Last week I talked a little bit about long term goals and why they are important. This week I decided to focus a little bit on short term goals.
Both long and short term goals are important. Long term goals are the mountain in the distance whereas short term goals are more like the pit stops on the road to the top.
You might wonder why they are so important. Well, 3 reasons, to keep you motivated, to keep you focused and to give you feedback.
Motivation is just as important as the actual learning of the language. If you are not motivated you are not going to study that much. Being focus is also equally important, if you stray off the path too much your libel to get lost along the way. Lastly, it’s good to have feedback on how effect your studying is.
Setting short term goals is as easy as the acronym SMART. S is for specific. You have to set specific goals in order to know if you achieved them or not. M is for measurable. This will help you track your progress toward your goal.
A is for attainable. Is your short term goal something you can realistically do in 6 months? R is for relevant. Does your short term goal move you toward your long term goal? T is for time bound. Did you set a time limit for yourself?
In the podcast, I go into more detail about setting your short term goals. Please give it a listen and tell me your thoughts.
Action Steps –
1) What is your short term goals?
2) What are some other examples of short term goals?
Photo by BattleCreek CVB, Music by Kevin MacLeod
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 11:12 — 10.2MB)
Subscribe: RSS
Loading ...
Here is one thing I do that helps me stay motivated and keep track of my short term goals retroactively. While I do make short term goal “To Do” lists and check off tasks once I have completed them (i.e. master 100 new kanji, etc), I also keep notes on everything I do during the day related to studying Japanese with details on how I spent my time. This way I have a record of the what I do on a day-to-day basis. Then during those times when I am feeling especially discouraged, unmotivated, or like my long term goal is unachievable I can look back and reassure myself with all I have accomplished.
This can really help because I find myself some days wondering “what did I do? where did all that time go?” And this way I know 🙂
That’s an excellent idea Clara! I’ll have to add that to my toolbox.
It may seem a bit kiddish, but patting yourself on the back for the little steps can be incredibly motivating. Motivation is a key part of language learning. Without motivation it’s difficult to get anything done. Thanks for sharing!