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♪ [music plays throughout] ♪♪.
Whether your first class is at 8am or 12pm, get up at
the same time everyday.
When you establish a regular schedule for yourself,
getting into a groove becomes easier and easier.
The weekly time awareness chart you downloaded can help you
organize your life and manage your time better so these habits
become second nature.
Start by marking off the times you've got class and
any other regular meetings like work, worship services,
practice times, or club meetings.
Next, fill in the times you plan to study each week.
You may ask yourself, "what is an appropriate amount
of time to study?"
Successful students estimate spending 2-3 hours outside of
class studying for every hour in class.
So if you are taking 15 credit hours, you may need to spend an
average of 30-45 hours each week studying outside of class.
That sounds like a lot of time, but if you plan to make
mostly A's and B's, that is usually what is required
at the college level.
If possible, get most of your studying done before 6pm.
Research shows that studying during daylight hours is
more effective than hours spent after dark.
Obviously, if you aren't able to put in the time before 6pm,
don't let the sunset stop you.
But if you can save those hours in the evening
for other activities, like sleep, you will have a
better chance of studying.
Finally, one of the most important short-term goals
you can start today is using a to-do list or calendar to
keep track of assignments and appointments.
The Semester Time Management Worksheet you downloaded
can be a very useful tool to help you see the
whole semester at a glance.
You can very easily see weeks that are more congested with
lots of exams, papers and projects, and others that
will be more relaxed.
Plan ahead and pace yourself to create a
more manageable semester.
Because short-term or mid-range goals are achieved
more quickly than long-term goals, it is much easier
staying on track with them.
Long-term goals are more difficult to accomplish because
it takes longer and more effort to reach them.
Here are some helpful tips to staying on track to achieve
your long-term goals.
Remind yourself often of your long-term goals.
Write your long-term goals down and read them often.
When you read them, allow yourself to dream about them.
Be realistic with the short-term and mid-range goals
you have created to achieve your long-term goals.
Remember, these are steps to your long-term goals, so
make sure these short-term and mid-range goals are realistic.
If you set smaller goals that are too challenging and
hard to accomplish, it will make your long-term goals
much harder to reach.
If you find your short-term goals are not working for you,
adjust them.
There are often several paths that can lead to
one long-term goal.
So if your short-term goals aren't working out for you,
adjust them so they do.
Finally, throughout all our lives we will all find obstacles
or roadblocks that will get in our way.
Plan ahead for these possibilities.
Try to predict any obstacles you may face.
By predicting them, they will be much easier to overcome
when they arrive.
Let's look at obstacles and roadblocks a bit further.
As I said before, everyone will experience obstacles.
Some may be more extreme than others, but everyone
should plan for them.
Write down three possible obstacles that might get
in the way of achieving your long-term goal.
Some examples may be difficult subject matter, uncooperative
group members, too many distractions in study
environment, professors with unclear expectations, and so on.
Think about how much control you actually have over these issues.
Usually, you will have no control over them, but only over
what you do or how you handle these situations.
Think about what you can do to eliminate or avoid these
obstacles by keeping in mind the things you can actually control.
If you need more time, pause the podcast and write down a few
obstacles and ways to eliminate or avoid them, as well as ways
to overcome them if they are unavoidable.
Rejoin me when you are finished.
Here is a quote to consider.
"Get your major purpose clear, take off your plate all which
"hinders that purpose and hold hard to all that helps it,
"and then go ahead with a clear conscience, courage,
sincerity, and selflessness."
This is basically saying that you should figure out
what your dreams are.
Then remove everything in your life that will stop you from
reaching those dreams, and hold hard to all that will
help you reach them.
Then, go ahead with your life, working to achieve your dreams
with all your best qualities, remembering to keep a clear
conscience, be courageous, be sincere, and be selfless.
This concludes the goal-setting workshop by
the Student Success Center.
If you have any questions about goal-setting or other skills,
please contact the Student Success Center at 581-6696,
or stop by for a one-on-one appointment with one of our
staff in Ninth Street Hall.
Also, check out any of our other podcasts while you're here.
Good luck on your journey to success, and thank you.
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