For many students, January and February can be a difficult time in the academic year, and supporting students during exam season becomes a key priority for universities. Exams often follow the winter break, when routines have been disrupted and energy levels might be lower due to seasonal changes. So when they return, students are not just managing academic pressure but rebuilding the everyday habits that help them to balance study, work and day-to-day coping.
Being aware of our mental health and having access to information about how our minds work, plays an important part in supporting student and staff wellbeing within higher education. Campaigns that are visible and well-designed can help to normalise conversations, reduce stigma and improve our mental health literacy, all of which contribute to making it easier to talk about our mental health and to ask for help. This has been central to our approach from the beginning.
Since 2008 our campaigning has been focussed around using positive, everyday language to help make taking care of our minds natural and normal for everyone. We also know that awareness on its own isn’t always enough when life gets busy, overwhelming or stressful. Research demonstrates the importance of supporting students to develop skills like self-management and self-regulation. These skills help students to organise their time, manage exam and coursework deadlines, revision and part-time work – to feel more confident during busy periods of study.
When life gets busy, a lot of what we do happens in autopilot, we fall into familiar routines and habits often without really thinking about them. Some of our habits help us get through day by freeing up headspace, things like having a regular time or place to study, or packing what we need the night before lectures or work. Other habits can make things feel harder than they need to be, especially when we feel under pressure, things like constantly task switching or working late into the night without breaks.
Research on habit formation shows that when routines are consistent and familiar, we rely less on willpower and find it easier to keep going during demanding periods. It also shows that habits take time to form, and small, realistic changes are more likely to last than big resets. As Fiorella (2020) explains, building good habits can make the things that support learning and wellbeing feel more natural, especially when things feel overwhelming.
At Mindapples, this is the approach that shapes how we support students during their busiest times. Our Change Your Habits session is informed by habit research and helps people make sense of the everyday patterns and routines they rely on. It explores how automatic routines, cues and rewards shape what we do day to day, and how small changes can make a real difference. Rather than focusing on willpower or motivation, the session invites students to reflect on what’s already in place and experiment with simple, realistic changes that fit around real life. This can be particularly helpful during busy periods of study, when having familiar routines to fall back on can support both learning and wellbeing.
As universities plan student support ahead of assessments and exams, Change Your Habits brings a practical and evidence informed way to help students with both their learning and mental health. If you’d like to find out how we can deliver this session to your students online, or on campus, get in touch at universities@mindapples.org