In the education system of Singapore, students and parents strive to do exceptionally well in order to get into the best schools. There is stiff competition among students during national examinations and they attend various enrichment and tuition classes just to gain an advantage over the rest of the students. However, is it necessary to spend so much time and money on these extra classes? With simple goal setting practices, you may just be multiple steps closer to your success.

Goal setting is a process of identifying something that one wants to accomplish and establishing measurable goals and time frames. An example of goal setting can be a student from a secondary school aiming to be top in class for additional mathematics at the end of two years.  

The goal stated in the example can be considered as a long – term goal since it requires time and planning and it takes more than 12 months or more to achieve. To make achieving a long – term goal easy, one can set multiple short – term goals as milestones to attain along the way in order to achieve the long – term goal. As such, one can assume that short – term goals are sometime that can be done in the near future, usually within a year.  

The goal setting practice can be use by anyone, regardless of whether he is an underachiever who needs extra help to keep himself afloat in the school or a talented student who wants to maximise his potential. Besides students, parents can also use goal – setting to help their children in their daily life as well as to guide their child to achieve academic success. With dedication and self-discipline, everyone can be closer to their long – term goal within a year.

It may not seem apparent but everyone practises goal setting to a certain extent in their life. Your new year’s resolution to go for a holiday at the end of the year is a simple example goal setting. There are various reasons for one to do goal setting. For students, goal setting gives them a clear view of what they want to achieve over a period of time, for example, as stated earlier, the student who wants to be top in class for additional mathematics at the end of two years. With that, he can focus on what needs to be done along the way (i.e. milestones) to finally achieve his goal. The achievement of the different milestones, such as mastering a certain topic in additional mathematics as well as acing the same topic can motivate him to strive for more and also feel more control over his life.  Goal setting also make him put in his best effort and stretch his innermost potential to fulfil greater achievements.

When it comes to when one should do goal setting, there is pretty much no perfect answer. Goal setting can be done at any part of the academic year, when one decides to. Generally, it is good to set goals regarding studies at the start of the academic year for multiple reasons. Firstly, during the start of the year, it is a fresh start where students will put down what had happened in the past year and start anew. Hence, students can be more motivated to follow through their plans to achieve their short – term or long – term goals. Secondly, one can be clear about the amount of content (i.e. the topics that will be covered and tested for the year) that will be covered, hence one can be sure about the amount of time he has to achieve his goals, and also have a clear view of how many milestones he should set in between in order to achieve the goals. Thirdly, when the goal is being set at the start of the year, the student will have ample time to prepare for the upcoming tests from school. This ensures that the student starts the year on the right footing, making use of the tests from schools as a milestone to pave for his achievement of his long – term goal. When the student does well the for the tests in school, the motivation level of the student to follow through with his goal setting will increase. Motivation is one of the most important factor to keep anyone on their path towards achieving their goal.

In order to set effective goals, one must consider the following points. The goals that are set must be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound or in short, SMART goals. For example, as mention earlier, the student with poor results  sets his goal  as being the top student in class for additional mathematics after two years. Does his goal measure up according to SMART? It is specific and measurable, since we know the phrase ‘top student’ entails the student having to score the highest score or at least close to full score. It may not seem attainable initially, since he had poor results. However, by setting small and frequent milestones in between, the goal can be achieved over the time period set. The goal is relevant to the student’s content of study.

However, some of you may ask, “I have been faithfully setting goals, but why have I not attain anything?” One must understand that actions speak louder than words. While one can set up many goals for themselves in the short – term and the long – term future, nothing can be achieved if no conscious effort has been put in.  Therefore, for one to be successful with goal setting, other qualities such as self-discipline, determination and motivation comes into play as well. They will be covered in later parts.

May all our readers achieve success with goal setting in time to come.