By the time a student shows up in my office, they are potentially in a position where they need to reinvent their study habits, learn how to communicate with a professor, or learn how to better manage their time. They may also be dealing with personal/adjustment issues beneath what is apparent. Yesterday I came across a blog post entitled
How to Achieve Anything and I was struck by how useful it could be to those of us who conduct workshops on student success or perhaps even for those of us who are able to do individualized advising on a regular basis.
The author outlines a few basic steps to get started in achieving a particular goal. For our purposes, I will use a student who is having difficulty passing a chemistry class but doesn't want to drop/resign the course at this time.
Step 1: Outline what hasn't worked/isn't working
It is often difficult for students to identify the reasons why they are not performing as well as they would like, but this is a critical step to future success. As the saying goes, "We must learn from our history, or we are doomed to repeat it!" Below I discuss a few common reasons that students give when asked why they are not performing well academically and give you some statements to use when assisting a student with this portion of the action plan.
"I don't have enough time"
- The article referenced above gives a great quote that I hope to put
their lack of time management skills into perspective. It is "We
don't have time for things until we create time for them."
Hopefully once they hear this, they will understand better that
there must be priorities in life and that if you truly want
something... you've got to make time in your life for it.
Focusing too much on "the pain"
- Instead of looking at positive outcomes of our actions, we (and
our students) tend to place more attention on the parts of tasks
that make us uncomfortable or consume more of our resources. Even
though we typically think that its more about the journey than the
end result, perhaps we should take time to discuss the end results
more throughly in order to help students make their way more
efficiently.
Goals are thought of as options, rather than absolutes.
- I know when I first think of setting goals, I see them as things
that I'd like to accomplish but don't necessarily have to complete.
If we truly desire to complete something, these goals should be
viewed as concrete and absolute.
Step 2: Draw up an OPA diagram
The OPA method was originally devised by
Tony Robbins and has been adapted here for use with students.
O - Outcome - Have a clear vision
P - Purpose - Focus on results & purpose
A - Action - Create a
massive action plan for meaningful results
To break it down even further:
Outcome: What is the ultimate vision for what you want? What things can you do to contribute to this outcome?
In the case of our chemistry student, the ultimate vision may be to one day become a physical therapist. In order to achieve this goal, they absolutely must do well in chemistry. They need to focus on their ultimate goals in order to figure out where they are going.
Purpose: Why must you achieve the target outcome? What are the reasons most important to you? What does achieving the outcome mean to you?
Passing chemistry is essential in this situation because they wouldn't want their physical therapist to have not passed a chemistry course. They also will need these basic skills for passing future exams and licensing exams. They may also need to maintain a scholarship or meet a GPA requirement to stay in school. Having the student then go through this list and identify which reasons mean the most to them will put the goal in perspective and assist with motivation.
Action: Plan for achieving the results you seek. Start with 1 small action immediately and then commit to actively making progress.
Action plans can be intricate or very simplistic but they must include the above two items. Assist your student with a task that they can immediately accomplish to start the ball rolling. In our case, the student may need to purchase the required textbook, contact the professor, or write down all their assignments in a planner. Whatever it may be, a small action will get everything started. Then assist your student in creating small goals that reach toward their ultimate end point. The most important part of this is that they are actively doing something everyday to achieve their goal.
Step 3: Understand Potential Pitfalls
Once the action plan is complete, it is then the student's responsibility to actually make it happen. This is easier said than done, but we can help to triage some issues that they may have in advance. Some things to suggest/try with your student are:
Create tasks that can be measured
All that need be said is a direct quote from the authors original article: "That which gets measured gets managed!"
Know your excuses
Have your student list out all the things that they know they say to get out of something. If there is a written list of these somewhere, it feels like we are accountable to them. I also think it would be beneficial for the advisor to do this exercise with their student to show that everyone has this issue.
Focus on one thing at a time
No one should attempt to complete too many goals at once. For students, it is probably wisest to pursue only one target goal at a time. Their goals may be expanded however, from "Do well in chemistry" to "Do well academically" to encompass more.
Add a "fun ingredient"
Try to make this whole experience more palatable. Help your student build in rewards for when they achieve a milestone. Let them know that in order to succeed at most things, there must be an element of enjoyment somewhere within them.
Create a 30-day challenge (or whatever suitable timeframe there is)
I learned yesterday that it takes 30 days in order to create a habit. Some students have that kind of time and others don't. Whatever their time frame, attempt to create points along the road to check in and evaluate where they are (e.g., 7 days, 14 days, 21 days and finally 30 days).
Change thought-processes
Assist your student in re-forming some essential questions. If they are saying that something is impossible or that they cannot achieve it, change their wording to "How can you make this work"
Every week I will post a new Workshop Topic to help others in their planning and to give others ideas that they may not have thought of. I try to give an outline of the take home message and may include presentations, videos, or materials from an actual workshop. Some topics may not have been presented yet and therefore contain less material than a topic which I have actually presented on. 
