Work the Plan and Revise as Needed

Yes, this is the reassuring part. It’s my favorite. Taking time to assess my progress is incredibly satisfying to me. Even when I realize I’m not where I need to be on my goal, I know I can simply adjust my plan. Making small changes gets me back on track and moving forward. Without this step, it’s easy to just stall out in your progress. When that happens, we all know that’s when abandoning your goal becomes most tempting. If you get to work and work the plan, you’ll find you won’t have that desire to give up because you’ll always feel more in control of the process. It’s when we feel like something’s impossible or out of our control that we tend to most readily give up.

Different sized goals require different evaluation periods, but in general every few weeks should be a good interval. Check your progress every three weeks or so by pulling out your calendar, journal or digital app. See what you wrote down as your goal posts and determine whether you’ve reached them or if you’ve somehow fallen behind. This step may require a bit of analysis, which is fine. Take the time you need to figure out what may have impacted your progress. Even if you’re right on schedule, it’s a good idea to assess the actions that led you to be so successful. That way, you can repeat them.

For the student in the graphic design program, this process might include checking out his online records to see how he’s doing in each class, as well as making sure all assignments are on track. If she finds that a particular grade isn’t up to her standards, she can then analyse where her difficulties might lie and then adjust her plan to figure out how she can improve her grade. Perhaps there’s a certain concept she just didn’t quite grasp. In this case, a meeting with her professor could help her to fill in the missing pieces and allow her to feel more confident in her understanding of upcoming course material.

However, if she thinks she may be having bigger trouble comprehending the subject matter, obtaining a tutor might be in order. No matter what the case, taking time to figure things out and to decide what to do about a snag is far more empowering and effective than just hoping things get better. And getting yourself back on your plan feels tremendously rewarding.