Goal Setting to Offset Exam Anxiety: How Students Can Plan Effectively
The exams are coming. This is that quintessential time of the year when every student is in the process of planning, organizing, studying and learning to ensure that he gets the results as per his potential. This is not always easy though and can, in fact, be a rather difficult and stressful time which causes anxiety to rise and a student may feel rather lost as to how should one go about setting goals, prioritizing and planning effectively.
Why Goal Setting?
Goals setting is perhaps the most crucial aspect when preparing or exams. It is evident that most behaviors of individuals are determined on the basis of the goals they set. This is a key ingredient to keeping your motivation high and ensuring that you know how much you need to work and what you need to work towards.
However, goal setting is also a skill which most students do not always use effectively. Frequently they give themselves either targets which are too stringent and rigid or those that are too relaxed. So the former becomes too challenging and makes the student sometimes even question their own selves and their abilities to do things. Whereas the latter does not permit one to be able to see the emergent urgency of the situation and assess it realistically in terms of how much effort needs to be exerted.
Key Aspects to Keep in Mind When Setting Goals
As is evident from my discourse setting goals is not that easy or frivolous a task that it can be given minimal importance and not be focused on sufficiently. There are some key aspects which are critical in determining the effectiveness of the goal setting that a student does. The following are some of these.
1. When setting goals remember that you first need to have a comprehensive understanding of what you need to do, how much you already know and how much time it would take to complete the various sub-parts of all that you need to study. Having such a comprehensive bank of information goes a long way in setting the right goals.
2. Once you have a good estimate of the previously mentioned aspects you need to develop an understanding of how much time you have to cover these things in.
3. The goals you set need to keep in all 4 things listed above to make them into a comprehension set of goals.
4. A crucial aspect in making these goals is keeping in check the continuity of studies and taking a break of a few minutes every 45 minutes.
5. Also while setting these goals it is imperative that there be a good mix of extra-curricular and other activities besides the studies one needs to do.
6. Don?t set goals keeping in mind the ideal. Account for contingencies and exigencies which may not allow for the idea situation to arise.
Goal setting can ensure that you feel comfortable and have an accurate assessment of your study schedule without feeling stretched or stress about it. But remember this needs to start early enough during your prep time for it to be an effective strategy.
