All People Can Achieve Their Goals by Preparing Effectively

All People Can Achieve Their Goals by Preparing Effectively
“Tools” for both parents and their children

Four P’s of Goal Setting

We all need goals to get things done. However, not every goal is effective. The way that we and our children word our/their goals will determine whether or not we reach them. When establishing goals, it is important to remember the Four P’s of goal setting. They need to be positive, personal, possible, and prioritized.

They Need to Be Positive

When you are creating goals, remember to make sure that they are positive. This means that you focus on what you want to achieve rather than what you want to avoid. For example, you would write, “I will complete this project.” rather than “I can’t wait till I will no longer work on this horrible project.” Staying focused on the positive will help improve your outlook and remove any negativity. This, in turn, will improve your chances for success. Reaching your goals will automatically help you avoid your present circumstances. When creating positive goals, remember to be as specific as possible.

They Need to Be Personal

When creating goals, they need to reflect your dreams and desires. Goals that are not personal are more likely to be ineffective. Your goals should be about you and only you. For example, “My boss will appreciate me.” is an ineffective goal because it is not about you. It is possible to be a wonderful employee and still be unappreciated. A more specific, valued, and better goal could be, “I will find a supervisory position where I am appreciated for my talent.” If your goals are not personal, you will never achieve them. Making goals personal places the burden of responsibility on you, but it also means that other people do not determine when you reach your goals.

They Need to Be Possible

When creating goals, you need to make sure that they are possible. When you set impossible goals, you set yourself up for failure and disappointment. Creating possible goals demands that you be honest with yourself. Some goals may require continued education or experience to achieve while others will remain out of reach. For example, it is not possible for someone to become a famous singer without any talent whatsoever. You need to assess your talents and determine what you can achieve with hard work and what is unrealistic for you to accomplish. Once you have determined which goals are possible for you to achieve, success will be within reach.

They Need to Be Prioritized

Brainstorming goals can become overwhelming. You will probably have more goals than you can handle. This is the time to prioritize your goals. Begin by numerically ranking your goals and choosing the five goals that are the most important to you. Choose these goals based on your passions, and make sure that they cover all areas of your life: professional, health, personal growth, finances, etc. All of your time and energy should be spent working towards these goals.

You should place your other goals on the back burner. It is not possible to focus on 20 goals at the same time. In fact, you should avoid the other goals at all cost. You risk becoming side tracked with less important goals if you continue to entertain them. You will need to reprioritize your goals periodically. For example, you can reprioritize after you achieve one of your top five goals.

People with goals succeed because they know where they are going.

Earl Nightingale

Excerpts taken from “Dynamic Goal Setting and task Completion to Promote High School, College, and Career Readiness” © Support For Students Growth Center, 2021.

Dr. Eric J. Nach, Ph.D., M.Ed., A.S.D.C., is a Developmental and Behavioral Specialist. Since 2012 he has been the Founder and President of the Support for Students Growth Center in Boca Raton, FL, where he and his team of professionals provide the Social, Academic, Behavioral and Emotional support services for Children, Teens, Young Adults and their Families, In-person, Online, Nationwide and Worldwide.

/by

Overcoming the Distractions That Influence Procrastination

Overcoming the Distractions That Influence Procrastination

“Tools” for both parents and their children.

Overcoming Procrastination

Procrastination can happen at any time. It is not enough to identify that you are avoiding a project. You need to take active steps to remove the temptation to procrastinate. By taking control of your schedule and school/work environment, you will be able to reduce the amount of time that you spend procrastinating each day. In turn, you will be able to improve your productivity and accomplish your goals. You will create more time to do the things you really want to do.

Remove Distractions

We are bombarded with distractions every day. These distractions are only temptations to procrastinate. By removing as many distractions as possible, you will be on track to overcoming procrastination.

Distractions to Avoid:

  • Clutter: Clean up your space at the end of each day, at home, school, and in the office. This will help to keep you focused, and you will not be tempted to clean during a project.
  • Email notification: Establish specific times to check email. Automatic notifications are distracting and cut into the time you spend on each project. Mealtime is an ideal time.
  • Telephone calls: Do not take all calls. Choose a time to return calls and texts.
  • Social Media: Schedule specific times to check on social media and texting.
  • Searching the “Web”: Only as a “tool” to do research or do work, all other Internet-based activities should be left until after all key tasks are completed.
  • Environment: Remove distractions such as video games, social media, card games, books, magazines, TVs etc., from your work or study area.

Start Small and Build

A habit of procrastination does not happen overnight. Equally, it is not possible to stop procrastinating overnight. Expecting an immediate change will only lead to disappointment. You need to start small and build in order to end procrastination once and for all. Begin by creating a daily “to do list” for your personal life. Include the daily tasks that you have trouble completing such as homework, studying, laundry, paying the bills, garbage or cleaning the kitchen. When you have stability in your personal schedule, it will be easier to address procrastination at work.

