The beginning of the year is always a great time for setting goals and looking forward to the future. For students in Tucson, the winter months are an incredible time to set time aside to get clear on what your dreams are for the year. Being a University student is also a great time to get into the practice of setting goals in your academic, social, and personal life. Traditionally, new year resolutions and goals are centered around personal development (ex: healthier lifestyle, better grades), but you can set resolutions for any area of your life you want to improve. Let’s take a look at how you can increase your productivity in the new year in different areas of life as a student.
Academic Goals
Setting academic goals is a great way to keep track of your progress throughout the semester. Good goals will help you target what you need to work on and adjust how you’re studying accordingly. Poorly-set goals, on the other hand, can end up becoming too concrete—and when that happens, you might find yourself ignoring some of the other things in your life that are important for your continued success.
In order to set good academic goals, you should:
- Set a goal for every class you are taking
- Prioritize your classes by importance
- Start small—you’re more likely to succeed if you don’t bite off more than you can chew
- Make sure your goals are clear and specific
Social Goals
Social goals are defined as “goals that have to do with your interactions with other people,” according to the book “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” These goals can be more specific and personal, such as making more friends, or more general and impersonal, such as becoming a better listener. In this article, we’ll go over some general tips for setting social goals at university.
The first step is to identify what it is you want to achieve while as a student at University. For example, if you’re interested in becoming a better conversationalist, you might want to set goals such as practicing small talk with strangers in public places and seeking out opportunities for engaging in discussions with friends and peers. If you want to set goals to broaden your social circle, participating in an extracurricular activity once a week or joining an on-campus organization can support you in these goals.
Personal Goals
Setting personal goals is one of the most important things you can do to be successful in life. Whether you’re trying to get into a good graduate program, land an awesome job, or just find a way to be happy every day, setting goals is the first step to achieving all of these things.
The problem many students face is how to set goals that are both meaningful and within reach. It’s tempting to think about your end goal—a PhD in economics or a job at the United Nations—and then try to create intermediate steps on your way there. The problem with this strategy is that it’s too easy to become discouraged when faced with something as seemingly daunting as graduating from a top-ranked program.
Instead of thinking about what you want to achieve in the long term, think about what you can accomplish in the next month or two. If you’re already familiar with this method, it’s called SMART goals, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound. When you have short-term goals that are specific and measurable, they provide a sense of accomplishment when they’re reached (which gives you motivation to keep going).
We hope this gave you some inspiration for a productive and fulfilled 2023 as a student!
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