Anticipation is Key for Students’ Higher GPAs

A study recently released demonstrated that students with higher GPA’s exhibited “strategic indulgence.” How might you practice this strategic anticipation as we get into the fall semester?

Have you ever considered that effective time management has just as much to do with the ways we think about our time as it does with the calendar or planner we use?

A study recently released in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science was highlighted on Inside Higher Ed yesterday, citing the study’s findings that students with higher GPAs were more likely to plan ahead the amount of time they spent on studying over a span of three days leading up to a college game day.

In fact, the more the higher-GPA students cared about the game, the more likely they were to spread out their study time on the days before game day. And get this. These higher-GPA students also reported spending more time on game-related activities on the day of the game, as well as enjoying the day more than their lower-GPA peers. The researchers from National University Singapore and Indiana University Bloomington called higher-GPA students’ spread-out approach to studying “strategic indulgence.”

Interestingly, their lower-GPA peers reported spending less time on game day activities.

What can King’s students derive from this study?

Among the cohorts of students who participated in the study, students with higher GPAs anticipated when they would study, and they spaced out their studying to allow for time to do something they valued and enjoyed.

As we wrap up our first week of the fall semester, consider what fun things you’re anticipating and how you might space out your coursework to fully maximize your potential for enjoyment. How might you exhibit “strategic indulgence?”

Because your life at King’s is about learning, and it’s also about the relationships you develop that will help you become who you’re becoming.

Check out Inside Higher Ed for more about the study.