A school year usually holds many possibilities for students. Of course, these could be either negative or positive. Regardless, students can make the most out of the year through certain ways. One way is creating various goals, including both short and long-term ones.

If you’re considering this, here are some pieces of advice for making the most out of your school year with short and long-term goals:

What to Generally Keep in Mind When Creating Goals

Goals are an excellent means of staying focused and productive during your time in school. Can they be ambitious? Absolutely. However, they should also be realistic. If you create ones that are unrealistically ambitious, this will not only lead to disappointment, but also defeat the purpose of having goals in the first place.

Rewards also help. School years can be difficult to get through, and so often your motivation can understandably fluctuate. Therefore, knowing that a reward awaits if/when you achieve a goal could act as an additional motivator.

Overall, these things are very important to keep in mind when establishing your goals.

How to Approach Creating and Fulfilling Short-Term Goals

Seeing what you can undertake and accomplish within a matter of weeks effectively helps determine what good short-term goals are.

Is there an activity you’ve considered doing more of that could be a goal as well as increase your involvement with your school? For example, if you’re currently a high school student wanting to read more, some high school librarians recommend certain books to students each year. They then have a vote relatively near the year’s end for those who read them to see which one(s) people liked the most.

If this or something similar applies to you, try reading these books. You could aim to finish each one within two weeks. Evidently, this might vary, depending on how much time you can designate for reading. The purpose would be to have these all read when voting begins but approach it with this shorter-term goal by focusing on completing the books individually so that tackling them won’t seem overwhelming.

Other examples are volunteering for events such as talent shows, club bake sales, etc. This is an option if you’d like to be more social.

How to Approach Creating and Fulfilling Long-Term Goals

Creating and pursuing long-term goals would be beneficial for areas you think you could improve on. For instance, if you’d like to have a goal that pertains to your academics, a good idea is increasing a certain grade(s). Say you’re currently at a high “B” in a course and getting an “A” as a final grade remains possible. It’s a meaningful accomplishment you can work towards. Some strategies that could help are adopting better studying methods and/or being extra careful with assignments.

The point of having goals, especially regarding school, is achieving things that are worthwhile. Be mindful when creating them and also ensure they’re realistic. Trust yourself in doing so, as you know your circumstances as well as what you’re capable of. If you consider the suggestions above and want to make the most out of your school year with short and long-term goals, you’ll be well on your way to accomplishing this.