WHY DO YOU NEED TO BE GOAL ORIENTED?
„Most students waste nearly 50% of their study time on low-impact tasks“. Based on productivity studies and learning behavior surveys, this Fact clarifies how inefficient we work toward our goals and how easily we get lost on the way. This leads us to the topic of this article: How to be Goal-oriented in learning?
Being goal-oriented has a strong impact on our academic life-style. It helps to focus and achieve your learning goals faster with a clear direction despite distractions and confusion. Being goal-oriented makes you far less likely to get distracted by things like social media, personal issues or the overwhelming pressure of study materials.
The common problems we students face while studying- especially time management- can be fixed by a goal-oriented approach, because you learn how to create realistic plans and precise strategies to reach your goals. It teaches you to prioritize tasks and manage your time better. This leads to a very rare skill acquired only by high performers: Achieving more in Less time.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE GOAL ORIENTED ?
Setting objectives and investing energy and time to achieve them is what a goal oriented approach is about. You don’t work, learn, study out of passion or motivation, which can be temporary or occasional. Instead you are always chasing short and long term goals that cover several aspects of life, not only studying but also sport, financial goals, general knowledge, personal/social etc…
Ali Abdal had this concept in his life. He was a doctor but his ultimate goal was to be an entrepreneur. → he managed to achieve his goals by investing time and effort in social media; youtube, website, IG … that turned into his life business.
Simply put, being goal-oriented is about knowing your objectives and how to plan to reach them. It can be summarized in few steps
- Set goals
- Create plan and strategies
- Implement them
focusing only on setting goals is a bad practice if not disastrous because of the feeling of failures resulted from being unable to reach those goals
HOW TO BE GOAL ORIENTED ?
- Set goals:
An interesting abbreviation that I found on the internet and summarizes the types of goals is SMART which stands for:
Specific measurable achievable relevant .
I will present my strategies to set goals:
Research
Before diving into action, take time to research. Explore methods, tools, and strategies that could save time or bring better results. Efficiency isn’t just about working h
I usually create a Folder under bookmarks of my browser:
- example:
Differentiate short and long term goals
That’s why it’s so important to break your long-term goals into short-term goals—small, achievable steps that you can actually start working on. Some can be tackled one by one, others in parallel, depending on your schedule and capacity.
Visualize goals
One of the most common mistakes is keeping your goals only in your head. If I asked you what you ate yesterday, you’d probably say, “Uh… I don’t remember!” So how can you expect to remember a goal you set for the next six months?
That’s why it’s crucial to write your goals down. Visualizing them gives you something solid to look back at when your motivation dips. Alongside your goals, write down why they matter to you, any ideas related to them, and revisit them regularly to refresh your desire and direction. Trust me—it makes a huge difference.
- Create a Plan to achieve your goals:
Use milestones to structure your long-term goals. Break them into phases and track your progress visually—it helps to stay on course.
For short-term goals, plan them on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. This habit keeps your actions aligned with the big picture and allows you to stay consistent even when your energy fluctuates.
- Implement ( Use tools, strategies…):
After setting goals and setting your Plan, the next step should be implementing them, where you should respect your plan rules as much as you can.
Update goals and keep record
As you move forward, you’ll learn new things, discover unexpected shortcuts, or find better ways to do what you planned. That’s why it’s not just about recording your goals—but also updating them. Like Einstein said: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” As you grow, so should your goals.
- Seek Feedback and Support: Sometimes you’ll hit a wall. When that happens, don’t stay stuck. Seek feedback or support from someone with experience. A second opinion or a fresh perspective can help you approach the problem from another angle and often lead to quick solutions.
- Celebrate Milestones: It’s also important to celebrate your wins, whether they’re short-term achievements or long-term victories. Your brain wants a reward for hard work—and you deserve it. Whether it’s a night out, a day off, or just treating yourself to something fun, do what makes you feel good. It reinforces progress and builds momentum for what’s next.
The Downside of being too Goal-Oriented ?
Socrates once said, “Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” It’s a reminder that even something as powerful as goal-setting can become a trap if taken too far.
When you’re obsessed with goals, you can burn out. You rush from task to task, trying to check boxes, but miss the learning that happens along the way. You stop enjoying the process, and your work quality drops.
Being too focused on achievement can also make you rigid. You might ignore new opportunities, struggle to adapt to change, or lose motivation when things don’t go exactly as planned. And sometimes, in chasing one big goal, you end up neglecting your health, relationships, or peace of mind.
Goals are tools. But if you grip them too tightly, they can become chains.
The Trade off Goal-Oriented Vs Process-Oriented :
Goal-oriented learning isn’t always the best approach for every situation. Sometimes, it’s more effective to be process-oriented — to focus on the journey of learning rather than just the destination. Being process-oriented means immersing yourself in the experience of acquiring knowledge or mastering a skill. This deeper engagement often leads to better understanding, especially in complex or abstract topics.
To illustrate this, consider a common strategy many students use: starting their exam revision by going through past papers. It’s a practical move — we try to find patterns and focus our effort on what’s likely to appear. However, this approach doesn’t always work. In subjects that require deep understanding or applying theorems in unfamiliar ways, simply “getting through Chapter X in two hours” isn’t realistic or helpful. In such cases, investing extra time to truly grasp the concepts is far more valuable.
From personal experience, I found that jumping into difficult exercise variations without fully understanding the topic only led to frustration. I wasn’t just wasting time — I was also draining my energy and motivation. Instead, I learned that spending an extra couple of hours deeply exploring one concept made future problems easier to solve and dramatically improved my speed and confidence.
Idols & Resources must help you through your challenges:
Cal Newport – Author of “Deep Work” and “Study Hacks” blog. He promotes focus, high-value work, and mastery — very aligned with your process-vs-goal discussion.( a Trick that bill gates is using for Focus will have a huge impact on your creativity and your Decisions if you use it )
Brian Tracy – One of the most well-known voices in goal setting. His book “Goals!” gives clear strategies and psychological backing.
CrashCourse Psychology – For deep dives into cognitive science & motivation
Zig Ziglar – Famous for his quote: “A goal properly set is halfway reached.”
Free Online Courses
Learning How to Learn – Coursera (Oakley & Sejnowski)
Coursera is very helpful program that will provide you with divide free courses ( certificates are not free but valuable- price : 46 $ )
