Homework Notebook

Setting Goals

Business people set goals all the time. So do athletes, and many people set personal goals every New Year's Eve. But should you set academic goals as well?

The first answer here is Yes, and the second is Why not, it can't hurt! Setting goals, whether for each individual subject you take, or for schoolwork as a whole, is a valuable tool to maximize what you learn at school. Once you have goals in mind, you will find yourself working harder to attain those goals. But you need to ensure you are setting goals properly.

Make sure you set goals that you can realistically reach. Striving to score 100% on every test you take in every subject all year long is honourable, but not very probable. Striving for a 75% average throughout the year may be more likely, depending on where you are starting from.
Along the same lines, break your big goals up into bite-sized chunks. If what you really want is to pass Physics this year (your second try at it), work first on passing the first semester, or the first test, or the first assignment, or even getting through the first week without dropping the course!
Set goals that you can measure in some way. If you say that you want to do better in Math, it will be difficult to say at the end of the year if that goal was achieved. Instead, say you want to raise your grades by 15% in Math, or from a C+ to a B.
Set a specific time-frame to achieve your goals. Often academic goals will be for the school year, or by the semester, but some of them may be for a month, or even for the next two or three years.
Finally, write your goals down. Then you will be forced to be specific about them, you can refer to them throughout the year, and you can see how you measured up in the end. It is a proud feeling to set goals and achieve them.

You can find other tips to setting goals on the net at the following sites:

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Created on ... February 2, 2009

Homework Notebook

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Setting Goals

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