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- Persevering when things get difficult
- Organising your work and meeting deadlines
- Revising for examinations
- Avoiding procrastination.
Setting Goals
Set yourself specific and clearly defined goals, and make sure that these are realistic and
achievable. To do this, you first need to examine your present situation and assess what goals
are important to you and what action you need to take to achieve your target. Have a
contingency plan or alternative route to your goal in case you have to change your plans, for
example, taking a relevant postgraduate course if you can't get a job. See Action Planning.
Prioritising
Efficiency and effectiveness are not the same. Someone who works hard and is well
organised but spends all their time on unimportant tasks may be efficient but not effective. To be
effective, you need to decide what tasks are urgent and important and to focus on these. This is
called prioritising. It's important to list the tasks you have and to sort these in order of priority,
and then to devote most time to the most important tasks. This avoids the natural tendency to
concentrate on the simple, easy tasks and to allow too many interruptions to your work.
Differentiate also between urgent and important tasks: an urgent task may not
necessarily be important! When jobhunting, you won't be able to apply to every employer. You
will need to carefully prioritise those you wish to apply to, based upon factors such as closing
date, location, degree class required, and chances of getting in.
Avoiding Procrastination
In the professional environment people are so easily distracted by ‘noise’. Whether it’s
emails, admin or politics, there will always be something that seems so much more important
than the actual task. More often than not, people will get caught up with the nice to have activity
rather than the critical work which creates more value for the business. Being ruthlessly focused
means you have the ability to cancel out this noise and focus on what is important. It’s a strength
in itself to be able to say something is not critical.
Procrastination is the scourge of action planning. It's important that you manage 'Your
fear of doing things' you don't want to do and realise that the fear is often far worse than any
possible negative results. Try to take decisions immediately when possible and when you don't
need to gather more information pertinent to the decision. The best time to do something is
usually NOW. Taking action generates the impetus for further action. Many applications to
prestigious employers now need to be made in the first term of your final year and if you
procrastinate you'll miss the deadlines.
Breaking down tasks
Break goals down into their components so that you can accomplish them one step at a
time. Write these steps down, and try to be as specific as you can when you do this. Try to
complete one task before you go on to the next.
Reward yourself for achieving these goals to maintain your enthusiasm. For example,
when you are invited to your first interview, treat yourself to a good meal with friends.
Regularly review your progress towards your goals and revise plans as appropriate to take
account of unforeseen changes.
Persevering
Inevitably, things will not always run smoothly as you progress towards your goals.
When things are not working out, you need to persevere and learn how to take a positive attitude
towards frustration and failure.
Mistakes are a crucial part of any creative process and each is a lesson leading you
towards the right solution. Fear of making or admitting mistakes is a major handicap to taking
effective action. It is said that the people who have achieved the most have made the most
mistakes! Try to be aware that satisfaction comes as much from pursuing goals as from
achieving them.

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