Speaker 1: Do you have a gold mine when you have a goal mind? In the episode on procrastination, we learned how easy it is to put off things that we should do. One way to avoid that tendency to procrastinate is to make and keep goals. When people ask us what our goals are, the tendency is to speak of lifetime goals. 

Speaker 1: These are long term goals and they are important to our life. But in order to achieve these long term goals, we also need to make short term goals that will help us reach those long term goals. Both type of goals are important for if we only have long range goals that are big impressive things to accomplish. Yet we have no short term goals to direct our actions, we will easily be frustrated in our daily life. 

Speaker 1: Let's break down the two types and see why they are important and how they work together. It was once said that a goal not written down is merely a dream. Long term goals are very much like our dreams. They are our hopes and ambitions for our life. Long term goals are those that will take three or more years to accomplish. 

Speaker 1: You may be procrastinating because your goals are not in line with your intentions or perhaps because you have not set formal goals to live by. You need to think about what is important to you. translate this into goals and then write them down. Make sure your goals reflect your interests and values. Make sure your goals are going to move you ahead in life. Then make your goals a priority so that you are likely to give them the attention and effort necessary to attain them. 

Speaker 1: Goals are defined in the dictionary as objectives or purposes toward which our endeavors are directed. I like this definition as it applies to short term goals. We can think of the long term goal as the end all objective. The short term goals then are our daily and weekly endeavors that are directed toward the purpose of achieving our objective.

Speaker 1: Short term goals are ones that can be completed in a relatively short amount of time. Some of them will seem just like daily tasks or things that have to be done. Others are a bit more involved. However, we cannot ignore the importance of short term goals in helping us achieve our ultimate goal. 

Speaker 1: The daily activity of life should always be moving us closer to achieving our life goals. So it's important that what we do each day works toward and not against that objective. short term goals can be seen as intermediate and daily goals. Both types of goals should be defined in behavioral terms. 

Speaker 1: That is make each goal an action or behavior that you can carry out. In addition, make each goal specific enough so you can measure your progress and determine its ultimate attainment. Intermediate goals should also be challenging, that is working toward them will make you grow, but they should also be attainable.

Speaker 1: Goals that are pie in the sky are of no value here. Each goal should represent a small but discernible step beyond the previous goal or what has been referred to as baby steps. You are much more likely to take baby steps than giant leaps. Many of your short term goals should lead to more immediate results. 

Speaker 1: Goals will help you overcome procrastination by learning to plan planning as the most important behavioral change you can make to control your tendency to procrastinate. By creating a to-do checklist you can plan each of the important activities you must accomplish. 

Speaker 1: This allows you to break down large activities into bite sized pieces. By listing specific tasks to undertake you will be able to complete your tasks without putting them off or feeling overwhelmed. Those daily goals are those that we would easily find a daily to do checklist. 

Speaker 1: A to do checklist is a list of behaviors or tasks each which a takes between 10 and 30 minutes, B has a definite starting and ending point and C will be checked off as soon as it is completed. 

Speaker 1: They include the half to the need to and other daily tasks that have not done would prevent you from achieving your other goals. In other words, they include smaller tasks that you need to do to complete a larger task. This makes the larger tasks seem less daunting and more doable. 

Speaker 1: They should also include steps that lead to the achievement of the intermediate goals which would eventually lead you to achieving the long term goals. 

Speaker 1: The key to a to do checklist is that listed tasks are very specific. Words like studying and writing a paper are too vague and therefore will not keep you on task. Be more specific, such as outlining pages 110 to 125 in my biology textbook, or find three journal resources for my paper on active transport. 

Speaker 1: By having specific behaviors to undertake you're able to plan a list of things to accomplish the to do checklist is that behavioral plan. When creating your to do checklist, ask yourself these questions. Does every item on the list begin with a verb? Can every item be completed in one hour or less? Is every item specific Is every item measurable? 

Speaker 1: Your daily to do checklist will be different from your weekly goal list. Make sure that the items on the daily tasks are helping you achieve the goals for that week. 

Speaker 1: Take time to review your weekly goals. Keep a calendar with dates and deadlines close by to make sure that the list covers all the tasks needed for a one week period for all the courses you are taking. This will keep you organized and on task. 

For more ideas on how to keep goals see chapters three and 10 in the textbook for Educational Policy and Leadership 259 Learning and Motivation strategies Your Guide to Success. By Tuchman, Adrian Smith 2002. All material use with permission. All rights reserved.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai