Academic Support Unit

1. Academic Support Unit Goal Setting and Achievement Prepared by: Mohammed Elsayed Academic Support Specialist

2. Goal Setting and Achievement What we’ll be covering: Characteristics of goals Where goal setting goes wrong How to break down goals

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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.”

9. Goals should be... • Flexible • If it looks like you can’t reach your original goal, be flexible and redraw your plan

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. Summary • Goals with certain characteristics will enable you to be more successful in goal setting and achievement.

15. 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.

16. 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

17. 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