Watching successful people

In the last post, I quoted Gretchen Ruben. She is a successful author best known for her book called the Happiness Project, http://www.gretchenrubin.com/about/ . 

We can all learn habits from watching successful people. Pick out one or two people that you have opportunity to observe.
Pay close attention to what these successful learners or teachers do that makes them successful. For instance, notice how they respond to others, how they organize their workspaces, what books they are reading, or how they manage their clocks.  

Now ask yourself, what can I do that these successful people do?

Procrastinating

In the January 17 post, I mentioned that setting a small goal of working on a task for 10 minutes has been helpful to me and usually spurs me on to work longer on that task. Other experts mention similar ideas. Gretchen Ruben calls the ideas “suffer for 15 minutes.” Here is an excerpt from Ruben’s blog about procrastination that I found to be too true.  I have found her “suffer for 15 minutes” tip to be helpful.

What parts of her advice have you tried or what would you like to try?

Working might be procrastination Gretchen Ruben

I keep track of all my Secrets of Adulthood—the lessons I’ve learned, with difficulty, as I’ve grown up.

A very helpful Secret of Adulthood is: Working is one of the most dangerous forms of procrastination.

When I have to do something I don’t want to do, any other task seems irresistibly enticing.

Sometimes, this tendency can be productive. I may not have gotten that piece written, but my office is clean, my errands are done, and I’ve cleared out a lot of email.

The problem is that—yes, I’ve been productive, but not in the right way. That piece still isn’t finished!

These days,  I’m careful to be honest with myself about what “work” I need to do, and I recognize thework-as-procrastination excuse. I’m also wary of the related tendency: busy-work-as-procrastinationexcuse. Re-formatting a document isn’t writing! Unfocused reading on the internet isn’t research!

When a task is truly horrible, I sometimes tackle it with the resolution to Suffer for 15 minutes.

How about you? Do you procrastinate by working—by cleaning, organizing, answering emails, cruising the internet, making plans, or the like?

Retrieved Oct 9,2012 http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20121005143024-6526187-working-one-of-the-most-dangerous-forms-of-procrastination

Reprinted with permission. 

Simple, specific, small

In the last post I discussed the positive power that closet goal setting has for me.

However, that post reminded me that most goal setters need the opposite. Rather than keep goals to ourselves, most find that public declaration of a goal and outside motivators such as family spur us to achieve our goals. 
So whether a goal is private or public, a goal setting staple--the three S's—will help anyone achieve a desired goal. The three S’s of achieving a goal include keeping it simple, specific, and small.

Keeping goals simple, specific, and small make them achievable. Achieving a “Three S” goal spurs us on to working toward the next goal and soon the simple, specific, small goals add up to achieving a major goal.

An example might be to set a goal of working on school work for 10 minutes each school day for three weeks. Once we have achieved that goal, the next goal would be to turn in assignments on time. The next goal would be to earn a B in the course. The next goal would be to earn at least a B in the next set of courses. The next goal would be to earn enough credits by the end of the school year to be half way to a diploma...well, you see where this is headed.

What examples can anyone share about successes in setting short goals that led to success in major goals?  Goal setting cannot be separated from time management. We will continue to discuss the topic of goal setting and time management in the next two posts. 

Closet goal setting

In this morning’s comic strip, Dennis the Menace said, “The best thing about the New Year, Joey, is we can all just start over.”

It is time for me to start over and to renew my commitment to write a blog post at least once a month. One of the SMART goal elements states that a goal is more achievable if we set a time frame. The SMART goal formula also states that missing a deadline is not an excuse to abandon important goals.  See more about SMART goals in my October 9, 2013 post, “Some things bear repeating.”

I have missed some of my self-imposed deadlines over the past few months, but will not use that as an excuse to abandon by goals. 

Here is my first blog post for 2014:

Many goal-setting experts contend that sharing a goal or making it public makes it easier to achieve. I have NOT found that to be true in my own life. I have had more success as a closet goal setter. The goals I have kept private or partially private have been more successful for me. For instance, I kept my doctoral program progress private from my family and friends until I was at least half way completed. At that point I told my parents but refused to let my mother tell extended family members until I had positively defended my dissertation. Of course, sometimes I have been forced to set goals in a semi-public format such as an annual work review or a team wellness challenge. I always set those goals on the low end and privately challenge myself to supersede the goal. For instance, if I set my team wellness goal to walk five miles a week, I privately set a goal to walk eight miles.

This closet goal setting has worked well for me in the past. I have not seen this method published anywhere. Has anyone else? Has there been research done? Are any of you closet goal setters? If you have had trouble keeping goals in the past, try closet setting. Share your experiences here.  

Family support and family motivators

In the last segment, we explored the idea of letting family members help with chores and letting go of some chores all together.

Family members can be a great help in another, very different vein. When I talk to my non-traditional students about working toward academic goals, they often mention that their children are their motivators.

The students often say not only do they want their children to see them working toward a goal, but they also want their children to see that a college degree as a real possibility for themselves.

How does goal setting connect with time management? Setting an example for children means working on homework together. Non-traditional students work on their studies while their school age children work on their studies. They spur each other on. Time is saved because non-traditional college students do not need to wait until children are in bed to do their studies, they can work on their studies while school age children work on their homework. The example of studying helps keep both elementary and college students on track AND makes good use of all of the students’ time. 

Family support

As the busy holiday season approaches,  we need to balance school and family goals. Most family members are supportive if we are willing to let go of some of the responsibilities such as putting a little one to bed so you can have some focused time to work on your classes. 

Several years ago I let go of most of my Christmas baking. I had prided myself on being the cookie queen and thought it was important to make several varieties of special holiday cookies. One year, things were just too hectic and I asked each of the kids which cookie was their favorite and I only made those three varieties. Not only did the kids not care that we did not have a multitude of varieties of cookies—I am not sure they even noticed we had fewer. They felt just as honored that I had asked each of them which was their favorite.
What advice might you give others who need to nurture the support from other members of their family?
What advice might you give others about letting go of some responsibilities?

What advice do others have?

Some things bear repeating

I recently blogged about setting small goals and gaining confidence. Some things really do bear repeating. Most of us know how important it is to set goals and we likely even know most of the information in this post, but we need to be constantly reminded. 

Time management and goal setting go hand in hand.  If you have trouble keeping the goals you have set for yourself, try using the time-honored formula of SMART goals.

For goals to be effective, they must include action words that explicitly describe the desired outcome. Effective goals also include the following SMART elements:

·         Specific: Specify, in detail, exactly what is to be accomplished. Vague goals do not provide enough structure for achievement. In addition, it is difficult to determine when an overgeneralized goal has been accomplished.

·         Measurable: Measurable goals indicate how much progress has been made toward achievement. If a goal is difficult to measure, it may be difficult to achieve.

·         Attainable: Goals must be attainable. Not everyone can play for the National Football League, but there are many related, achievable goals. Set goals that challenge, because challenging goals are motivating. However, goals should not exceed the resources available to the goal setter.

·         Realistic: Similar to attainability, goals must be realistic. Realistic goals do not rely on unlikely events, such as winning the lottery. Although related to other people, realistic goals do not rely on others’ behavior; rather, realistic goals put the responsibility of achievement on the goal setter. Realistic goals also have realistic time frames for achievement.

·         Timely: Every goal requires a deadline for completion. Time limits reinforce the urgency of taking action now rather than later. If a goal is not accomplished by the stated deadline, create a new, more realistic deadline, if possible. Missing a deadline is not an excuse to abandon important goals.

What comments would anyone offer about using the SMART formula for goal setting? Watch for more on goal setting in the next couple of posts.