Spring 2020 - What's your goal?

Wednesday, May 13, 2020
by Sam Vandekerckhove

Hello incoming (and remaining) students! We hope that you are all continuing to keep as safe and healthy as can be these days. We know there was likely a massive upheaval to your lives as a result of this COVID-19 situation, and this Spring 2020 term is only adding to the burning uncertainty we all feel! Grad research or progress has been halted, UG curriculums have been rejigged, and our realities have been more isolated than usual. We know you've heard it many times from too many different broadcasters, but these are truely exceptional times we are living in!

"Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely."

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For those of you just joining us (or those who were 'out to lunch'), we've launched our ENGWellness blog (check out our previous posts) and made some big changes to our ENGWellness website as well (highlights are detailed in our Week 5 Post). We've revamped our Study Tips section to include new modules specific to Online Learning (what fun!). Given how important positivity is in the midst of a global crisis, we may have snuck in a page for memes, parodies, and other uplifting content (we're human too, ya know). More and more website content will be updated and blog posts will (hopefully) be coming biweekly. We're doing our best to capture all relevant resources/services to support our community this Spring, and address some important aspects of our wellness along the way! You would be amazed by how frequently URLs are changing and links are breaking these days... If you have any topics, content, or ideas to share, please connect with Sam and Renate at: ENGWellness@uwaterloo.ca!

writing a plan

This week's issue is about goal setting, and given this remote Spring term it's incredibly important to start things off in the best possible way. At the beginning of each year, a number of different people develop something known as a ‘New Years Resolution’, that is: a goal or an objective that they’ve set for themselves to achieve within the new year. Frequent ones include, ‘I want to lose weight’, ‘I want to exercise more’, or ‘I want to make more money’, etc. Unfortunately, the bulk majority of these good intentions drift away and most aren’t able to commit to their endeavours (which, in the case of NYRs, are usually unrealistically lofty!). As University of Waterloo students, most of you had the goal to achieve admission at this fine institution, and some of you have set goals and plans for post-graduation. But how does one define a goal that can be achieved? What are the factors that impact whether an aspiration is actually realized or whether it withers away into ANOTHER bag of potato chips?

Over the course of our experience, and in working with a number of Engineering students, there are multiple reasons why an individual may not be able to accomplish what they sought to achieve. Sometimes their goals are too vague, perhaps unrealistic, lacking intention, and outside of the confines of our understanding of time (“I’ll make a million dollars… SOMEDAY”). Most often these ambiguous goals are lacking a system or type of structure (and we shouldn’t need to preach the benefits of a structured system to Engineering students!). Research has revealed that the most effective goals are those that are; specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Yes, that’s right. Effective goals are SMART goals! What a beautiful acronym. Let’s take a closer look at the SMART system and break down it’s components.

The Smart Goal System

Specific:

For a goal to be SMART, it needs to identify a specific action or event that will take place. After-all, understanding what exactly you’re working towards gives you a better sense of what you need to accomplish. The more specific you are, the easier it will be for you to determine if you are making progress or not or if the goal you’ve set needs to be modified. Goals that are too vague or poorly defined are easier to ignore. A specific goal clarifies the difference between, ‘I want to be a millionaire’ and ‘I want to make $50,000 each month for the next ten years by creating a new software project’. 

Measurable:

It would be fairly difficult to know how well you are doing in your classes if you didn’t receive any grades. Having a record of, and being able to track your progress is also a powerful motivational tool. Having measurable goals means that you identify exactly what it is you will see, hear, and feel when you reach your goal. It means breaking your goal down into quantifiable elements, and you'll need concrete evidence. For example, ‘I want to save money for a trip in 2021’ is more difficult to measure than, ‘I need to save $2000 to go on a trip in 2021’. Measurable goals can go a long way in refining what exactly it is that you want, too. Defining the physical manifestations of your goal or objective makes it clearer, and easier to reach.

Attainable:

Simply put, is your goal attainable or achievable given the available time, skills, and resources? Is it possible? Is it realistic? Being attainable is an underrated aspect of goal setting, as failing to achieve a goal can have de-motivating, discouraging, and even paralyzing consequences. Further, an attainable goal needs to present some element of challenge or complexity, otherwise it’s likely not worth pursuit. Finding the ‘Goldilocks zone’ for your goal is a key to keeping it attainable and worthwhile. 

This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t ‘shoot for the stars’, but rather keep those objectives working toward your goal as ones that you can realistically achieve. An attainable goal is less, ‘I need to raise my overall average 40% this term!’ and more, ‘I need to increase my course grades at least 2-5% each term’. 

Relevant:

Relevance is another underrated component of goal setting as our goals can sometimes be less relevant to what we actually want which can result in less aspiration to achieve them. Consider a scenario where a parent sets the goal for their student to become a University of Waterloo Engineering graduate, despite that child actually having more interest in fields like fine arts or drama. It’s reasonable to assume that this particular student would have more difficulty, and less desire to succeed in a field outside of their interest than a different student who had a genuine interest within their field. It’s important to choose goals that matter most to you, and relevant to what you want to achieve - as you’re likely to put more effort into them! When determining whether or not your goals are relevant, ask yourself: Do you actually want to be an Engineer? Do you want to be famous? Have three children and a busy career? If you can affirm these types of questions with honesty and intent, then they are relevant!

Time-bound/ Timely:

Have you ever put something off until tomorrow? Or maybe you’ll get to that exercise regime, someday? There is a reason why students will hand in their assessments by a particular date and that usually has something to do with a DEADLINE! Deadlines are motivating as they usually have consequences if they are not met (and those late submission penalties aren’t getting any lighter these days!). Goals, much like coursework, are easy to push to the side when they aren’t in a timeline or don’t have deadlines for completion. Being flexible with your goal timeline can help guard against discouragement and permit easier measuring for effectiveness. But don’t be too vague as to push off everything to that magical land of, tomorrow! Daily, weekly, monthly, and/or termly timelines can help keep you and your aspirations on track.

goal planner

Having an established goal system or structure (like SMART) can be a powerful motivator as it provides a roadmap for what you want to achieve and all of the avenues needed to get there! When overwhelmed by the multitude of what we need to do in our daily lives, having specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goals helps to reduce the amount of mental resources we need to dedicate to strategic planning. Establishing a plan for yourself is the best first step toward building your motivation!

Check out the Student Success Office page for a few more tips on the SMART goal system. If you ever need a hand establishing effective goals for success, your ENGWellness Team is here for you! ENGWellness@uwaterloo.ca. 

Some more E-ntertainment

With physical distancing still in place, many of us  (including yours truly) may be going a bit stir crazy. If you can’t visit the places that you would like to, why not bring the places to you through virtual tours or live streaming? Below are some cool options, but an internet search will reveal many more!

Thanks again for stopping by and don't hesitate to connect with us if you have anything that you would like to see: ENGWellness@uwaterloo.ca.