Here’s a guide to better grades this year

Happy New Year!  It’s a New Year and students have moved a class higher.

 Like everybody else, students also ought to make resolutions that will make this year better than last year socially and academically.

Take time and reflect on the changes you want and need to make. Here are my suggestions to guide you:
• No more procrastination: This year, strive to do everything you intend to do, including doing your homework, at the designated time to avoid having so much pending assignments. Break down your large tasks into small components and set a deadline for each. This way, tasks become manageable.
• Improve grades: Commit to get good grades right from the start of term one. This means you have to make a few adjustments in your activities. If you were not in a study group, start one or join an existing one. If you have been a noisemaker in class, it’s time to change. Get closer to your teachers so that you are free to ask them any questions you have.
• Focus on a few activities. You may love to participate in many school activities, but this eats into your study time. You cannot be a member of all the clubs and sports activities in school. Stick to one or two activities and make the best of it.
• Try something new by broadening your horizons:  If your school is involved in charity work, devote some time and participate as a volunteer by visiting children’s homes, old people’s homes or the sick in hospital. You never know how good you are at something until you try it. It may also be a good thing for your CV in future.
• Away with self-doubt: When you doubt your abilities, you hold yourself back from achieving your dreams. When you wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and tell yourself: “I am smart and can do it.”
• Enough sleep: Your poor performance could have been as a result of lack of sufficient sleep. Increase the quality and amount of sleep you get and you will be more alert and get to class on time.
• Physical fitness: Good grades are not just about your brains. You need to also be fit. Being physically fit boosts blood flow to your brain, ensuring you stay focused even on the most difficult subject. If you are one of those students who avoids going for PE, it’s time to start exercising.
• Spend the least amount of time on social media, especially for students who are not in boarding school. Many students start their homework with good intentions but get distracted the moment they turn to social media. When studying, ensure you have no access to the Internet.
• Resolve to keep your resolutions by writing them down and putting them in a place where you will see them every day.