New year, new you.
New semester, new you.
Each beginning starts with a new list of goals and accomplishments which you are inspired to achieve after last semesters feelings of barely scraping by and unpreparedness. But, as the tale as old as time goes, many will forfeit on their New Year’s Resolutions, or forget their new semester goals by the time mid February rolls around. This behavior is quite understandable when goals are as unspecific or unachievable as the following:
Be a better student.
Lose weight.
Etc…
To build off of an article from earlier this week, goals become easy to miss when there are no specifics, or plans for achievement. This is a tool which I learned in my first week of college, and has helped me make and accomplish goals ever since.
As cheesy as acronyms can be, this one is extremely helpful. It stands for:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-oriented
Take the example ”Be a better student”-to make it a S.M.A.R.T. goal, it could include a multitude of smaller goals:
“Maintain above a B- in all major-related classes through midterms, then through finals.”
This breaks down the general goal into something more Specific, grades.
It is Measurable because there is a grade which you are aiming for.
Attainable is a more subjective field, and depends on the person. If you are someone who typically averages C’s, challenging yourself to get slightly above that level is a good starting point. If you are someone who consistently barely passes classes, setting your eyes on straight A’s is a path straight to letting yourself down.
It is Relevant because you set the goal for classes related to your major.
And it is Time-oriented because there is a timeline given: through midterms, then through finals. Breaking down the semester into portions makes it a lot more manageable than setting a goal for the entire semester.
Here’s a video to further explain this strategy: https://youtu.be/OXA6gfzFA24
When goals have a plan, they become more easily reached. Use this strategy to achieve your goals this semester!