Hello incoming (and remaining) students! We聽hope that you are all continuing to keep聽as safe and healthy as can be these days. We聽know there was likely a massive upheaval聽to your lives as a result of this COVID-19 situation, and this聽Spring 2020 term is only adding to the burning uncertainty we all feel! Grad research or progress has been halted, UG curriculums have been rejigged, and our realities have been more isolated than usual. We聽know you've heard it many times from too many different broadcasters, but these are truely exceptional times we are living in!
"Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely."
For those of you just joining us聽(or those who were 'out to lunch'), we've launched our ENGWellness blog (check out our previous posts) and made some big changes to our ENGWellness website as well (highlights are detailed in our Week 5 Post). We've revamped our Study Tips section to include new modules specific to Online Learning (what fun!). Given how important positivity is in the midst of a global crisis, we may have snuck in a page for memes, parodies, and other uplifting content聽(we're human too, ya know).听More and more website content will be updated and blog posts will (hopefully) be coming biweekly. We're doing our best to capture all relevant resources/services to support our community this Spring, and address some important aspects of our wellness along the way! You would be amazed by how frequently URLs are changing and links are breaking these days...听If you have any topics, content, or ideas to share, please connect with Sam and Renate at: ENGWellness@uwaterloo.ca!

This week's issue is聽about goal setting, and given this remote Spring term it's incredibly important to start things off in the best possible way.听At the beginning of each year, a number of different people develop something known as a 鈥楴ew Years Resolution鈥, that is: a goal or an objective that they鈥檝e set for themselves to achieve within the new year. Frequent ones include, 鈥業 want to lose weight鈥, 鈥業 want to exercise more鈥, or 鈥業 want to make more money鈥, etc. Unfortunately, the bulk majority of these good intentions drift away and most aren鈥檛 able to commit to their endeavours (which, in the case of NYRs, are usually unrealistically lofty!). As University of 蓝莓视频 students, most of you had the goal to achieve admission at this fine institution, and some of you have set goals and plans for post-graduation. But how does one define a goal that can be achieved? What are the factors that impact whether an aspiration is actually realized or whether it withers away into ANOTHER bag of potato chips?
Over the course of our experience, and in working with a number of Engineering students, there are multiple reasons why an individual may not be able to accomplish what they sought to achieve. Sometimes their goals are too vague, perhaps unrealistic, lacking intention, and outside of the confines of our understanding of time (鈥淚鈥檒l make a million dollars鈥 SOMEDAY鈥).听Most often these ambiguous goals are lacking a system or type of structure (and we shouldn鈥檛 need to preach the benefits of a structured system to Engineering students!). Research has revealed that the most effective goals are those that are; specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Yes, that鈥檚 right. Effective goals are SMART goals! What a beautiful acronym. Let鈥檚 take a closer look at the SMART system and break down it鈥檚 components.

Having an established goal system or structure (like SMART) can be a powerful motivator as it provides a roadmap for what you want to achieve and all of the avenues needed to get there! When overwhelmed by the multitude of what we need to do in our daily lives, having specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goals helps to reduce the amount of mental resources we need to dedicate to strategic planning. Establishing a plan for yourself is the best first step toward building your motivation!
Check out the Student Success Office page for a few more tips on the SMART goal system. If you ever need a hand establishing effective goals for success, your ENGWellness Team is here for you! ENGWellness@uwaterloo.ca.听
Thanks again for stopping by and don't hesitate to connect with us if you have anything that you would like to see:聽ENGWellness@uwaterloo.ca.听聽