The one habit that separates SA’s top-performing learners from the rest

As the final exam period approaches, Grade 11 to 12 learners across South Africa enter a high-stakes academic phase where their marks will begin to shape access to university programmes and bursary opportunities. At this level, strong performance comes from how learners structure time and revision schedules, as well as how they engage with their workloads over several weeks instead of cramming over a few days. Research shows a consistent association between time management and academic achievement, with better time management linked to stronger academic performance outcomes. The same evidence base also highlights how weaker time management is associated with higher levels of stress and academic difficulty, particularly in demanding assessment periods. Susan Friederichs van Harmelen, Dean of the Faculty of Education at Emeris notes that the way learners organise their study now has implications that extend into higher education and working life. “Whether it’s managing a university assignment deadline, preparing for lectures, balancing self-study or adapting to remote learning schedules, the ability to plan and organise work consistently is essential now for exams and in the future for your career,” she says. “In the workplace, deadlines are fixed and expectations are high and there is very little space for delayed delivery or last-minute work. Time and task management becomes one of the most valuable competencies a young person can develop.” Where poor planning shows up in real study cycles When learners delay revision, workload builds quickly. Content that could have been spread across several weeks gets compressed into a short period before exams, which increases cognitive load and limits how well learners engage with and absorb material. That pattern often leads to surface-level learning. Instead of working through the content for understanding, learners focus on recognition and recall. In practice, that reduces their ability to apply knowledge in structured exam