Hey guys, happy new year!
How was your 2022?
Are you ready for 2023?
Not really?
If you're still struggling to make your new year plan, because every time, it starts with
ambition and motivation and ends with giving up, this video is for you.
Sometimes the problem is not that you are not a consistent person but simply that you
don't know how to set a realistic goal because you have no experience
for example, in learning a new language.
Or you don't have a method to break it down concretely, like "I want to work out more
and be more fit.
" But how to start and make a plan.
Or you don't have a toolkit for dealing with obstacles, so you don't give up easily.
These are probably why your new year's goals only stay on the list every year.
In this video, I will be sharing with you some psychology-based goal-setting theories.
I will also share my experience in language learning, studying, working out, etc.
physical and/or cognitive goals to give you actionable tools and concrete examples.
For the new friends on this channel, I'm Zoe, a bi-national Ph.D. student in Sociology.
I'm also a language enthusiast who speaks 7 languages.
I hope this video can help you, if you like it, give me a like and share with
others.
Let's get into the video.
Studies on goal setting increased dramatically in the second half of the 20th century
with the emergence of Locke and Latham's theory, also known as the goal-setting theory of motivation.
By the beginning of the 21st century, this theory had generated more than 1,000 studies
and different models.
We won't get into the complicated academic debate today.
Instead, let's look at some valuable points.
By far, the best-known goal-setting technique is SMART.
This acronym encourages us to make S- specific M-measurable A-achievable or attainable
R- realistic and T- time-bound goals.
There are different interpretations depending on the context.
Here I'm just gonna use the parts that are most relevant when it comes to self-development.
According to Locke and Latham's theory: Goals that are clear, specific, and challenging
are more motivating than vague or easy goals.
For example, you want to learn a new language this year, so setting a goal of "Learn French
in 2023" is too vague.
Let's say "Obtain level B1 in French by the end of 2023" instead.
Attention: we often use the CEFR level to measure our level, which is often inaccurate
and unnecessary if you don't need it for academic or professional reasons.
So, visualizing your goal with more concrete scenarios is more beneficial because each
person learns a language for different reasons.
For someone who is focusing more on communication skills, the goals could be set as follows:
"By the end of 2023, I will complete B1 level vocabulary and grammar as it covers the basic
structure of a language, I will hold a daily conversation with a native speaker,I will
understand 50% when watching a vlog in French."
These specific goals give you a more precise direction when making a concrete plan.
It can also help you measure your own progress.
We now have the big picture, but it's still too abstract.
How do we get there?
It's important to break it down concretely.
We can break it down into manageable goals, like a two-week or weekly plan.
Based on this plan, set your daily tasks.
Here I want to mention the "A" element, "attainable" or "achievable".
For example, I am now studying German at an online language school called Lingoda.
They have small group lessons for different levels, and for each level, they have classes
addressing different skills.
One lesson lasts 1 hour, but you still have to prepare and review, especially for the
"Conversation" and "Communication" lessons, so let's say 1.5 hours.
If I follow one lesson daily, I can finish the C1 level after 6 months.
This 1.5 hours is a basic study schedule.
When I have more time, I add 30 minutes or 1 hour of listening, reading, or speaking
exercises.
Ideally, a daily study program of 1.5 to 2.5 hours can get me to the C1 level after 6 months.
So now you have a specific, clear, measurable goal and plan.
If you are a student or someone who can devote a lot of time to studying a language,
you can definitely try it.
You can also try the Lingoda Sprint challenge.
If you can do one lesson every day for 2 months, you can get a 100% cashback.
If you are like me who has to work or study, it is impossible to study 2 hours a day, maybe
you can do it every other day, so the goal of "reach C1 level by the end of the year"
would be more realistic.
If you take 1 lesson every other day for 60 days, you can get 50% cashback.
If you are learning French, English, German, or Spanish, you can also try the Lingoda Sprint
challenge.
If you want to try the platform for your New Year's language learning plan,
Remember to use the code in the description box to get more discounts.
You may be ambitious and want to be fluent in a language by the end of the year, but
your busy schedule doesn't allow you to study a language for at least 4 hours a week.
There are two ways to deal with this.
