By: Anna Martin

As the semester is drawing to an end, I'm sure many of us have set goals for ourselves. Whether that be doing really well in your classes, wanting to get into a new habit, or simply just wanting to have a really enjoyable summer. Whatever the reason, it’s so important to not get distracted and lose sight of what you're aiming towards. Here are some tips for staying on track with your goals:

Make a Specific Plan
Although it seems like the most obvious, it’s also the most important. Studies have shown you’re 2x to 3x more likely to stick to your goals if you draw out a plan for them. Instead of saying “I want to start cooking at home more,” try saying “I will try to make myself a homemade meal 3x a week for a month.” Not only does this help motivate you, but this gives you a more realistic approach. It's also really helpful to make goals that you can incorporate into your daily life, like drinking a glass of water after eating breakfast.

Get a Better Focus
I’m sure many of us have goals that we want to accomplish simultaneously. However, trying to juggle more than one at the same time can hurt you more than helping you, and you might end up losing the motivation to complete your goals. This is known as “goal competition” where your goals are essentially trying to compete with one another for your time and attention. One way to handle this is to eliminate the smaller goals so that you can really focus on your bigger goals without having more distractions. Another way is to reorganize your goals, prioritizing the ones more important to you, then focusing on them one at a time. Just remember to give yourself some space so that your other goals can fully blossom.

Set an Upper Bound
Whenever we make plans for ourselves, we are so used to saying, “I will do at least…..” But why limit ourselves to doing the minimum when we can do more? By implementing an upper bound, you might be surprised to see how much more you can do. Instead, try saying “I want to do at least…… but not more than……” You want to be able to see progress and continue to show up for yourself. And if you keep showing up for yourself, you’ll get closer and closer to reaching your goals.

Overall, setting goals for yourself can be really helpful if you need some extra motivation. Whether you’re a big dreamer or someone who likes to set smaller, more approachable goals, I hope you’ll find these tips useful. Just keep doing you because you got this girl!

Sources:

https://jamesclear.com/goal-setting