Goals and Motivation

Earlier in the semester, I enacted five goals for myself to better my academic success this semester at the University of Virginia. So far, these goals have been perfect for my growth and success. I can keep up with them and I am interested in maintaining the answers to my goals. I continue to report on my status every week for each of the five goals. I can clearly remember and recount my goals, which is also a sign that these specifics are helping me throughout this current semester. For example, one of my goals was to try and get 8 hours of sleep every night. Not only do I record how many hours of sleep I get each night, but also I now sleep more because I am trying to meet this goal. I always think of it when I am about to go to sleep.

            My academic success is largely a part of motivation, as well. I have struggled with this aspect as I usually have little motivation to complete what I need to academically. However, after creating these five goals I am more motivated to finish my work and stay on track with the five records. Currently, my motivation is dropping because I have reached the middle of the semester, but I plan to change this immediately. I need to keep motivated and finish this semester to my best ability.

Reading Habits

            I usually tend to read slowly, and I dislike this very much. I easily fall behind in my readings for classes because it takes so long for me to complete the assignments. I try my best to begin my reading as early as possible, ensuring that I complete what is due on time, but this is rarely the case. When reading, I also very easily get off task as my mind wanders. I think about something else and end up having to go back and re-read over what I just read, in order to actually understand it. I plan on working to improve my reading habits and to increase my speed especially. With motivation, I will be more able to read faster and sooner than I normally do now. Because reading is such an important aspect to learning in college, it is crucial that I fix my bad habits now, so I can work on them and improve for the future. I need to look at reading as a fun assignment, and just realize how important it is to my success in academics.

            Currently, I am behind on my readings for my classes this semester. I have a test in the next couple of days and it would be much easier on myself if I had completed the reading when I was supposed to. I plan on doing this for the remainder of the semester, and in doing so, giving myself the best chance I can to do better than I did my first semester.