okay so, i just can't sit still and have no patience, but i still manage to get straight A's (even at university level). what i can say is, it IS important to have good study habits but to keep in mind that this will look different for everyone. figure out what your strengths are and play them up. for example, i can memorize things for short-term fairly easily. this can be useful for exams. no amount of being interested in something is going to help me remember all of it long term, and let's face it, exams are not based on helping us remember; they're cruel and usual punishment most of the time, unless it's a practical exam or a theoretical exam to test knowledge for a specific trade (i.e. social work, nursing, engineering, etc).

for exams, i usually start making notes. i go through the material that will be tested and write out all the important things in shortest form (shortest form being whatever i will readily recognize without having to read an entire paragraph for) on a separate piece of paper. Depending on time and motivation I may do the entire list at once. Then I go through it a section at a time and memorize it. Sometimes I don't do anything until the day before and morning of, and I study it and go over it in my head over and over and over until it isn't humanly possible to forget. Now, I have OCD, so this works really well for me because that's what my mind does anyway.

for papers/essays, i start as soon as possible. if it's based on literature, i read the book or whatever it is i'm writing on and i just start writing out my thoughts on it (not in first person, of course). i don't worry about quotes or word count or even formatting. i just get words on paper because that's the part most people struggle with. if i'm not satisfied with my thesis i just leave it and go back to it because i find that the process of writing the paper itself actually clarifies the point i'm trying to make and then i can go back and make it a lot more solid afterward. it also helps frame my conclusion. once i have the body i go through the literature, pull out the more relevant quotes and do a bibliography as I incorporate them.

After that it's edit, edit, edit: for clarity, grammar, structure, etc. I use a style guide every time I write a paper;Ii never take anything for granted, I never leave anything to chance. there are learning and writing centres at every college and university and they're free; use them if grammar and structure are something you struggle with. There are also usually tutorials on how to become a better academic researcher/writer. If it's something important and you plan on going far in school, take them. You can't lose.

My biggest challenge is energy, and by extension, motivation. Once I actually get doing it I'm just fine. Most people would balk at my study methods but they work for me. When are you at your most alert during the day? Do your studying then. One suggestion a professor gave the school during orientation, at the first school I attended, was to donate time every day to studying because for each course you take you should be prepared to put in a minimum of three additional hours a week studying/reading (emphasis on 'minimum'). Some classes assign a buttload of reading and it'll be more than that. But just do your best, not someone else's best. If you are really struggling, reach out for help at your school. That's what it's there for.

Basically my point is, I also have a hard time concentrating, and there's no way I could sit down and study every day like some people can. Some days I can do it, some not. This is what works for me. Try a few things out and see what happens.

Hope it helps. Good luck!