Goal Setting for the Overwhelmed: Academic Tools for Everyday Life

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In life, we’re told to set goals for our future. Study for the big test, save up to buy a house, or plan for the birth of your first child. These kinds of things can feel overwhelming, especially if you have a lot going on as it is. You know that setting a goal and working toward the outcome can be helpful, but how you do it is the big question.

If you’re a student, a young professional, or just someone who feels like they “should be doing more” with their life, welcome to the club. The good thing is that getting your life in motion doesn’t need to be difficult. You don’t need to reinvent the productivity wheel. Instead, you can look to academia to find what you need.

In this guide, we’re going to take a look at a few academic goal-setting strategies and how you can apply them to your everyday life, so you can finally get some sleep at night knowing you’re taking one step closer to a better you every day.

1. The Chunking Method

The chunking method, or “reverse planning,” as some like to call it, is one of the best strategies for larger goals you may have far in the future. Pick a date or deadline for your goal and work backwards. For example, let’s say you want to land a job by the end of summer. Rather than setting aside all of your other responsibilities for a week to grind out a hundred job applications, you could break it down into smaller chunks:

• Find three places you’re interested in working today
• Write a single cover letter each day over the next three days
• On the fourth day, update your resume
• Then, submit one application per day for the next three days after that

In less than two weeks, you’ve confidently applied for three jobs without putting your life on hold. This is “making a checklist 101.” With this method, you replace your vague, larger-than-life intentions with achievable, bite-sized to-dos.

2. Use SMART Goals

The SMART goal method is a five-step process, which stands for:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time-bound

While this acronym might sound like something you’d read in a run-of-the-mill Freshman orientation packet, it actually works. This is because, like the chunking method, it offers a structured approach.

So, let’s say your goal is to “be better at studying.” That’s a vague goal, and vagueness is easy to ignore.

Instead, using SMART goals, you might study (specific) for an hour (measurable and achievable) using your favorite flashcard app (relevant) after class on Tuesdays (achievable and time-bound).

Now, you have a built-in schedule with meaning, and you’ll know whether or not you stuck to it. Doesn’t that feel better already?

Related: How to Motivate Yourself to Study

3. Use an Academic Calendar

Most professors plan their entire semesters in advance. This is because chaotic, last-minute planning isn’t conducive to teaching or learning. With an academic calendar, you have structure, and with structure, we feel less overwhelmed.

And yes, life is chaos, and we don’t have syllabi for it. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t build calendars for your projects you have.

There are hundreds of digital calendar tools out there, from Google Calendar to Notion, so you may have to go through trial and error to find one you like. But once you find one, you can map out any big due dates or self-imposed personal goals in your life. I’ve always been a huge fan of color-coding by task, as I feel like it makes looking at a busy calendar much more inviting and allows you to arrange each step by type.

4. Have a Weekly Reset

In academia, we have a rhythm we like to follow, which is based on a weekly structure. Each week, there might be class discussions, reading assignments, or tests. At the end of the week, we give ourselves a chance to reflect and regroup before heading into the next week.

Every Sunday (or whatever day floats your boat), you might ask yourself a few questions, like:

• What did I get done this week?
• What worked and what didn’t?
• What do I have planned for next week?
• How can I better allocate my time to make the next week more doable?

Again, breaking things down keeps your life from becoming a never-ending to-do list. You don’t need to light a candle and sit at your desk in full meditation mode for two hours to do so. Just ten minutes on your chosen day with a pen and notebook can suffice.

5. When In Doubt, Just Start

You’re human. Not every day is perfect. Some days you’re unstoppable, and other days you’re trudging through the mud. So even if you can’t bring yourself to do that one task you have on your to-do list today, pick something else. It doesn’t have to be the “right” thing. It should just be something that gets you closer to your goal and makes tomorrow easier.

I’ve seen grad students come close to drowning during their dissertation edits. One thing I always say is not to focus on being brilliant, just be in motion.

This strategy works for goals of all kinds.

Have a housewarming party you’re throwing this weekend, but can’t make time to go to the party store today to pick up supplies like you promised yourself?

Take out the trash instead. Send out a few invites. Prep your hors d’oeuvres recipes. Put a playlist together. Every finished task that gets you one step closer to your final goal is one small turn to the left on your emotional pressure valve.

In the “go, go, go” culture we seemingly live in, it’s important to remind yourself that progress doesn’t need to be dramatic. It’s one small step every single day that counts. Eventually, you’ll reach the finish line, look back, and smile at the fantastic things you didn’t even realize you were achieving all along.