How to Effectively Set Goals

Table of Contents

• 🎯 Setting Goals Effectively

  • How to find your goal ATAR

    • DO NOT make these mistakes when setting your goal …

• ⭐Don’t limit Yourself

• ✅ Action Steps for the Week

🎯 Setting Goals Effectively

Year 12 is one fun, tough and extremely rewarding journey. However, it’s important that the first thing you do is gain clarity on what your goals actually are, as without them, it’s as if you are walking into a battlefield blindfolded.

Setting goals give you direction and clarity as to what you want to achieve out of year 12, which will ultimately keep you motivated and driven!

How to find your goal ATAR

1. Find out what degree or field that you want to study in. This may require some research, so don’t stress if you don’t exactly know yet.

2. Go to your desired university’s website and find out the ATAR requirement.

3. Add 2-3 points on top of this ATAR requirement

And there you go, you’ve found your goal ATAR - pretty easy, right?

🛑 DO NOT make these mistakes when setting your goal ATAR

Mistake #1: Choosing your ATAR solely for the sake of the number.

• There are students I know that set ATAR goals of 95, even though their course required a 70….

• The reason they did this was because they think in their mind that only an ATAR of 90+ is acceptable; this is absolutely FALSE!

• A good ATAR is one that gets you into your desired course. Full stop. It doesn’t matter if it is a 60 or a 99.95, if it allowed you to entire your course, you are successful!

Mistake #2: Choosing your ATAR based off of pressure from others

• In the most respectful manner possible, f**k what other people think or say to you!

• Aim for the ATAR that you need/want to achieve. If that is an 80, then it’s an 80. Don’t feel the need to aim for an ATAR that you don’t even need to get just because your family and friends pressure you to do so.

How to set goals properly to achieve this ATAR.

Ok, so now that you’ve figured out what ATAR you want/need, you need to set goals in a way that increase your likelihood of success.

To do this, you should set identity-based goals:

1. Write down your goal - be specific and detailed (the ATAR you set from the steps above)

2. Define your identity

   • Underneath the goal, list out the qualities that you need as a person to achieve that goal — for example, you need to be consistent, focused, resilient, etc.

3. Break it down

   • Break your goals into small, achievable steps. This makes it less overwhelming and more likely for you to succeed. Small wins lead to big victories!

   • Write down what you need to be doing every day, and every month to achieving that goal.

   • For example, you need to be studying effectively and consistently every day. You need to start your assessments earlier and get ahead of the cohort, etc.

⭐Don’t limit Yourself

Aim high, and don’t let anyone or anything discourage you from achieving your goals.

I don’t care what your past is.

I don’t care how many exams you have failed.

I don’t care how bad you were as a student in previous years.

I don’t care what subjects or what school you go to…

You have the ability to change RIGHT NOW!

So focus.

Put in what’s required.

And you WILL succeed.

✅ Action Steps for the Week

“Knowledge is power: You hear it all the time but knowledge is not power. It's only potential power. It only becomes power when we apply it and use it.” — Jim Kwik

1. Figure out and set your goal ATAR by following the steps mentioned above

2. Write down this goal ATAR in huge writing on a piece of paper and stick it somewhere that you’ll always see (i.e. next to your study desk)

   

   My example

3. Write down this goal ATAR on your phone (i.e. using the notes app). Then, underneath this goal, list out all the qualities you need as a person to achieve it (your identity), and break down the habits you need to adopt to achieve it

   If you use notion, I’d suggest you try out my template!

4. Read this goal every morning and every night (put a reminder on!)