Starting an assignment at the last minute. Sitting on the couch instead of doing something productive. Searching endlessly through a sea of stuff on the bedroom floor. Whatever you suffer from—procrastination, vegetation, disorganization, a combo of all three, or something else entirely—before you head off to college, try to leave your bad habits at home!
Some of the most common bad habits for students might be heavily ingrained in your brain already. But the transition from high school to college will be a lot easier if you adjust how you study, sleep, and spend time in general.
Examples of bad habits students need to break
Take heed of this cautionary yet all-too-relatable tale of bad study skills, unhealthy habits, and dorm room dilemmas that a lot of stressed-out, disorganized college students face. Then be sure to follow our tips to turn things around!
Running late for class
Your alarm goes off. After hitting snooze for the fifth time, you finally roll out of bed. You check your phone and scroll through Instagram, TikTok, BeReal... Oops! You’re supposed to be in class in 10 minutes. You throw on some sweatpants, grab your bag, and run across campus. When you finally arrive, the professor gives you a dirty look as you interrupt class and sink into your seat.
“College professors maintain consistent standards,” says Linda Moran, Director of the Hillyer College Study Center at the University of Hartford. These standards include being punctual with both start times and deadlines. “High school teachers often make exceptions for students,” she says, but in college, “unless a student has a documented learning disability or a medical note, there aren’t any exceptions.”
Related: Techniques to Improve Your Time Management
Forgetting important dates and deadlines
The professor continues with his presentation. The first slide is titled “Test Review.” Test? What test? You misplaced your syllabus weeks ago and totally forgot that it's tomorrow! Paying attention to all of your course schedules can be a challenge, but it’s essential to managing your time effectively. A syllabus outlines deadlines and the percentage of the grades associated with each assignment, Moran explains. “When students miss deadlines, they become discouraged.”
Putting off assignments until the last minute
As soon as your first class is over, you remember that you still need to write a five-paragraph essay that's due tomorrow for another class. “Students often leave stressful assignments to the last minute, when it’s no longer possible to clarify a question with the teacher or consult a classmate,” says Robyn Scott, a private English tutor at TutorNerds. “College professors rarely give partial credit, and they can spot poorly completed assignments easily.”
Mapping out your semester with a planner or calendar can help you organize important tasks and avoid penalties for absentmindedness. “Most university-level assignments are given with long-range due dates,” says Scott. “When students get an assignment, they should create a timeline where they must complete parts of the assignment each day.”
Cramming for tests
Since you need to finish that essay today, you’ll have to save studying for your test a little later. Now your plans have changed from hanging out with your friends to cramming until you know chemistry vocab like the back of your hand.
“Somehow this awful study habit became popular and even encouraged,” Scott says of the common college practice of “cramming.” It drains students both mentally and physically, she explains, and “students who squeeze eight hours of study into one day, the day prior to the exam, will almost always self-sabotage without knowing it.” After writing a test date in your planner, pencil in a few study days to avoid last-minute marathon sessions. “Once a workload is broken up into smaller parts, it becomes less overwhelming,” Scott says.
Related: Things to Do When You're Feeling Overwhelmed by College
Procrastinating instead of studying
The next day, you return from class, sit at your desk, and lay out your study materials. You do this after you check social media, of course. You turn on the TV for a little background noise. Oh no—a Friends marathon. And this is your favorite season! One episode won’t hurt, right?
Procrastination is not a lost art, and it’s easy to focus on anything but schoolwork when you have social media, smartphones, and other time-sucking entertainment at your fingertips. That’s why it’s helpful to set up shop in a peaceful environment conducive to studying, says Scott, like the library, a campus study center, or another quiet area. She also suggests turning off your phone entirely and temporarily blocking distracting websites with free productivity apps like Freedom or SelfControl. Designated breaks, study buddies, and personal rewards can also help motivate you to finish tedious tasks—i.e., enjoy your favorite show after an hour of studying instead of binge-watching five episodes before you start.
Communicating poorly with your roommate
You finally crack open your textbook, but just as you finish skimming chapter one, your roommate walks in. She’s getting ready to go out and proceeds to crank her party playlist, try on every outfit in her closet, and toss the rejects on the floor—including some clothes she borrowed from you. She says she’ll be back later and leaves the room a disaster area.
“Many students today have grown up having their own room and are not used to sharing a space with others,” says Jana Valentine, Director of Residence Life at Providence College. “Most of the time, the other roommate doesn’t even know that their habits are bothering their roommate,” adds Amy Pollock Drake, Assistant Director of Housing at SUNY Binghamton’s Office of Residential Life.
Your version of a clean room, proper bedtime, and other appropriate roommate behavior may differ, but communication and compromise can help keep your relationship harmonious. “It can be intimidating to talk to your roommate directly about what is bothering you, but in most cases, the other student is open to making adjustments so that both people feel comfortable in the space,” says Drake.
“Pay attention to both verbal and non-verbal signals from your roommate, and communicate regularly and clearly, not via text or Post-it note,” advises Kelly Beers, Assistant Director of Residence Life at the University of Maine. If you have trouble getting the conversation started, your resident assistant is always there to help.
Related: How to Make Your Own College Roommate Agreement
Not getting enough sleep
Hours later, you finally give up and look at the clock. It’s 4:00 a.m.—and you’re not even done yet. “So many students sabotage sleep at the expense of staying up late to study,” says Karen Jashinsky, founder of youth fitness company O2 MAX Fitness. She recommends getting at least six hours of shut-eye each night. Studies show that skipping just one night of sleep affects the brain similarly to a concussion, while more research finds students who get less sleep also get lower grades.
These bad habits can spoil other aspects of your life as well. “Late-night studying and too little sleep often lead to overeating or craving things that are not so good for you,” she says. In addition, “Students tend to compromise workouts at the expense of studying.”
Not moving enough
You’ve been meaning to hit the gym this week, but your bed sounds so much more appealing than a treadmill. “Even though we hear that exercise is good for stress, it often falls by the wayside when stress and lack of sleep are combined,” Jashinsky says. “Rather than thinking of working out as this huge activity, break it up into five- to 10-minute increments if you are pressed for time and sleep.” Sit-ups, squats, and yoga stretches are quick and easy exercises that can be done in a dorm. “Little things add up, and something is better than nothing.”
Related: Student Fitness: How to Get Moving in High School and College
Long story short: Don’t let this be you! Even if you already put the “pro” in procrastinating, all is not lost for breaking bad student habits. Just keep calm, learn from stressful situations, and don’t underestimate the magical properties of the power nap.
Need more motivation to break these bad habits? Check out our College Students' Quick Guide to Health: Developing Good Habits for advice from a real student who knows exactly how you feel!
