One skill that can boost your grades that does not involve studying

The Skill

What if I told you that there was a skill you could learn that had the potential of improving your test scores by at least two grade points. That it did not require much brain power and can actually be fun. What if I told you that I have seen gifted students perform below their academic potential because they failed to utilise this skill that can be adopted by the average Joe . So what is the skill that I am talking about? Drum roll….’being organised’. You will be surprised at the difference that keeping your notes in a separate notebook for each subject can make. As a teacher I see countless students even in their senior year writing notes ( math notes for example) on folder leaves one day, their physics notebook the following day and chemistry notebook the next. This is a recipe for disaster! The first step to take when it comes to being organised as a student is to ensure that each subject has its own notebook and that you only write notes for a given subject in its prescribed notebook.

Why the Skill works

The most obvious benefit of being organised is that it saves time. Knowing where notes on a particular topic is located or finding notes on a specific concept because you dated your notes can be a five minutes time saver. Think about how much can be done in five minutes. Time can be saved because being organised brings a certain level of structure to both the recording and storage of content. It makes accessing required content a seamless process. Not only is time saved, but there is no doubt that organisation lends itself to clearer thinking. Would you rather cook in cluttered kitchen or an organised one, or drive in  a clean or dirty car and more to the point – think in a organised or disorganised space. The answer is obvious, the more structure we bring to the ‘tools’ of our academic pursuits the clearer and more effective our thinking will be. As the efficacy of our thinking is heightened we grow in confidence and begin to see ourselves a true academics. We now take pride in our work and before you know it we will see an improvement in our grades. All of this made possible by one simple tweak in how we approach our work.

A word of warning

It is important to mention a mistake that I have observed in my students as it relates to organisation and it is as follows: they make organization take priority over actually doing the work. I have seen students spend so much time getting organised and erroneously make that the focus. They have the neatest notes, everything organised in folders and their study table has everything in the appropriate place. However quite often the time taken to create such a pristine environment could be used more productively in actually solving a problem or putting a piece of content to memory.

When all is said and done, like most things in life, balance is required. Organisation certainly is beneficial in the academic process, but overly focusing on it could be to the student’s detriment. So put some structure in place, but never neglect the fact that at the end of the day it’s the work that you put in that yields results.