The first step to getting a good grade on an assignment is to … wait for it … do the assignment! Simple, right? Maybe, but only if you remember to do the assignment. For some students, knowing how to keep track of assignments and their …
How to pull an all-nighter the right way
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. If you have super perfect school habits and super perfect teachers and a super perfect schedule, then you won’t ever have to pull an all-nighter. Yeah, so that’s not gonna happen every day. I get it: Sometimes work just piles up …
What homework should I do first? The easy stuff or hard stuff?
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. What homework should I do first? This is the first question I often hear when a student feels overwhelmed with assignments. It’s also the first thought that pops into my own head when my to-do list runs onto page 17 of …
5 ways to participate more in class, and why it matters
Some students are naturally inclined to participate more in class. These students participate either by raising their hand with a question or comment, or by volunteering for tasks or roles. These are often the kids with their hands in the air before the teacher even asks …
Productivity hack: “Set the table” to nail your to-do list
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. There are so many time-management and productivity hacks that people swear by, and it’s my goal to help you find a few that work well for you. We all learn and work differently — so it’s best to try a bunch, …
How to get through a bad school day: 4 survival tips
Most of my posts and videos focus on how to make your school experience better. That’s because I choose to focus on the positive. That’s what SchoolHabits is entirely about. But let’s face it: Not all of our days can be hunky dory all the …
How to stop procrastinating
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. We all procrastinate. And we all want to stop procrastinating. So why is it so hard? Before we learn how to stop procrastinating, we have to understand why we procrastinate. There are scientific (psychological) reasons that we keep putting our projects off. There are …
3 tricks for learning vocabulary words
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Vocabulary quizzes pop up in almost all school subjects. English teachers and foreign language teachers probably use vocabulary quizzes the most, but you’ll likely have vocabulary quizzes in history, biology, etc. In other words, there’s no escaping the dreaded vocab test. …
3 reading strategies for students with ADHD
Academic reading can be a struggle for any student — but it can be especially difficult for students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Reading requires controlled focus and prolonged attention, which most students with ADHD do not adequately regulate. Tell me if this scenario …
How to stay focused in class: 7 tricks to avoid zoning out
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. I once fell asleep during a high-level college chemistry class. Not drowsy, not just blinking really slowly, but straight out asleep. I slept so hard that I only woke up when other students were climbing over me after class. It wasn’t …