There’s really only one secret to doing well in English, regardless of what year you’re in or stage you’re at. It’s all about building good habits.
We know English is one of the most time intensive subjects and it can be really overwhelming to keep up with, both inside and outside of class. But, fear not! A good habit system can make all the difference and help alleviate the dread you might feel when tackling English.
Habits in English
You may be wondering, what habits do I need to succeed in English? Whilst there are several habits you could choose from, the main ones you should prioritise are:
Reading your prescribed text(s) thoroughly
Adding to your notes regularly
Practising your writing regularly
Many students struggle with reading their texts and will instead opt for reading study guides. However, reading your text is the first, crucial step in ensuring you can hone your understanding of the text and contribute to class discussions. Similarly, adding to your notes and practising written responses regularly is a surefire way to consolidate the knowledge you learn in class and improve your ability to analyse texts.
Initially these habits may seem unachievable, especially when your homework and study for other subjects pile up, or the allure of Netflix is too strong.
This is where James Clear’s ‘atomic habits’ come in. He believes that building effective habits doesn’t have to be an overwhelming task, but instead is achieved through consistently taking smaller steps that will eventually become second nature and lead you to your overall goals.
The Two-Minute Rule
The key to creating habits that will actually stick is to start off small. You can do this by using the Two-Minute Rule. What does this mean? Basically, any new habit you start should take less than two minutes to complete.
For instance, say you need to read a text for school. Using this rule, you would start by reading just one page a day.
At first, you may be thinking “that’s not enough” or “that’s too easy”. What you’re mastering here is not the habit itself but the habit of ‘showing up’. This first step is really important because it will become much easier to continue the habit if it’s easy to begin with.
“Instead of trying to engineer a perfect habit from the start, do the easy thing on a more consistent basis. You have to standardise before you can optimise” - James Clear
Eventually, once you’re able to complete this each day for a week, then you can scale your habit up. Once you’ve mastered each phase you can move on to the next. The best part is, you can always scale back to an earlier phase if the current step feels too difficult. In this way, you are consistently doing the work rather than quitting entirely, gradually improving your skills in English all the time.
Very easy | Easy | Moderate | Hard | Very hard (The ultimate goal) |
Read one page a night | Read a chapter a night | Read a few chapters a night | Read half the book | Read the entire book |
Add a quote to your notes | Add technique analysis | Add thematic analysis | Add notes on context and stylistic features from class | Regularly add key analysis from class and your own research |
Write for 2 minutes | Write for 5 minutes | Write a paragraph | Write a mini-essay | Write a full essay and submit for feedback |
Designing your Environment for Success
Sometimes you may find that even though you want to build habits, something seems to be getting in the way. Often that something is how visible your habit is in your environment.
At the end of the day, if your book is buried deep in your bag and you’re already snuggled up in bed, you’re not going to want to read it. Instead, you can try placing it on your bedside table when you get home from school, or even next to the couch if you’d prefer. In a similar way, you could add your English notes document as a shortcut to your desktop to make it really accessible, or place your pen and paper on your desk ready to go.
If you’re really struggling for motivation, Clear advises picking a new environment to tie to your new habits. For example, you could pick a local coffee shop, library or even another room at home and make this your ‘reading spot’ or ‘English notes spot’.
So, if you’re wondering how to consistently improve in English or you’re struggling to find the motivation and discipline to do so, why not try building atomic habits?
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