Strategy

Setting Goals and Prioritizing

MIT students talk about setting goals and prioritizing their time to deal with challenges such as test anxiety, work overload, and making progress on their academic work. 

  • Neki: Setting Goals and Prioritizing

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    Neki: Setting Goals and Prioritizing

    Neki describes how limiting his to-do list to the most essential tasks helps him find time to enjoy the present.

  • Neki: Making Progress

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    Neki: Making Progress

    Neki describes a simple way to halts procrastination by reminding himself that he needs to focus on getting the work done rather than planning how to get the work done.

  • Teresa: Pacing Yourself

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    Teresa: Pacing Yourself

    Teresa shares how she learned to take breaks rather than trying to power through on difficult and exhausting assignments.

  • Vyshnavi: Breaking Down Big Goals

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    Vyshnavi: Breaking Down Big Goals

    Vyshnavi shares how focusing on small, doable steps rather than large, overwhelming goals helps her make progress.

  • Tim: Writing to Surface Priorities

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    Tim: Writing to Surface Priorities

    Tim explains how his habit of writing in a planner and notebook helped him clarify and prioritize how he spends his time.

  • Tim: Working With Your Body Clock

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    Tim: Working With Your Body Clock

    Tim describes how he takes advantage of his natural rhythm by doing his hardest work in the morning when he is most mentally sharp and saving simpler tasks for later in the day.

  • Jennifer: Taking Small Steps

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    Jennifer: Taking Small Steps

    Jennifer talks about setting goals to make progress on her dissertation.

  • Mary: Setting Goals and Prioritizing

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    Mary: Setting Goals and Prioritizing

    Mary talks about setting goals for studying to prepare for qualifying exams.

  • Kanika: Setting Goals and Prioritizing

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    Kanika: Setting Goals and Prioritizing

    Kanika found prioritization to be an effective strategy for dealing with overload.

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