Best Tips on Achieving Your Academic Goals

Goal setting is an important part of succeeding in college. By setting goals, you accomplish the following:

You set a ‘road map’ for where you want to go.
You are able to select the most appropriate method(s) for reaching your goal.
You are able to more easily gauge your progress toward your goal.
You are able to make adjustments to your goal and methods as needed.
You know when you have reached your goal and can appreciate your accomplishment.

Students can prioritize their academic goals based on both importance levels as well as timeliness of the projected end-dates. Some goals will be immediate tasks that must be accomplished within the next month. Other goals will be short-range of six months to a year, while others are long term and taking more than a year to accomplish.

For effective goal setting and achievement, you must observe the following:

Set goals based on something that is very important to you!
State goals positively. “I will study every night for two hours before doing other tasks” is more positive than “I won’t do other tasks in the evening before studying.”
Be as specific as possible. A goal should tell you what you will achieve, describe the conditions, and provide a time frame.
Set your goals high enough to be challenging but reasonable enough to achieve.
State your goals in writing and keep them out where you can see to remind and motivate you. Telling others about your goals can also help.

Focus on personal performance verses strictly outcomes. Outcomes can ultimately be affected by circumstances that are beyond your control, but performance is all up to you. For example, a fitness goal to go to the gym five times per week is more productive than a goal to lose five pounds per week. You can control your performance but not necessarily how quickly your body will react.

8 Money Management Tips for College Students

You can feel financially secure if you have enough money to pay for what you need today and in the future. And, this is one of the many reasons many of us save money and invest (if need be). Here are 10 simple money management tips that can help you even if you're still finishing college. 1. Set aside some cash in different compartments of your wallet. Ever found some extra cash in your wallet? Did you feel happy finding them "out of nowhere"? I know I did. By doing this, I trick my mind into thinking I have lesser cash on hand to spend, so I won't spend unnecessarily. This is especially useful in "emergency" moments. 2. Carry less cash. Withdraw just enough money from your bank. The idea is to hold lesser cash. When you open your wallet and find that you only have $5, chances are you're less likely to spend it. Of course, if you do need to spend it, you'll have to withdraw money from your ATM card. This gives you more time to think w

Seven Things You Should Have Learned in Your 20's

I believe this post needs no introduction. The title says it all. Just read up! RESILIENCE Source: UNSPLASH Honesty - When you're late to an appointment, it's tempting to pin the blame on gridlock or train delays. Instead, just apologize. You don't have to give details. 'I planned poorly' is a hundred times better than risking your integrity by inanely blaming traffic." Starting an interesting conversation - "Conversation-making is probably the most underrated skill," says Deepak Mehta, who admits that he's a shy person who's always found it difficult. But experience has taught him that if you dare to strike up a discussion with the person next to you, you might very well end up with a new friend, a business connection, or some novel insights on an old topic. Effective Communication - No matter your career field, you can always improve the way you speak and write. "Think about ways to challenge yourself and tweak how you writ

Five Best Ways to Build Your Soft Skills

Soft skills are your people or interpersonal skills. Your unique characteristics, traits, and abilities. Examples of soft skills are your ability to communicate, lead others or be a team member, and can adapt to changing situations. Interpersonal skills are harder to quantify than hard skills such as your expertise with spreadsheet or database software. There are many ways you can keep your talents up-to-date. Below are a few of them. Learning something new demonstrates your can-do attitude and problem solving skills. Scanning the job postings for "preferred" items can be your source of inspiration. You want a job, but you don't have certain requirements. First, you are proactive in learning the skills that the employer wants. Second, you have solved the problem of joblessness. Volunteering is a noble way of building teamwork and service skills. Most not for profit community service agencies have seen declining donations due to economic conditions

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