7 Ways To Achieve Your Goals In 2018
The festive period is over, and you’ve probably been left wondering what lies ahead in the year to come. Whether you’re looking for success, to reach specific goals or to pick up a new skill, here are our top tips for truly effective learning in 2018.
1. Start Small
Think about what you’ve always wanted to learn and face up to why you haven’t learnt it yet. No time? Fear of failure? If these thoughts are on your mind, then start small.
Choose something you are comfortable with and doesn’t take too much time to get started. By starting small, you’re more likely to get out of the starting blocks and then, once you’re hooked on the deep gratification you’ll get from learning something new, you’ll quickly find yourself coming back for more!
2. Set Specific Goals
Once you’ve got started with smaller tasks or challenges, set yourself one big goal to aim towards and then try to break that down onto a timeline of small, measurable goals.
Whether it’s to run a marathon, make croquembouche or learn to knit a jumper – find a way to keep your big goal front of mind to motivate you to step out of your comfort zone… write it down and stick it on the fridge if that’s what it takes!
To break this goal down, think about how you’ll work your way up to it. If you want to knit a jumper by the end of the year, start by saying you’ll be able to knit a scarf in 1 month, then a hat in 2 months. The key then is to make sure your goals are specific and measurable. What size of scarf are you going to knit? Will it have a pattern? How complex will the pattern be? How many hours will it take for you to complete the scarf? By making your goals as specific and measurable as possible, you’ll become much more able to accurately assess your progress and focus your time on learning the things that will have the greatest effect on your growth.
3. Learn Better Together
When you learn alone, quitting is an easy option. Learn with a friend to keep each other driven to completing your goals!
As you face the daunting unknown world of learning something entirely new, you’ll be far better off with the help of a friend. Pursue the same goals together and you’ll not only add a competitive element to keep you on track, you’ll bring your learning into your everyday conversations. This will help you build up daily learning habits, allow you to learn from one another’s experiences and give you an easy way of sharing your frustrations.
4. Reward Yourself
Make sure you reward yourself for taking the time to invest in YOU!
It’s tough when there are so many demands on your time, but remind yourself that bettering yourself is something worth doing. Be proud and definitely make sure you show off your new skills!
5. Don’t Put Yourself Down
If things don’t go quite to plan the first time, don’t be too hard on yourself – your own mistakes are often the best teachers.
Life throws all sorts at us and sometimes things might not go as we hoped. But those who make the most mistakes usually end up being the best at what they do. So give it another go, reflect on how it went and think about how you’ll do better next time.
6. Self-Reflect
Log every aspect of your learning journey through pictures and recordings, then schedule times to reflect as you progress.
What’s going well? What’s been tricky? What can I do to improve next time?
Use these reflections to help you make rapid progress and to remind yourself of just how far you’ve come.
7. Learn From An Expert
Whether you’re planning on learning through an online course or in a real world class, take your time to select carefully.
If you’re investing time and money, you want it to be a rich learning experience you can trust. Find out a bit more about the teacher and check out the reviews before you dive in.
Whatever you decide to learn in 2018, just try your best and enjoy the journey!
– The Workshop Team
If you want to start your learning journey right now on a platform that’s been built to give you the most effective learning experience possible, get Workshop on iOS.