Set your goals high enough to inspire you and low enough to encourage you – Author Unknown
Setting goals and knowing what you are working towards, is always a good idea. Younger students need to understand the difference between a wish and a goal – I wish to eat ice cream everyday – but My goal is to drink enough water every day.
Goal setting will help you to set a road map for where you want to go and to help you to select the most appropriate method for reaching your goals. Some goals are long term and others might be short term.
It is important to remember to set goals in all areas of your life, and that it is not only important for schoolwork. Here is a short list with some examples of goals for different areas that we need to focus on during goal setting, to ensure that we have a well-balanced life and that will help prevent burnout.
- Academics
* Submit my tasks on time
* Draw up a study schedule
* Improve my marks by 5% - Social life
* See my friends more often
* Meet new people - Sports and exercise
* Attend all sport practices
* Join a sport team
* Walk around the block every day - Healthy eating
* Eat a well-balanced diet
* Eat less take-aways - Family and community
* Spend more time with my family
* Volunteer in the community - Hobbies and interests
* Find a new hobby
* Teach someone more about my hobby - Screen time and social media
* Spend less time on social media - Long-term plans
* Study at university / college
* Get a part-time job
It is important to remember that to really make progress you can’t focus on all areas at once; find one, two or three areas to focus on.
An easy way to work on your goals is to use the SMART method.
S – Specific: What exactly do I want to happen?
M – Measurable: I will know I have reached my goal when …
A – Attainable: With hard work, is it possible to reach my goal?
R – Relevant and Realistic: My goal is important enough for me to put a plan into action. I will follow this specific plan …
T – Timely: I will reach my goal by ….
Revise your goals every 2 – 3 months or at the start/end of an Academic Cycle to reflect on your past goals and to set new goals for the upcoming period.
Should you need help or guidance with setting your goals, you are welcome to send me an email, mentor@brainline.com, and we can brainstorm together.
