Are you planning to make a new year’s resolution? We suggest setting a new year’s goal instead! When you set a goal, you have a definite end result in mind that you are working towards. Some goals may be harder to reach than others. Whatever your dreams are for 2018, here’s some great tips to help you achieve your goals!
Categorize your goals by difficulty. Before trying to figure out the steps to achieve your goals, you should determine how difficult they are. A goal of “graduate from the college of my dreams” is a bit more difficult than, say, “get my driver’s permit!”
Estimate completion time. It’s also important to give yourself a time-frame when setting goals. Bringing up your grade in a certain class next semester might be a 5-month goal, but “exercise twice a week” may be a year-long goal (or more!). You need to think about how long your goal will actually take to complete before breaking down the steps needed to get there!
Be realistic. Although we’re sure “make a million bucks this year” is a goal everyone can get behind, try to be realistic about what can actually be accomplished in the near future! Don’t set yourself up for disappointment by trying to complete unrealistic goals.
Plan out the path. Now that you have a goal in mind, try breaking down the steps needed to get there. For example, say that six months from now, you’d like to be able to run a mile in 7 minutes. Right now, you can do 10 minutes. Every month, try to get 30 seconds faster. After two months, you’ll be at 9 minutes. Four months in, you’ll be trying for 8 minutes, and so on and so forth!
Find a way to measure your goal. It’s important that you have a tangible way to measure your progress towards achieving your goal. Rather than choosing a subjective or vague goal like “lose some weight” (a popular goal ever new year!), quantify it – “lose 15 pounds in 3 months.” If you don’t have a way to measure your progress, it’s hard to gauge how close you are to completing your goal (and to make necessary adjustments). With that in mind…
Determine if your goal is rigid or fluid. It is crucial to know how strict your goal is. If your goal is rigid, it means you aren’t willing to budge on the result. Sometimes it can be good to have rigid goals! Fluid goals are open to change and adaptation. For example, if your goal is to get into your top college of choice, it should not be a rigid goal, but rather a fluid goal. If you don’t get accepted to your dream school, you shouldn’t give up on going to college! Instead, go for an alternative. Life is full of unexpected changes, and generally larger/long-term goals are better planned with a fluid approach.
Find out what resources are available to you. Take advantage of local resources to help you advance towards your goal! Here’s some examples – if you want to get better at money management, sign up for a finance seminar. Want to raise your math grades? Find out what days extra help is offered at school. There’s plenty of resources out there – make sure to use them!
From all of us here at Tutor Doctor, we’d like to wish you all a very happy new year. Set your goals, plan a path, and make it happen! Most of all, follow your dreams. Let’s make 2018 a great year!
