As we usher in a brand new year, we also welcome new opportunities, challenges and adventures that further shape our character. For a student such as yourself, this time also means welcoming a new set of school-related activities.

Here at Edgewise, we came up with a few resolutions that may help you improve your academics in the coming months:

Establish your study habits
Most of you may think it’s already too late to establish a study routine. It never is. As long as you still have a few months left in the academic year, there’s always room – and time – for improvement.

So, hit those books and focus on subjects that you feel are being neglected. If you’re open to it, join a regular study group or review your studies with a friend. Having another person help you figure out a problem never hurts.

Schedule, schedule, schedule
An effective study habit is built on strong scheduling skills. Scheduling not only helps you be organized, it also serves as an effective tool in developing a strong sense of urgency – concentrating on matters that need immediate attention. In your case, it is academics.

Working on a schedule lets you focus on your studies while steering clear of distractions.

Study on weekends and holidays
Re-adjusting yourself to the academic life is a common problem whenever you return to class after a long break. Our solution? Study on the weekends during your vacation.

No, you don’t need to set aside hours in a day of your precious vacation time doing schoolwork. Just browse over your lecture notes for a few minutes or so in the mornings or afternoons. Maybe read up on that history book you need for class instead of a magazine. You can even look through some Algebra texts if you feel the need to.

The point of this exercise is to keep yourself familiar with the work without burdening yourself unneccessarily during your weeks off from school. When you get back to school, everything should be a snap to remember.

Be Consistent
Students often perform at their very best only at the start of the school year. Some lose their drive after a month’s worth of studying. But not you.

When you get bored of studying, find new ways to go about your work. Don’t want to read the novel? Watch the movie and find points of difference between the two mediums. Tired of reading about social studies? Read the news and delve deep into the who, what, where, when and why’s of the week’s top stories. Study with your friends, share your insights on different topics and take pop quizzes together. Make a game out of the lessons and see who gets the most answers right. Provide yourself an incentive for doing good work.

The key here is to make learning fun.

Prioritize your Academics
You’re in school – which means academics are your number one priority. When in doubt, make an assessment of your needs versus those of your academic future. How can you attend to, say, an extra-curricular activity with studying for that biology exam? Find a way to compromise by shifting a schedule or maybe even bringing your books to wherever you need to go. If you can hit two birds with one stone, all the better.