Tuesday, August 25, 2009
As classes begin in earnest this week, students and educators alike return to the daily grind of academia.
For many, the transition from the freedom of summer to the hellish nightmare of having to exert effort on a regular basis may seem difficult or even impossible.
But fear not, for I am here to help. In addition to being a columnist, I am a self-certified self-help trainer.
That’s right: I’m so good at self-helping that I actually certified myself. Where else can you get that kind of credibility?
Anyway, I’ve decided to put my self-taught self-help knowledge to work to help you help yourself get into the swing of things this school year.
If the oncoming semester seems overwhelming, the absolute best thing you can do is set goals for yourself.
Having goals gives you direction and something concrete to work toward, which are both positive unless you are a hobo or an abstract artist. In which case, I suggest you stop reading immediately.
Get out a pen and a notebook and get ready to make a list of goals for the semester. Here are some handy tips to help you along:
Set a goal to set goals. Have your first goal be to set a certain number of goals. You have to start somewhere.
Be specific. Having vague or broad goals make them seem unwieldy and unattainable. If your goals are specific, you’ll know exactly what you’re trying to achieve and when you’ve achieved it.
For example, don’t write “PARTY!” as a goal. Instead, write something like “PARTY HARD! WOOOO!!!”
Specialize goals to fit your particular situation. Filling a list with generic stuff like “Get all A’s” or “Earn a raise at work” probably won’t inspire you. Instead, tailor your goals to areas you’re especially interested in.
Be ambitious but reasonable. When most people set goals, they err in one of two extremes. They either set a depressingly simple goal like “Write a haiku” or an impossible one like “write a novel that wins the Nobel Prize in literature.”
Try and find something in the middle, like “write 1,000 pages of ‘Twilight’ fan-fiction.”
Make sure your goal list is on a different page from your grocery list. This will avoid much confusion and consternation in the future as you try to find something called “Apologize to Grandma” at Dillons.
When you finish your list, take it wherever you go. Otherwise, you might forget to check something off the list, and you’ll end up doing the same puzzle five times.
Have a Mexican soccer announcer follow you around. That way, whenever you accomplish a goal, it will feel like the greatest, most exciting thing in the history of the world.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!
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Nichols: How to set goals for the semester
Great editorial. Way to take the good fight to the town hall.
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