IF YOU WANT TO SCORE . . .

/in /by

. . YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHERE THE GOALPOSTS ARE! And they will be different for each course.

Why do I have to set goals?

You don’t. You can just go from class to class, lab to lab, seminar to seminar, relying on the instructor to tell you what to do next. It worked for grade school. Where you will run into snags in high school or college is where assignment deadlines conflict, or your motivation flags, or where you get discouraged, or where unforeseen obstacles require extra effort, planning, or creative approaches.

Research shows that people who attack a project with a clear goal in mind are more likely to complete the project, and to complete it well, if they start out with a specific, clear goal about what the project will look like at completion. This doesn’t mean more effort had to be spent on the project. It means that whatever effort is spent will be more effective.

So no, you don’t have to set goals. But I don’t think you want to get out there on the field or on the ice, relying on luck and good intentions.

Here are some of the questions I hear when I introduce goal setting to my clients:

I know goals for the gym, for a health program, for soccer, for hockey. But what about school? Isn’t it enough that I know I want to pass everything?

Wanting to pass everything–that’s a wish, more than a goal. Getting a 4.0 average–that’s a wish, too. It’s good to have wishes. To build your chances of getting your wish, you set goals that point your planning and activities toward the actions that will increase your chance of the wish becoming a reality.

So what is a goal?

If you are beyond your first year of college, you may have heard of the SMART goal acronym. For those of you who haven’t, a SMART goal

sets a Specific target

is Measurable

is Achievable

is Realistic and

is Time related.

SMART goals is a way of thinking, a way of project management. If you’re into metacognition, it is executive functioning in action. 

Okay, but how does this work for my particular courses?

This is the best time of term to be asking this!  Let’s go:

  1. Pick the course that is most straightforward for you to get the process in hand, take a sheet of paper or a large file card and write out your specific target for that course: “I target a B in CORS395.”
  2. Now ask yourself, “Is this measurable? How will I measure it?” At this point you refer to your contract with the professor (also known as the syllabus or course outline) to see what has to be done and how much each activity counts. You can list these measures on your goal card, together with the weights and due dates.
  3. Ask yourself if this goal is achievable. If you got a C or B-, probably. If you got a D- and a conditional pass in the prerequisite, then a more attainable goal might be raising the grade to a solid C.The caution here is to set yourself up for challenge, not failure. Target the C, get the B- and bonus! Target the B and get a B-, and you will be disappointed.
  4. Is this goal realistic? Here you need to take the broader view and context of the course and your life. Targeting A+ in five courses with full-time work and two toddlers–yes, this could be achievable for each course. But is this realistic? Here you may need to prioritize which goals fit your longer-term career goals and your life values. 
  5. Finally you tie the course activities into your time schedule, in pencil at the stage if you are using paper time planners.

This is a quick run-through for a typical course–your goals may not be a grade. They may be to gain a new skill or to learn a new perspective.

You can apply this model to each assignment or course project, to your self-care program, to family activities, or to getting the most from your R&R. 

I’ve done this before, but I seem to get stuck when it comes to actually doing what needs to get done.

That sounds pretty human to me. Much of my work with students is in breaking out the bottlenecks in getting things done, in setting achievable, realistic goals, in dealing with obstacles in implementation, in recovering from setbacks: in general, in keeping from getting stuck, and in getting unstuck when it does happen!

Connect with me to start planning for your academic success early in the term: [email protected] 

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS PLEASE DIAL 911.