1.7: Study Skills- Setting SMART Goals

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Congratulations on starting this course!

What does it take to succeed in college? You may say, “You need to be smart.” However, sometimes intelligent students do not do well in their studies—and many students who have struggled in the past do extremely well.

Why? Some psychologists think the secret to success is not having a high result on an intelligence test, or even having high marks in your previous classes. The secret is something called emotional intelligence. Students with high emotional intelligence do these things:

They have goals.
They are motivated to achieve these goals.
They work hard.
They know themselves.
They cope with stress.
They deal with problems as they arise.
They form positive relationships with others.

So, what really matters is not how smart you are, but how smart your habits are. One of the best places to start is by setting goals for yourself—and these goals can be smart! Your goals should be:

Specific

What exactly do you want to achieve? Don’t just say, “I want to do well.” What does that mean to you? What do you want to learn?

Measurable

How will you know that you have achieved your goal?

Achievable

Is your goal possible? If you say, “I want to get 100% in the course,” that may not be achievable. Set a goal you are confident you can reach.

Relevant

What makes your goal important to you? Make sure your goals are your own, not someone else’s.

Timely

Do you have a timeframe for your goal? In this case, your timeframe should be the duration of this course.

Set Your Own Goals

As you start this course, set yourself some goals. What do you want to achieve? Write your own goals below, and keep looking back at them as you work through the course.

Remember that your goals are yours alone. They do not have to be the same as your friends’ goals, or your classmates’ goals. Don’t let other people decide what you want to achieve.

My top three SMART goals for this course are…

1 ________________________________________________________________________

2 ________________________________________________________________________

3 ________________________________________________________________________

Congratulations! By setting your SMART goals, you have taken the first step towards success!