Academic pressure is one of the most common types of pressure among university students. With academic tasks piling up, such as quizzes, finals, group projects, capstones, practicum, and fieldwork, the transition from face-to-face learning to online learning during the pandemic added an extra layer of stress. Many students often reported feeling overwhelmed, irritable, and unmotivated.

P-A-U-S-E for a moment. The following uncover three tips to help students navigate academic pressure and savour a joyful learning journey.

Set SMART Goals

SMART goals may make your goals smarter by combining objectives and action plans (Doran, 1981, modified). SMART is an acronym that includes five elements Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic (yet challenging), and Timely. Set SMART short-term and long-term goals to facilitate your academic study progress and make a clear and reachable plan.

Create Good Habits and Make Habits Stick

“You choose your habits and they decide your future.” Create good habits by setting obvious context cues, start small and easy, and celebrate when you lean in. What is more challenging is how to make the habit stick. You may begin by enhancing the variety of habits, raising awareness and appreciation of practices, and connecting your habits with your friends (Wood & Neal, 2016). For example, go to the library together or embark on a new adventure during your summer vacation.

Aware-Explore-Apply Approach to Strengths

This three-step procedure gives you a framework to assist you to go further into your strengths (Niemiec, 2012). Character strengths, according to the Institute on Character, are the “positive parts of your personality that impact how you think, feel and behave”. You may explore your strengths in navigating your academic pressure.

Step 1 Aware
Name and describe your signature strengths.
You could click the link to finish the VIA survey and find out your character strength.
Step 2 Explore
How have you used your strengths at good times? Times of stress? Solve problems at study?
Step 3 Apply
What is one way you might use your strengths in a creative way in your academic study?

(Niemiec, 2012)

When you encounter academic pressure, jump into those strategies to plan and reflect wisely. It would be beneficial to try those ideas during your academic study and keep your momentum going! Reach out to the WeThrive team when you need support.