The first article of the 2023-2024 school year whooo!! I am super thrilled to continue writing with HerCampus. I’ve been writing these articles since my first year at Queen’s and I am currently entering my third year of university which has already proven to be both exciting and terrifying. But, on the bright side, has also inspired me to make the absolute most of this school year! To really achieve this goal, I’ve decided to share with you, my primary school goals, and how I plan to achieve them. Which can hopefully inspire everyone else to create a list of a handful of goals that you would like to achieve.
But…why? I’m sure so many people have tried to explain the importance of goal setting to you and I am probably the least qualified of them all to explain why goal setting is a great idea. Personally, whenever people start talking about how motivating and productive it is to set goals, the information goes in one ear and out the other.
This year I want to make a change. I want to become the best version of myself and quit watching these years pass me by so, if setting challenges for myself is the way to do it, then I’m going to give it a try. I think the reasons to set goals are different for everyone but ultimately we want to become the best versions of ourselves and completing goals allow us to gain a general picture of what we hope that life will look like. It allows us to have a temporary endpoint as our goals keep growing as we keep achieving them. But ultimately, for me, I want to try something new. I want to seriously set goals and work on achieving them in hopes of seeing myself develop and by the end of the year, I will hopefully have a year-end goal update for you to truly hold myself accountable. So, while my goals might not suit your needs, I hope they give you some form of inspiration to achieve new things of your own.
- Read for 30 Minutes Before Bed
I have been slacking in the reading department lately and even though I love it I always find myself back on my phone looking at something that’s probably unimportant. This year I was to prioritize reading for pleasure and reading more before bed to relax my mind (and my eyes). I wrote an article last year about why I loved getting a library card for the Kingston public library and I’m excited to use that card to my advantage. I think that also by using the library, the books have to be completed by their due date so it keeps me motivated to keep reading and finish the books before they’re due.
- Improve Planning Skills
While procrastinating gets the job done, I am determined to avoid that terrible habit. Thinking about the amount of time I spend sitting in front of my computer looking at absolutely nothing, putting off some assignments is terrible. I genuinely don’t want to even know how many hours I’ve probably wasted just procrastinating. So I went out and bought myself a physical agenda to keep track of my due dates and set my own due dates for all assignments such as when I want a first and second draft done, or which days I want to dedicate to research. This can even be done with readings as I split up larger readings by a few pages that need to be done each day. Student Academic Success Services (SASS) actually has an incredible assignment planner that helps you break up essays, reports, and various other assignments day-by-day which can be so helpful.
- Keep Track of Spending Habits
It’s so easy to not pack a lunch and “grab something on campus” but spending over $10 every day for a mediocre sandwich that I could make at home has been terrible not only for me but also for my bank account. So, to limit my spending, each month I’ll set aside the amount of money I think I will need for the month and limit myself to that amount. I’m also planning to start making my coffee at home and bringing it to school instead of buying Starbucks every day. Little savings like that can help save so much more money, especially as a university student.
Those are probably my three major goals that I am hoping to accomplish over the next school year but they definitely do not need to be your goals. Take a couple of minutes to yourself to decide what you want to accomplish this year, who you want to be, and what steps you are going to take to become that person. Maybe make a vision board on Pinterest to visualize your goals, or create a vision board desktop screen so you can reference these goals every day. Just make sure your goals are something that you feel passionate about and something that you believe will make you the best version of yourself. And don’t be afraid to change your goals! If something isn’t working for you, don’t feel pressured to keep going, modify your goals to suit your needs and your schedule. They are no one’s goals but your own so they need to help you accomplish your ideal life.