Planning & Decision Making
Definition Of Terms
Goals: something you want; a target or destination.
Knowledge: information or skills.
Analysis: Looking at something carefully in order to understand it.
Plan: How to get what you want.
Reflection: Thinking about what you know and learn.
Balanced Decision Making
Using Logical Thinking Using Intuition
GOALS Be focused: Choose your goals
and aim for them Be flexible: Be prepared to change your goals if your needs and interest changes around you.
KNOWLEDGE Be aware: Acquire knowledge
about yourself and the world. Be wary: It’s okay to be uncertain about your goals and knowledge.
ANALYSIS Be objective: Analyze a
situation and think about the pros and cons of each option.
Be optimistic: You’ll have many chances to make your dreams come true.
PLAN Be practical: Organize a plan of action that makes logical sense in terms of your goals.
Be magical: Use your own
imagination to visualize alternative futures.
REFLECTION Be careful: Take regular stock of
your progress. Be open: Know that each phase in the decision making process affects every other phase.
Categories of Goals
SHORT TERM GOALS
You accomplish these things in the next week or next month, such as: “do the reading on Wednesday, so I can write my English paper on the weekend.
MEDIUM TERM GOALS
Further in the future, maybe three months to a year, such as “raise my mark in science by 10% by the end of the semester.
LONG TERM GOALS
You set these goals for the next ten years, such as:
“go to college and get a certificate in broadcasting – television, since you want to work as a camera
person for a television network.
Different Types of Goals
PERSONAL GOALS
Concerning yourself, your family, your friends and other people who are
important to you.
WORK GOALS
Occupations and jobs
LEARNING GOALS
In a school setting or outside, for yourself, or how to achieve other goals.
COMMUNITY GOALS
Contributions you make and benefits you receive
Tips To Setting Practical Goals
Measurable Achievable Concrete Scheduled So you can
see your progress:
Ex. “I will raise my
mark by 5%
by the next test
So you can take each step with confidence:
“I will eat
salad instead of fries at
lunch every day.”
So it is clear what you will do:
“I will sign up for intramural basketball in September.”
So it is clear when you will do each task:
“I will do the outline by Thursday, and the final draft by
Monday.”
Activity#1
Prepare a MACS (practical goals) for the following.
1. One for each of the 4 school courses you are taking this semester.
2. One for a non-school personal achievement/growth.
3. One for an improvement in your interpersonal relationship with either a family member or friends/peers.
Activity#2
Working in pairs, each of you can act as a consultant for the other as you do the following.
1. Write a long–term work goal, one that you want to achieve by the time you are 25. (you can identify or use an example from Activity #1 if applicable)
2. Write a medium-term learning goal that will help you achieve your long-term goal. It should be one that you want to achieve over the next three months to a year. (you can identify or use an example from Activity #1 if applicable)
3. Write a short term goal. It should be something that you want to accomplish within the next week or month. (you can identify or use an example from Activity #1 if applicable)
4. In each case, incorporate the 4 characteristics of a good goal.
5. Acting as the consultant, check your partner’s goals to make sure that they include all four characteristics. Offer suggestions for improvement, if needed.
Questions to Ask – Help You Plan
1. What goal do I want to achieve?
2. What tasks (steps) need to be done?
3. What steps do I need to take?
4. What do I need to learn in order to take those steps?
5. Who could help me do what needs to be done?
6. What possible obstacles or barriers could get in the way?
7. What are the timelines? In what order do things need to be done, and by what date?
8. Do I need to change the list of tasks because of my answers to questions #3, #4, and #5?
If you are planning with a group, you need to also add:
9. Who is responsible for doing each task?
10.How will we communicate with each
another?
Barriers to Achieving Goals
A barrier is something that gets in your way.
Different people have different barriers. For
example, you could be shy, you may have a
physical barrier, or some individuals have a
knowledge barrier.
Tips for Breaking Barriers
• Think Creatively: If going at a problem one way brings you up against a barrier, go at it a different way. Brainstorming with a group, for instance can help you look beyond the first
solution and build upon the creativity of others.
• Ask for help: This is fairly simple solution that many people won’t use. You probably know people who will not ask their teachers for help when they are having difficulty.
Activity#3
Think of barriers that are keeping you from achieving success in
Each of the 4 school courses you are taking this semester.
In your personal life.
Now write down 15 ways to overcome the barrier. The first solutions will probably come to you easily. If 15 solutions come easily, do more. If thinking up solutions becomes difficult, don’t give up until you have 15. This activity makes you really push yourself to think differently. Often it is the last few solutions that are the most valuable.
Activity #4
Use this activity to help you draw up an action plan. This involves
• Setting up realistic long-term goals (pick one of your goals from the previous activities you came up with yesterday).
• Identify short-term goals (which are part of your plan to reach your long-term goal)
Record one long-term goal, and then a medium-term and short-term goal that lead to it.
Long-Term Goal Medium-Term Goal Short-Term Goal
Goal: My goal is to: Goal: My goal is to: Goal: My goal is to:
Steps: To reach my goal, I plan to Steps: To reach my goal, I plan to Steps: To reach my goal, I plan to Obstacles: I must watch out for: Obstacles: I must watch out for: Obstacles: I must watch out for:
Knowledge: This is what I need to
learn: Knowledge: This is what I need to
learn: Knowledge: This is what I need to
learn:
Helpers: These are the people who
can help me: Helpers: These are the people who
can help me: Helpers: These are the people who
can help me:
Timeline: I plan to achieve this goal
by: Timeline: I plan to achieve this goal
by: Timeline: I plan to achieve this goal
by:
Reward: My reward for achieving this
goal will be: Reward: My reward for achieving this
goal will be: Reward: My reward for achieving this
goal will be:
