Monday, January 23, 2012

Spring Semester Goals

Now that you have done some soul searching and reminded yourself (or possibly asked yourself for the first time) why you are in college, now is a good time to set some goals for the semester.

Is this your first time making goals for your academic career?  Let me assure you that this is a both a good and useful exercise.  Setting goals gives you something to work for and can outline a plan to help you improve the quality of work you produce, the grades you earn, and/or the knowledge you gain this spring.

What are some good goals to set?  Here are a few ideas:

  • Improve grades
  • Choose a major (have you figured out what you want to major in yet?)
  • Manage my time better
  • Don’t procrastinate!
  • Save money
  • Volunteer
  • Take better care of my health
  • Get to know my professors

I know, I know, these sound a lot like New Year’s resolutions, and like resolutions, they help you to focus on areas that you can improve.  But in order to stick to these goals, you have to do more than say that you want to raise your grades; you need to develop a plan of action for how to achieve this goal and stick to it.

Your action plan may include things like putting more time into studying, not going out on week nights, and starting projects as soon as they are assigned.  To put this plan into action, you will need to keep track of your assignments, turn down  week night invitations for drinks or dinner, etc.  And you need to continue to do these things all semester long!

So let me challenge you: set some goals for the semester, and take action!  Your GPA just might thank you.

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