The new school year is the perfect time to develop new goals and make plans for meeting them. Many students flounder because they don’t have a clear idea of where they want to go and the steps needed to get there. By sitting down with kids and helping them focus on their priorities, you can help them target their efforts and be more successful.

Goals can be of a personal or academic nature. It’s best to start out with only a handful of goals; otherwise, the student can easily become overwhelmed and discouraged. Goals should also be, as much as possible, student driven. Having a goal thrust upon them without their input does nothing for motivating a teen.

If your student comes up blank, try this. Ask the teen to envision himself as he would like to be at the end of the school year. What does he see that is different from how things are now? Start making a list of ideas: more involved in activities, more close friendships, making the honor roll, etc. These ideas can serve as a springboard to a discussion about what the teen really wants to accomplish.

Once you’ve narrowed it down to one or two ideas, use this goal-setting process to outline what needs to be done:

Identify long-term goal. This is what will have happened or changed by the end of the year. Usually, this is a “bigger picture” type item that will be accomplished by setting and meeting a number of related short-term goals. The examples given above would all qualify. If it’s something that can be done quickly and easily, it isn’t a long term goal. Help the teen to Identify and write down two long term goals to work with.

Identify short-term goals. For each, have the teen list several short term goals that will assist her in meeting the long term goal. For example, if the goal is “Make honor roll,” some short-term goals could be “Study every night,” “Take better notes,” “Stay organized,” and “Improve study skills.” Write each of these down with plenty of room to make notes and plans.

Steps to Success. For each short term goal, identify small tasks that can be utilized to help get there. For example, for the short-term goal “Take better notes,” steps might include “Pay attention in class,” “Write more neatly,” “Review notes regularly for gaps,” and “Ask teacher for note-taking tips.” These are all very specific things the student can do on a daily basis. The benefit of breaking the goal down to steps is that the tasks are now more clearly defined and are in manageable chunks. For many kids, “Make honor roll,” is way too overwhelming. They don’t even know where to begin.

Reassess plan. Periodically, review the progress that is being made towards each goal. Revise plan if necessary. Be sure to celebrate the small achievements that will ultimately result in meeting the goal. Often, kids need the frequent feedback and success that will continue to motivate them towards completion.