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Why Goals are the Key to Success

Why Goals are the Key to Success

Posted on by Nikki Sanders

Why Goals are the Key to Success and

how they differ from New Year’s Resolutions

Goals Blog 1

It may be controversial but I don’t personally believe in New Year’s resolutions. The excitement of a new year, teeming with possibilities amidst the festivities, often compels people to create resolutions, 90% of which get abandoned just a few months later.  Resolutions tend to be significant objectives, such as achieving fitness, but you can’t transition from an inactive unfit lifestyle to a fit one without any steps in-between and often there is no consideration of why.  What do I mean by why? Well let’s take the resolution of ‘Get Fit’ what is the motivation to get fit? What drives this desire? How do you intend to succeed? How much will it cost? Will it involve a gym membership or home workouts?  Where will the workouts take place? How will you fit it into your time?  It’s the why’s that get forgotten when the buzz of a new year is here, unfortunately, optimism alone won’t help you make big changes. 

This is why I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions.  Let’s reject the notion that a date on the calendar should dictate when you make changes; change should happen when it feels right for you. For me I embrace goals, now I know you’re thinking well isn’t that the same thing.  Well no, you see goals are sustainable; they are not a fleeting commitment; they represent an ongoing dedication to progress and growth.  You can set them anytime, as already mentioned life isn’t confined to a calendar, and neither should your aspirations.  The purpose of goals is they align with your values, passions and chart out your journey, taking you from where you are now to where you are going.  They are not taken lightly.  The secret to sticking to goals is to be realistic; you can have significant goals as long as they are broken down into the stepping stones (small goals) you must cross along the way.  They are achievable and flexible as we all know that life is nothing if unpredictable; goals can be adapted instead of abandoned.  Accountability – sharing them with others who can support your journey, can be helpful to achieving them. That’s why goals not resolutions are the key to success.

smart goals

In 2024 my primary focus is “growth” a word that expresses my aspirations for both personal and professional development. My primary goal is to nurture and expand my tuition business by:

  • Improving my own skills to be able to offer tuition for all of KS3
  • Introducing new services
  • Group lessons
  • Pre-recorded lessons
  • Mini-courses
  • SAT’s Workshops
  • Online Clubs
  • Network and collaborate with other tutors
  • Improve our website experience for clients
  • Improve our monthly newsletter and emailing system to give you more regular updates

Therefore diversifying and enriching the quality of educational services I provide, reaching and supporting a broader range of students to develop their love of learning, skills and confidence.

My secondary focus is on the word ”reduce” with a specific emphasis on reducing stress, and creating a stress-free experience for both myself and my clients.  I am committed to decluttering surplus processions and exploring technologies to support streamlining and optimising of work processes. Incorporating effective time-management strategies and prioritising self-care to ensure a healthier work-life balance. Fostering a harmonious balance between growth and wellbeing. By aligning my goals with these words, I am confidence that 2024 will be a year of significant personal and professional progress.

As we step into the possibilities and embark on the journey of 2024, I’m intrigued – do you find yourself making resolutions or setting goals for the upcoming year? 

Join me in making 2024 a year of significant progress.  Stay connected by signing up for my newsletter, where you’ll receive the latest updates and be the first to know about new services, don’t miss out on staying informed – sign up today! 

Three Top Tips to Boost Your Child’s Confidence in Year 7 to Reduce Overwhelm

Three Top Tips to Boost Your Child’s Confidence in Year 7 to Reduce Overwhelm

Posted on by Nikki Sanders

Three Top Tips to Boost Your Child's Confidence in Year 7 to Reduce Overwhelm

The leap from primary to secondary school for many children can be a daunting and overwhelming experience.  Students are still quite young, and they’re suddenly expected to be a lot more independent, in an entirely new environment, with new people, new teachers, and a timetable that means moving between classrooms.  Consequently for some children this can massively impact their self-confidence. The best way to approach this new challenge is to support students to establish good habits early.

If your child tends to struggle with low self-esteem, you will find helpful guidance in this article from Young Minds.  You may also find this blog Mindfulness and The Transition to Secondary School   written by Carol from Chatterminds helpful to support your child during this significant transition.

In addition to the valuable insights offered in this blog about Empowering Your Child for Success: Expert Tips for the New School Year, here are my top three tips for building confidence in Year 7.

Build note-taking skills early in Year 7 in order to build a good set of notes by exam time

The curriculum that is covered in Year 7 serves as a foundation to subsequent years, and may therefore need to be recalled several times in future.  Ensuring a strong grasp of this content is important, however with the overwhelm of a new year in a new school, it can be challenging to build long term memories.  It is therefore critical for students to get good at taking notes, and this is something that can be practised with summer projects, or with a tutor.

If students can make good notes ‘in the moment’ they can refer back to them in the relative calm and familiar surroundings of their home.  This reduces the impact of any overwhelming emotions they may experience at their new school.  Additionally, this skill can help them to make new friends at school, by sharing notes and studying together.  Remember, everyone is experiencing relatively similar circumstances, thus this provides a sense of unity. 

If this is something your child struggles with, the guidance in this blog may help.

Get comfortable with the content and then get comfortable with exams

The move into year 7 can bring with it a few of the exams associated with secondary school.  While these exams may not necessarily be imminent (although there are probably a lot more topic tests through the year) that doesn’t make them any less scary.

I encourage students to build confidence with the content they are studying before dwelling too much on preparing for exams. Their ‘big’ exams are a long way off. Topic tests which focus on individual subjects at a time are a lot easier to prepare for.

Once students feel confident in their understanding of the content and can comfortably discuss it with their tutor or study partner, they are ready to practise with exam questions and learn about mark schemes, problem solving, and interleaving (all valuable exam preparation strategies).

Here’s what some other students have suggested helped them in year 7 (please note: this article contains adverts)

Tutors can help support and speed up a student’s confidence building

For a student who is feeling overwhelmed and lacking in confidence, it can be difficult to see the next step.  They might feel they are making little progress compared to their peers.  Homework might feel like it is too much, making them feel like giving up.

A tutor can make a big difference in a relatively short time for these students.  Having seen this path they need to follow with previous students facing similar hurdles. Supporting students by providing tailored guidance, designed to meet the needs of the each individual student.  

Once students are more comfortable with the content, a tutor can help practise aligning answers with the specific question – what to focus on, what the specific question is asking and what to share to get the marks.  The benefit of tuition is that it is truly bespoke to the individual student.

You can read more about this in my blog on  Bespoke Learning & Education – What does this mean in practice?

If you or your child would like some additional support with building confidence in year 7, get in touch for a no obligation conversation.  Or register your interest here for our group classes.