Transcript Goal Setting and Achievement

Goal Setting and Achievement
Academic Support Unit
Prepared by: Mohammed Elsayed
Academic Support Specialist
Goal Setting and Achievement
What we’ll be covering:
Characteristics of goals
Where goal setting goes
wrong
How to break down goals
Goals should be...
• Realistic
• The goals of winning a marathon after two
weeks of training is an unrealistic goal. Use
what you’ve accomplished in the past to set a
reasonable goal for the future.
Goals should be...
• Self-chosen
• You are much more likely to achieve a goal
that you set for yourself than one that has
been set for you
Goals should be...
• Moderately difficult
-A goal that is too hard or too easy will decrease
your motivation and won’t show you what
you’re really capable of accomplishing
• Use what you’ve accomplished in the past as a
guide
Goals should be...
• Specific
• For example, getting an “A” in Math and a “B”
in Geography is a lot more specific than just
saying that you would like to get good grades
this semester
Goals should be...
• Measurable
-You’re more likely to give up if you can’t see
any progress toward your goal
-For example, getting an “A” on your midterm is
measurable progress toward getting an “A” in
the class.
Goals should be...
• Positive
• Say what you do want to accomplish instead
of what you don’t want to do.
• For example, try “I will attend all classes,”
instead of “I won’t skip any classes.”
Goals should be...
• Flexible
• If it looks like you can’t reach your original
goal, be flexible and redraw your plan
Goals should be...
• Associated with a deadline
• When do you plan on accomplishing this goal,
in a month, day, or year?
• Written down
• It will serve as a better reminder to keep you
motivated
Where goal setting can go wrong
• When goal setting is disorganized
• For example, keep personal and academic
goals separate
• When goals are unrealistic
• For example, becoming a company manager
immediately after graduation is an unrealistic
goal
Where goal setting can go wrong
• When you set goals that are ‘beyond’ your
control
• For example, winning the lottery is definitely
beyond your control
• When goals are vague
• For example, “becoming successful” or
“becoming a better student” are not clear
goals to work toward
Where goal setting can go wrong
• When you set too many goals
• For example, at any one time you should focus
on achieving only three or four goals
Summary
• Goals with certain characteristics will enable
you to be more successful in goal setting and
achievement.
How to break-down goals
• 1-Come up with one large goal. “Graduating with honors” or
“Raising my GPA by a letter grade” are examples. Once you do this,
you can break the one objective down into smaller tasks.
• 2-Write down things you will need to do in order to achieve that
goal. If your goal is to raise your GPA, write down things such as
“study more often,” “take good notes” and “pay attention during
each class.”
• 3-Point out your academic weaknesses and what you can do to
improve upon them. Many college students struggle with attending
every class. If this is the case, write down which classes or days you
struggle with, and make an effort to rectify the problem. Be honest
with yourself when thinking about your flaws. This is the only way
that you will be able to start fixing these problems.
How to break-down goals
4-Make a daily schedule of things you will need to do to achieve your goals. This
schedule should include when you're going to study, which assignments you're going
to work on and when you will do so. This is something that will change with each
week during the semester.
5-Have broad academic goals. Saying that you're going to study for 25 hours every
week during the semester or that you'll get a 98 on the next exam is
counterproductive. Instead, you should aim to study more than you did in previous
years and want to get an “A” on your test. When you have a goal ahead of you that is
more realistic, you're more apt to achieve that goal
Summary
• Breaking down large goals into parts will help
you to see what steps you will need to
complete on the way to accomplishing your
goals