Have you seen the recent TV commercial for Post-It Notes? The advertisement shows a teenage girl trying out for her high school basketball team. Each day, leading up to the tryout, she writes “Tomorrow I’ll jump even higher”. She writes this on a Post-It Note then jumps to stick the note to the wall a little higher than the day before. She understands that goals and dreams are more likely to come true when written down.
Did you know that the simple act of writing down your goals increases the chance that you will achieve them by 42%? Surprisingly, only 3% of us write our goals on paper! Sharing your goals with an accountability partner increases the chances even more.
When working with my student clients, goal setting is a big part of the coaching process. Goals aren’t just for students however. We all need goals to move us forward in this life. We become stagnant and stuck without goals and dreams. Writing the goals down helps seal the deal that you will reach your goal.
Recently, I sat down with my high school son to set goals for the upcoming school year. School has been in session for two weeks so he has a good feel for class expectations and work load. Academic goals are important but I also encouraged him to set extracurricular and personal goals. He's in cross country, so he set running goals for the new season. As he wrote the goals down, we discussed the action steps needed to reach the goals.
Making the goals measurable is crucial. When a student client says "I will study longer" I explain they need to write down exactly how much longer they need to study to bring them closer to meeting their goal. Is that minutes per day or week? And exactly what grade are they realistically able to achieve? What is the time frame in which the goal will be accomplished?
Take some time to determine your goals, break them down into action steps and make them measurable. Most importantly, capture all of this on paper and refer to it often!
Want more help with goal setting? ADHD coaches are experts in this area. Search for a coach in your area to help you reach your goals!