Academic work can often be overwhelming. But we can counter this with good preparation.

The first step is to plan and structure our work in advance. When we plan, we set goals and determine strategies to achieve these goals. On the face of it this may sound trivial, but it’s not always easy to make a good plan that can be successfully implemented. It helps to be aware that we can set goals in two ways: as intentions or as resolutions. Intentions relate to the outcome we want to achieve, while resolutions refer to the processes we need to master in order to achieve this outcome. Or to put it another way, intentions are the “what” and resolutions are the “how” of our plan.

Intentions

Intentions thus relate to the outcome of our plan. Clear intentions help us to articulate and formulate our goals so we have a very clear picture of them. This in itself can lead to better performance. When defining intentions, we should keep the following aspects of our goals in mind:

1. Goals should be specific. Concrete goals, such as getting a grade of at least 5.5 (very good), are more likely to motivate us than general goals like “I’ll do my best”. Specific goals also make it easier to determine the effort required because they are easy to measure – we can quantify how much we have already done and how much we still need to do.
2. Goals should be realistic. If we set an unrealistic goal and then feel we’re not capable of achieving it, we won’t expect to successfully accomplish the task in the first place. It’s then highly likely that we will be less motivated and committed.
3. Goals should be achievable within a short time frame. We are more motivated when we feel we can achieve a goal quickly than when it seems like a distant prospect.

It is easier to meet specific, realistic and closer goals by breaking down the ultimate goal into several smaller intermediate goals. A plan therefore ideally consists of many small intentions. As we reach each individual milestone, we gain more confidence in our ability to complete the overall task successfully.

Resolutions

As the “how” of a plan, resolutions help put our intentions into practice. For instance, resolutions can take the form of an if/when-then statement relating to our actions. For example, “When I’ve finished breakfast, I’ll then read an essay.” Or: “If I’ve got a break between two lectures, then I’ll write half a page.” If/when-then statements also help us avoid potential distractions. In fact, they’re particularly effective when formulated in this way. For example, the resolution: “If I’m asked to work overtime for my part-time job, then I’ll say no!” Or, “If I’m working, I’ll ignore messages on my phone.” Such resolutions prevent tempting distractions or bad habits interrupting our workflow.

What else can help when planning?

Being clear about the difference between the what and the how of a plan is already an essential part of our toolkit. In addition, the following points can also help us plan:

1. Have the courage to change plans Plans are not set in stone. If during the work we notice that we’re not getting any closer to an intermediate goal, we should make changes to the plan.

2. Ask yourself helpful questions about your strategies. We can reconsider our approach by asking a series of questions, then adjust it as necessary based on our experience and the context of the goals. Here are some examples:

• How would others achieve this goal?
• Who can help me achieve this goal?
• How have I managed to achieve similar goals in the past?
• Have I left myself enough time to finish off the work?
• Do I understand the grading criteria?
• Do I understand why I got a worse grade than I expected for my last assignment?
• Do I understand my strengths and weaknesses?
• Would I benefit from someone else reading through my assignment before I submit it?

3. Evaluate your progress Once we have reached our goal, we can ask ourselves the following questions for future reference:

• How well did the plan work?
• How many intermediate goals did I reach?
• Which tasks did I find most difficult?
• Which resolutions worked well?
• What problems did I encounter?
• What did I learn about myself?
• What hadn’t I expected?

Even if we didn’t manage to reach our goal, we can analyze what went wrong. For example, perhaps the topic was not yet defined coherently enough. This helps us rethink our strategy and find other ways to reach the goal.