What exactly is goal-setting?
When we talk about setting goals in self-regulated learning (SRL), we're talking about the planning phase, where students take into consideration what they want to attain/achieve. The idea is that by explicitly stating/writing out what the goal is, then this will help the student focus on the goal.
But why do grad students need to set goals in the first place?
I believe it's because goals fuel motivation. By describing what it is you want to do, you're providing yourself with a reason to do something. This helps break down the task into smaller pieces so that you can take that first step.
For example, back in January, I set a goal to visit my cousin over the long weekend. This was something that had been in my mind for a while, and as the date got closer, I started getting excited at the prospect of spending time together.
This week, I knew I would need to prepare for the trip but I wasn't motivated to make a list or pack. I thought a bit of how I would spend the weekend with my cousin and their partner - go for hikes, explore their town, eat delicious food, laugh a lot - and this helped me get started packing.
This is an example of how having a goal was able to direct my behaviour - by thinking of the outcome, I was able to identify the positive emotions in visiting my cousin, imagine my behaviour, and then get a start to the behaviour in front of me.
For grad students, you're probably setting goals ALL THE TIME and not realizing it. Send that email? Check. Meet with your advisor? Check. Attend the writing workshop? Check.
You were likely doing all these things because you had set goals to do them, you maybe just didn't realize that you set those goals. This is automaticity and it's what happens when you are self-regulating your learning.
So, is setting goals a waste of time?
As you can probably tell, it depends on the situation. I don't believe in setting goals for everything all the time because that would be a waste of time.
The times where it is most helpful to set goals are when you are experiencing a challenge, you notice that you are more stressed/anxious than normal, you're having trouble getting started, you keep procrastinating/avoiding doing something, etc.
In these situations, setting goals is likely a great first step - and even better is starting with the task - but however you enter the SRL cycle is what is most productive. Because once you notice you're off track, however you make progress again is the best option.
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