Eek! It's the end of the semester! 

I will be posting a series of five [End of Semester Tips] to help you FINISH STRONG. 

Tip #1: Set some GOALS

I chose the above image to help illustrate the important features of proper goal setting. It's one thing to say "I want to pass", it's quite another to set reasonable, attainable, and specific goals. 

As you set out to wrap up your classes, use the "SMART" acronym to guide your goal setting. 

S - Specific: Make a list of the specific classes you are planning to pass. Or, if you're already passing everything, make a specific list of which classes you want to revisit and maybe redo some work to increase your grade. Whatever your goal is, make it specific. If it is specific, then you can know when it has been achieved.  

M - Measurable: Most of the end of semester goals will come with their own measure...your report card! But, if your goal isn't grade related, you may need to measure it in a different way. Some examples: "Complete all 5 discussions that I skipped throughout the semester" or "Redo my math assignment until I raise the score to 70% or higher". It's important that a goal has measurement so you know you have met it! 

A - Attainable: Be careful to choose a goal that is realistic. Now is not the time to take a grade of 11% up to an A. Focus on the places where you can make a real change in the short amount of time we have left. So, make the goal specific, measurable, and possible to attain. 

R - Relevant: Make sure that your goal is relevant to finishing the semester at school. Examples of relevant goals (that also meet the above criteria!): "Raise  my Science grade from a 52% to a passing grade of 60% or higher by completing the remaining 7 assignments in the course." or "Redo the 'Required to Pass' assignment in History to achieve a passing score, so I can pass the course". These goals are relevant to the end of the semester. They are also specific and can be measured. And they are attainable! An example of a non-relevant goal? "Beating my sister at Trivia Crack" :)

T - Time Bound: Luckily this one is kind of taken care of for you...the end of the semester is our time limit. It is an important practice in goal setting to have a time limit set. We all know how procrastination works...so setting a time goal can help you achieve! 

Check back over the next weeks for my series of [End of Semester Tips]! And as always, contact your BlueSky Student Services Advisor and your individual teachers for help!