Most students, if not everyone, want to do well at school. Your attitude towards yourself, what you think of school, and how you frame your abilities affect all of it. Anxiety, self doubt and fear all play a role, to various degrees; even for me they do!
There is no secret, however, to doing well. Put the time in, ask questions, get sleep. Below are some great tips. I hope you will consider them and that you find them of value too.
Get sleep (8+ hours), drink water and eat health. You will not function if you do not look after your mind and body. You're not working "smart" if you're burning the candle at both ends.
Get rid of your cell phone, Facebook, video games... etc. Find a place you can study that is free of distractions or where you will try to minimize a screen you're procrastinating on.
If you can teach it you know it. Shoot for understanding. Serioulsy, if you can teach it - you really do know it.
Do your homework. Sometimes you will have to struggle. It's normal. You're normal. Life is hard sometimes. We all have to battle it out. The one's you cannot answer, after giving 2-3 hard shots at it, make sure you get resolution the next day in class!
Review your notes and the examples given each day, and especially before you start your homework. You'll be more effective and efficient that way.
Enjoy your learning and believe in yourself. There is no reward without effort. Seriously - really enjoy it. Learning is cool.
Plan your life (job, volunteer, sports, arts, hobbies and family vacations) so they don't get so much in the way of school that your grades suffer (assuming that's a bad thing). Plan ahead!
OMg: See me for help. Ask questions in class. Anytime!!!
It's not about the marks. Yes. I get it. We need them. You're right. But the catch is this... if you focus on simply doing your best, asking questions, and working right, the stress goes down, your enjoyment goes up(!) and the marks will come naturally. You're marks, you may think, define you. They don't and they also don't determine future success. Those that do not focus just on marks, have found the bigger picture and will do better - I know this, as I see it all the time as a teacher.
Got Anxiety? Everyone does. It's normal too. Got too much maybe? I can help, only if you see me. Reach out - I got your back. We make make it easier and get you where you want to be.
Made it this far reading? Just for that, go and play this Launch Ball video game from the London Science Museum as a reward!
Seriously, do students even get this far? Maybe I'm putting the video game here for myself to play? Did I mention my dream job is to be an astronaut?