Things You Shouldn’t Do as a Student

There are many things that can go for you as a student. However, some mistakes that students are constantly making seem so obviously avoidable. In this article, we collected such mistakes so that you would be mindful of them and avoid the lackluster fate of so many students.

1. You Unnecessarily Delay Important Tasks

If you learn one thing during your studies, it is procrastination (= constantly putting off important tasks). Many students are masters at making excuses and seeking distractions when it comes to an uncomfortable item on the to-do list. Watch series instead of studying. Clean the apartment instead of writing a thesis. Visit parents instead of writing applications. In the short term, delaying an important task will give you some relief. In the long term, however, this behavior puts you under enormous pressure and reduces the quality of the later result. Therefore, limit your urge to procrastinate – either with willpower or with your own deadlines.

2. You Live Completely for the Day

When you got up this morning, did you know what you were going to do today? Did you have a plan for the day and did you approach your most important goals step by step? Most students I know don't have a plan. They live in the day and see what to expect. In the evening they realize that they only have a few hours left and give it their all. As a result that they make careless mistakes, sleep badly afterward, and become dissatisfied in the long run. So don't let yourself drift senselessly, but plan your daily routine. At least roughly.

3. You Try to Please Everyone

The easiest way to give up your ideals and alienate everyone at the same time is to try to please everyone. When you struggle to meet the expectations of everyone around you, you become consumed by the opposing opinions and inconsistencies of those individuals. It's just not possible to always find a happy medium. Worst of all, the person who gets left behind the most in the attempt is you. Self-destructive students have a strong tendency to put other people's well-being ahead of their own happiness. It's fine occasionally – in the long run, this behavior will ruin you.

4. You Forget What Matters

What is your most important task at the moment? Did you ask yourself that today before you started your studies? The most common reason for wasting time when studying is unclear priorities. Many students do not differentiate between their to-dos. Everything is equally important to them. But when everything is important, nothing REALLY matters. Everything becomes interchangeable. There are no more priorities. But the reality is different. There is always one thing that means the most to you at the moment. And it is your duty to take care of this one thing. So sharpen your eyes and don't forget what really matters in your student life.

5. You Can't Find the Right Measure

Six cocktails in the evening and ten episodes of your favorite series in a row. Study the day after for eight hours to make up for the time you wasted before. This is exactly what you should do if you want to ruin your studies. No matter in which area: excess will always bring you to your knees in the long run. If you overdo it, there will always be negative consequences. From time to time you can allow yourself and maybe even compensate. However, if this behavior becomes a habit, you will eventually lose your balance and fall.

6. You Waste Your Resources

If you want to surpass yourself in your studies (and in life) and achieve your best performance, you have to pay a price for it. Exciting studies and good grades are not given for free. You have value. The price is paid in three currencies: time, energy, and attention. Regardless of your origin and your personal circumstances, you have to pay the price. And not just in one currency, but in all three. 

The only problem is: These resources are not available to you indefinitely. So you have to be economical with them and use them carefully. Self-destructive students, on the other hand, throw their time, energy, and attention down the drain. They ignore the value of the three currencies and thus lead their own personal stock market crash. Your time, energy, and motivation are real resources that should be smartly distributed, and whenever you’re not pulling your weight, don’t be afraid to reach out with “write my essay online” for help.

Conclusion

Well, how often did you recognize yourself in the descriptions above? Don't worry: each of us has these tendencies within us. And everyone lets them out more often than we would like to admit at first glance. Is that bad? Yes, if fixed negative behavior patterns develop from it that make us unhappy in the long term. No, if it doesn't become a habit and we build awareness of our destructive behavior. I would like to convey the latter to you with this article.

It's normal to trip yourself up and slow yourself down from time to time – but it would be good if you recognized these situations and worked on them. You can't turn it off completely anyway. But you can get a feel for what's good for you in the long run and what's bad for you in the long run. And then you can develop, test, and establish suitable strategies or countermeasures for yourself.

Don't blame yourself the next time you get angry with yourself. Don't tell your reflection that you're stupid and disappointed. Tell them you'll do better next time. And: Make a direct suggestion on how this can be achieved.