Good luck Cyber Scholars with setting your 2021 goals

OUR last cyber library class this year explores New Year’s resolutions. There are many places to find information on the Internet about New Year’s resolutions that are tailor-made for students.

Some require careful analysis on your part. There are sites that offer interesting ideas and suggestions for resolutions, but come up short on ways to make them effective.

I found that articles from reputable sources often advised adults to be careful and practical while crafting resolutions, but told students to dream big and take chances. This isn’t necessarily bad, but still, you want to make your resolutions achievable and successful.

All successful New Year’s resolutions require careful thought because you want resolutions that are personal. You’re not trying to please anyone but yourself.

You can get a student’s perspective on New Year resolutions from the Times Higher Education site at
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/advice/new-years-resolutions-students.

This site suggests you carefully think about your resolutions, and make them meaningful. Suggestions include: interact more with your teachers in class, and get healthier by eating less processed food.

Another site that recommends student-related resolutions such as "create a plan for your future and set goals" can be found at
https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/top-9-new-years-resolutions-tips-for-students.

Well-crafted resolutions need to be SMART goals.

SMART is an acronym that stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.

So if your goal is to improve your grades, you can make it specific and measurable by saying you will improve your grades by achieving scores that are 15 per cent higher on tests.

To improve by this score would be achievable.

It's relevant because it relates to something important in your life, which is your education.

It is measurable because all you have to do is look at your test grades.

For a site that helps you to make resolutions that you can stick to, check out the New York Times guide:
https://www.nytimes.com/guides/smarterliving/resolution-ideas.

Setting SMART goals is important all year round, so you should check out how to write them. The graphics make this an enjoyable read.

When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, experts warn against becoming discouraged if your goals don’t work out. Maybe you didn’t pick the right ones. It’s important to review what went wrong if they fail. Sometimes that happens because you wrote goals you thought you should have, rather than goals that are important to you. The other main reason that goals fail is because they are too complex or too difficult to measure or manage. Simple ones work well because you can see progress easily.

Most sites that feature New Year resolutions say that the most popular ones are to eat more healthily, exercise more, lose weight, save money, learn a new skill, travel more, start a new skill or hobby, watch less TV, read more, find a new job, volunteer with a charity or start your own business. These goals will need some thinking to make them SMART goals, but that is where the creativity and the plan for success comes into play.

As you can imagine, New Year’s resolutions for students often differ greatly from those for adults. Students often target changing behaviour that makes them more successful in class and come up with resolutions like: listen more in class, do all your homework or reach class on time. Sleep-related goals are also popular among students.

Turn a goal like participating more in class into a SMART goal by clarifying the outcome: I will participate more by answering questions in class and asking at least two important questions. I will separate myself from talkative students and stay on task by switching off my cell phone and not looking at it in class.

At Middle Earth Press I found this link
https://middleearthnj.wordpress.com/2014/12/29/the-top-ten-best-new-years-resolutions-for-teenagers/. The site offers details on how to make goals work like “learn something new,” “become a better family member,” “find a cause” or “be a role model.” The site suggests, “read for fun,”

Family education.com
https://www.familyeducation.com/7-new-years-resolutions-teens-can-make suggest goals like helping siblings more, writing thank-you notes, reaching out to elderly relatives and volunteering.

New Year resolutions are a fun way to focus your life and introduce an improvement plan. If you choose, small, reasonable, manageable SMART goals you can make important changes.

Good luck on setting your goals for 2021. Make them special and exciting for you, and have a Happy New Year.