melatonin is what controls your sleeping rhythm and when it runs low, your sleeping rhythm is set off resulting in worse or less sleep.
#2 Studying at the wrong place with the wrong people
Alright, hands up if you study in your bed or on the couch. Studying in places that are too comfortable, or where the environment is not meant for studying, is not a good habit. Simply, you’re less productive, you interfere with your sleeping pattern, you actually hurt your neck and back and you get distracted easily. Most universities are open for anyone to use their study areas which can help with concentration. But some people also find it helpful to study at cafes – Studenterhuset is run by volunteers and other university students, so you can grab a cheap coffee, have a chat and study amongst peers there. Another solution is to dedicate a spot in your apartment for studying – a study zone!
Studying with the wrong people is also a bad habit. This can be because you simply study with your best friends and therefore don’t get much work done. Or you study with people that don’t match your way of studying or your level of ambition – which can lead to a bad atmosphere or bad products. If you don’t know exactly how to assemble the best group, we got you covered. Check out the blog about team roles!
#3 Not asking for help
Why is this a bad habit? For several reasons: Asking for help in class can, for some, be a bit uncomfortable. However, it is important for your learning that you get answers to the questions you have. Despite the awkwardness you may feel, trust me, you aren’t the only one thinking about it! The second reason is that asking for help in other areas of your life can be important – like help with organizing your notes or help with everyday chores if you’re having a stressful week. Asking for help is never a sign of weakness but rather a sign of you taking care of yourself and your student mental health.
#4 Overthinking
Overthinking is a really bad habit, I am speaking from experience. I read somewhere that overthinking is just putting yourself through the stress an unnecessary amount of times. Overthinking may also be a sign of maladaptive perfectionism. Why stress yourself out over something you can’t control? As a member of the overthinking community, I know you can’t just turn it off. Overthinking demands to be treated and worked with continuously. Again, Studenterrådgivningen, who I have referred to before, has a workshop for people who wish to work with their overthinking habits. Trust me, working on letting go of overthinking will feel like getting a burden lifted off your shoulders.
#5 Doing stuff last minute
Last but not least, lose the habit of doing stuff last minute. It’s no surprise that this point has also made the list. Organizing your time and planning it efficiently can help you not only to manage resolving more tasks, but also helping you stress less. If you have a structured plan of when you do what, you never really run out of time. I am a very structured person (not to say I don’t do stuff last minute, come on, have you read my procrastination blog?), but being somewhat structured helps me to, 1. Not get so stressed and 2. To actually accomplish and deliver the things I need to do, whilst still having time to do stuff I enjoy!
There are plenty of bad habits I haven’t covered in this blog, I mean the list is endless really. But these are some of the bad habits that my fellow students, as well as myself, would like to conquer. Who knows, maybe we will discuss some good habits in the future?
