Goal-setting for the New Year

By: Kandice Thorn

The beginning of a new school year is always an exciting time.  Like at the start of the calendar year, I remember making "resolutions" at the beginning of each academic year.  This will be the year that I would keep up on all my assignments!  I will start outlining for each class in October!  I will get involved in lots of extracurricular activities!  It was a new beginning and I could become the perfect student I had always wanted to be.


Inevitably, however, my enthusiasm would wane by the end of the first few weeks of the semester.  My tendency to procrastinate would take over; social commitments would take precedence over school obligations.  I'd find myself in a downward spiral and by the time finals rolled around, I was where I always was - cramming furiously, pulling all-nighters in the library, and trying to do two months worth of outlining in a week or two.

I am older and wiser now, and strangely enough my life still is planned around the academic year.  I still find myself making resolutions at the beginning of each school year (and each semester), but now they are actually pretty successful.  So what do I do differently now that helps me stay on track throughout an entire semester?  The difference is that now I focus on realistic (and specific) goals and I make staying organized a #1 priority.

Setting Realistic/Specific Goals

When I was a student, my "goal" was, in essence, to become the Perfect Student.  But not only is that goal far-fetched and unrealistic, it is much too vague to turn into reality.  Now I realize that goals must be realistic.  Rather than aiming for perfection, I now aim to improve upon past performance in ways that seem manageable.  As time goes by, I also frequently reevaluate my goals and make adjustments where necessary.  This keeps me from getting overwhelmed by failure and giving up altogether.

In addition, I now set goals that are much more specific.  Rather than say "I will start working on my research paper early so that I don't save it all for the end of the semester," I would create specific goals like "I will create an outline for my paper by October 15" and "I will draft the Introduction and Section I by October 30."

Staying Organized

Over the years, I have come to realize that staying organized is key to success at almost any job you do, and I believe it is also the key to success as a student.  Come up with a system for tracking your goals, as well as your everyday "to do" list.  I use a free project management tool called Asana (www.asana.com) to track all of my important (and not so important) tasks, as well as to keep on top of long term projects, and it has helped me become not only more organized, but also more efficient (if you hang around me long enough, you will definitely hear my "Asana Changed My Life" speech at some point - and, no, I'm not a paid spokesperson for Asana).

Come up with your own system for managing your tasks, whether it be an old fashioned calendar with a pencil or a program like Asana.  Also, come up with a way of managing your email inbox and ensuring that you remain on top of your correspondence and that you respond to important emails in a timely manner.  By staying organized, you will never lose track of your goals, and success will be yours!

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I hope these tips will help this year be your most productive year yet!