Lesson 5: Goal Management or "Can't Never Did Anything!"

In July of 2008 I went back to college to complete the last 8 courses of my Bachelor's Degree. I had been out of school for over 10 years, but I had to get this done, and the best way to keep me on track was to let my friends and family know what I was working on and get them to help keep me on track. When I had a tough course, or a long course, or a class I didn't really care for they were there to refocus me, redirect me, give me new ideas, and prod me in the right direction.

The other thing I used to help me stay on track was a chart, a progress chart showing every lesson that I had to submit, and every test I had to take, and finally the rewards I would get once I had completed all of these things.

 

You can see there is still a row of unfinished work to be marked off - this is the list of rewards that I'm still gathering up - finally ending with the Graduation ceremony and celebration in December 2011!

Other tips can help you meet your goals include:

• Work toward this goal every day, it should become as much a part of your daily routine as brushing your teeth.
• Keep all the tools for working on this goal in one place - so that you can always find them.
• If there is a part of the goal that seems obscure or odd - ASK!!! Teachers, friends, and family would love to help if you let us know what we can do to help.
• Have an attitude of "I CAN" remember "Can't never did anything".
• Remind yourself of the benefits of not procrastinating!
• Writing our goals out, making them visable, sharing them with friends, family, coworkers, and even teachers is a great way of getting their assistance, getting their support, gaining useful encouragement, and keeping yourself accountable. Our friends, loved ones, and teachers desire the very best for us - they want good things to happen to us, and if they know what we are working on they are often help motivate us to get things done.