What if the secret weapon against procrastination wasn’t a fancy app or a time management trick, but something as simple as friendship? Friends not only bring fun and laughter, they influence your habits. Their support can shape the way you study, the way you make decisions, and the way you solve problems.
When you’re studying with your friends, your bad habits are often overcome. According to a study about the benefits of friendship in academic settings, published on Cureus online, when studying with friends you are often more focused and more efficient.
Many students at South agree. Leon Sato (‘28) said, “My friends shape my decision and studying skills.” Having friends to help you learn or solve problems can aid you in learning how to do them yourself.
“When I study with friends, we challenge each other’s ideas and fill in the gaps I might overlook,” said Rajat Khurana (‘21), my brother and South alumnus. “These gaps could be all the way from knowledge gaps to homework gaps.”
Helping you is what friends do. According to a study published in the American Psychological Association by Zara Abrams on friendship and its effects, “Participants who have a friend by their side while completing a task have less heart rate reactivity than those working alone.” Not only does having a lower heart rate prevent emotional problems, but it prevents mental problems, such as burnout and anxiety, according to Abram’s research.
Sato (‘28) said,“Burnout makes it harder to think, harder to do pretty much anything.” Working with friends can create a less stressful environment that can promote happiness, reduce stress, and reduce anxiety.
Friends support you mentally and emotionally. Sato said, ”Having an important emotional connection to others can improve life. It can make it easier to work without taking breaks; it helps motivation and more importantly it improves the efficiency of the work you do.”
Noor Sehgal (‘28) said, “Having somebody I can rely on has helped me through nearly every challenge life throws at me.”
Friends are not only for good times: they are the people who will shape you.
