Guidelines to Accomplishing Your Goals

by Kevin Mitchell

At one of our previous ambassador monthly meetings, we talked about the value and struggles of setting goals. These goals ranged from setting time for studying and homework to trying to stick to a fitness routine. We discussed multiple different approaches to completing these goals.

One approach was to have a person hold you accountable to goals. The idea behind this approach is that you will care more about not letting the other person down. However, to some people, this approach will not have enough reward or punishment to work for them. To make this approach more viable to these people, we have added a twist to it. These twists may be a tip/swear jars (For ex. The jar can serve as a punishment on your wallet, as every time you fail to complete your goal, the person, holding you accountable to your goals, makes sure you put money in the jar).

Another approach included setting smaller deadlines throughout the day for yourself to complete smaller goals. The approach expands on the concept that some people, get more done if they have little amounts of time to work on it, rather than hours since they know they have plenty of time to finish the task at hand. It allows them to prioritize their time and use it more effectively rather than spending hours and completing the same amount of work.

One common problem people have when completing their goals is setting unrealistic goals with no ideal path to accomplish them. A way to combat this problem is to set smaller goals that take a small step towards the larger picture. These smaller goals should be more attainable and reasonable to measure for progress.

For example:

Big Goal: I want to be more fit, physically active, and healthy.

Smaller Goal: I will work out at the UMSL Recreational Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Smaller Goal: I will plan out my lunches on the weekend and make them the day before I need them to help me plan and stick to a better diet.

A method that has helped me stick to my goals is to map out time in the day for when I will complete my smaller goals. I will constrict what day and time I have for certain events such as homework, class, volunteering, and etc. This allows me to control how I manage my time while also making sure I stick my schedule. I can clearly estimate how well I was able to keep up with my goals and where I might need to adjust my schedule to help make more progress towards my goals.

I hope this helps in your future endeavors.