Map those goals. Photo: Angie Torres

I am someone who can struggle with honing in on something, I tend to be like that in all areas of life. Whether it be an essay (What’s a word limit?), or trying to complete study tasks, or even getting something done on the job. I can’t work without tangible outcomes and goals. I need some sort of direction to perform my best work. Yet so often – in fact most of the time – I fail to set goals for myself, no matter how big or small. I’m also a big thinker. Often I’ll think a lot about things and never put them to paper (or .doc for that matter), and I spend a lot more time thinking than I actually do, doing. What’s more, when I face busy and stressful times I am better at getting work done. But I don’t often get it done how I’d like to, or too my potential.

Focus is something I need to think hard about, and notice when I’m slipping off the wagon. One of the best ways I can combat this is by setting goals. Why don’t I do this more often? I don’t know. Probably, almost certainly, it is to do with will-power and motivation. Something that can be very hard to moderate and control, especially if you don’t pay attention to your behaviours and habits. I guess this is where it all ties in, once again, to what we’ve been learning.

For me, this is as much a self-directed journey of personal development as it is a class to be educated in – or rather, to learn in.

So what do I do to make things easier for myself?

• Make goals.
• Break tasks down into bigger tasks.
• Attempt to complete tasks before procrastination hits; ie try and use my free time to tackle tasks straight away, rather than doing something fun and then trying to complete the task.
• Wake up earlier and go to bed earlier. Make good use of my morning will power while it’s still at its fullest.
• Don’t be afraid of being wrong – nothing is going to be perfect off the bat. It’s all about taking small steps to craft your product or creation.
• Think of tasks as on-going. Improvements can be made. Modifications can occur. Not everything has to be instantaneous. (This is another big problem I have that I will address at a later date.)