Create a daily schedule for work once you have broken down your larger tasks into smaller ones. As your productivity increases, you will be able to build upon your schedule. You will soon find that you are finishing tasks ahead of schedule and school.

Reward Yourself

People tend to procrastinate because they do not find certain tasks to be enjoyable. Procrastination becomes its own reward. Overcoming procrastination requires that you implement a reward system for completing tasks. Otherwise, you will revert to bad habits. Rewards should match the tasks completed. For example, taking 10 minutes on Snapchat could be a reward for completing an assignment or responding to all work-related email before 5pm. Similarly, going to a movie (after COVID times) could be a reward for completing larger more important tasks on time. When choosing rewards, you need to stay away from anything that you already have planned. For example, if you already have plans to go out with friends on a weekend, the outing will not serve as a reward. Using the appropriate rewards will improve motivation and help prevent procrastination.

Set Realistic Deadlines

Schedules and deadlines will help you stay focused and avoid procrastination. When setting deadlines, however, you must be realistic. Deadlines that are not realistic will actually contribute to anxiety, avoidance, and procrastination. If you do not give yourself a chance of completing a task on time, you will avoid it. If you are creating your own deadline, you should consider how long similar tasks have taken. Be honest and allow time for interruptions and emergencies. Do not create a schedule based on the best-case scenario. You are setting yourself up for failure. If you are assigned a deadline, determine if it is realistic. If the deadline is not realistic, you should attempt to negotiate a more realistic date. This negotiation should be done as quickly as possible to prevent complications later.

Dr. Eric J. Nach, Ph.D., M.Ed., A.S.D.C., is a Developmental and Behavioral Specialist. Since 2012 he has been the Founder and President of the Support for Students Growth Center in Boca Raton, FL, where he and his team of professionals provide the Social, Academic, Behavioral and Emotional support services for Children, Teens, Young Adults and their Families, In-person, Online, Nationwide and Worldwide.

https://www.supportforstudentsgrowthcenter.com

/by

Anyone Can Set Goals and Complete Tasks, When They Learn How To

Success is steady progress towards one’s personal goals…Jim Rohn.

Everyone has dreams and goals. Achieving personal and professional goals, however, requires planning and action. Learning how to manage time and set realistic goals will increase your or your child’s chance of success in every area of life. Following the advice in this brief article set you moving forward towards increasing your productivity and help you achieve your dreams.

Research has consistently demonstrated that when clear goals are associated with learning, it occurs more easily and rapidly.

Overcoming Procrastination

We all procrastinate from time to time. Procrastination occurs when we avoid tasks that we find unpleasant. Even if we perform other work-related tasks instead of the ones we dislike, we are guilty of procrastination. Unfortunately, procrastination will hinder our long-term success. With the proper skills, you can easily overcome procrastination.

Eat That Frog!

Mark Twain has a saying that applies to procrastination:

If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long!

Most goal oriented and successful people keep Mark Twain’s quote at the front of their mind. The frog is anything that you do not want to do. Basically, you should complete your dreaded tasks first. Getting these tasks out of the way will provide you with a sense of accomplishment and keep you from procrastinating. Always begin with the task that is the hardest and most significant, and you will be less tempted to procrastinate on other activities.

Just Do It

When you dislike a particular task, it is easy to procrastinate. Whether you spend time playing video games, checking email, sleeping excessively, or keeping up to date with everyone on your social media accounts, you are procrastinating. You need to do more than identify when you procrastinate. You need to discover why.

  • Discover your obstacles: What is it that you choose to do instead of your more important tasks?
  • Discover ways to remove obstacles: Ask for support, and take action. For example, you could turn off the Internet and your phone when the times comes to complete an important task.
  • Reward yourself: Make the task fun and use small rewards as incentive. (i.e. finish all your homework for the night, give yourself 15 minutes to enjoy checking in on your social media accounts or whatever you find enjoyable to do for those 15 minutes.

Once you have identified your “frogs” and obstacles, the only answer left is to take action. Make the tasks that you want to avoid part of your daily routine. Schedule the tasks into your calendar. Once they become habit, you will find them easier to accomplish. Once you have scheduled the time to accomplish your tasks, you must follow through. Resist the temptation to procrastinate with your favorite time waster. Just do it.

Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday…Don Marquis

 

Dr. Eric J. Nach, Ph.D., M.Ed., A.S.D.C., is a Developmental and Behavioral Specialist. Since 2012 has been the Founder and President of the Support for Students Growth Center in Boca Raton, FL, where they provide social, academic, behavioral and emotional support services Online, Nationwide and Worldwide.

/by