First, if you want to stick with this goal, you want to challenge yourself, you can make
it a tiny learning routine to maintain the level by combining it with intensive learning
sessions during the weekend or on vacations.
If you want to know more about this "tiny habit method," you can check out this video.
I did this for my Persian.
Last year, I did a total of 2 months of very immersive and intensive learning in Iran,
and then the rest of the time, I just kept up the level and progressed slowly.
But I am pretty happy about the result.
I did achieve last year's goal of communicating in Persian freely with people.
Another way to do thistry to make a two-week study plan based on your schedule and see
if your goals are "achievable."
A bottom-up logic.
You can adjust your long-term goal like I did with German.
Let's say you want to learn a language from scratch.
You can do it with a structured book.
For example, this Assimile book always says you can get a B2 level after finishing the
book.
In terms of vocabulary or grammar, you can.
But suppose you don't do extra listening or speaking exercises.
In that case, your speaking skill might be only A1 level because language learning, especially
speaking skills, is based on practice and repetition.
Like bodybuilding, you won't gain muscles if you learn some theories and don't exercise
or don't eat correctly.
Back to studying with a book, first, don't rush to set your ambitious goal.
Try to study one or two lessons to see how long it takes you to learn and digest.
Do you like this resource or this method?
Everyone's learning ability and style are different.
It also depends on your native language and the languages you know, so try to find your
own pace.
If you don't like the book, try an app, a website, an online or offline lesson, or a
youtube channel.
Until you find a suitable study resource, you can start setting your goals based on
your short-term plan.
You don't need to build a complicated plan from the beginning, as you learn more about
the language and the different resources, you can reset your plan for two weeks.
If you want to know more about how to start learning a language from scratch, you can
check out this video.
Another thing I want to point out, which is often ignored, is to preview the obstacles,
which is very useful for improving long-term motivation and keeping yourself from giving
up easily.
Let's think about the obstacles that are going to pop up.
How difficult is it gonna be?
What should you do in this situation?
You could already think of the solution or alternative in advance.
For example, for the "German C1 goal", the difficulty I can imagine is burnout.
Sometimes I have to prepare for a conference or I have deadlines for articles, meet the
schedule of my youtube channel, travel for work...
When I imagine this kind of scenario happening to me, I can already feel the stress and this
frustration of not being able to study the language regularly and not making any progress.
So my solution is the long-term goal is always there, but I have more flexible short-term
plans for different periods.
When I have a busy period, like for one to two weeks,I will just do the basic learning
routine to maintain the level, like listening to the podcast while walking, going through
some news or old anki cards on the train, which will not take too much energy.
Still, when I have more time, I will do an intensive learning routine for a whole week,
like 2,3 hours a day, to catch up.
The same goes for training when I don't have time or I have to travel but still want to
stick to that workout plan . I would just do some quick workouts at home
or at the hotel.
On the weekends or vacations, I may do 2-hour intense workouts in the gym.
The goal is to keep the routine, but you can adjust the intensity based on your situation
to make your plan more flexible and doable.
If you run into difficulties, instead of blaming yourself for not being consistent enough,
reset your goals, and determine what solution and resources you need to get there.
I'd like to mention here an episode of Dr. Andrew Huberman's podcast with Dr. Emily Balcetis
on "Tools for Setting & Achieving Goals," which is also the inspiration for this video.
If you guys want to learn more deeply about this topic you can check out the podcast or
the youtube video.
Dr. Emily Bacetis' research focuses on how our perception of the world, particularly
our visual perceptions, influences our level and persistence of motivation.
She emphasized the importance of visualizing obstacles while achieving goals.
I then realized that I have been practicing this for a long time, and it really helps.
There is an interesting take on "How do highly unmotivated people see the world?
" According to her research, the task seems
more difficult for unmotivated people than for others.
That's why learning to set intermediate goals and reduce visual attention is very important.
Focus on your daily and weekly tasks, and then you can track your progress after the
accumulation.
So next step how do you track your progress?
In other words, you need to know where you are on this journey.
That's why I always write down the date of every language lesson, every tandem exchange,
and every word list.
I can see how many words I've learned in the last 3 months.
This really motivates me.
I do a summary at the end of each month: what is my actual experience?
This gives me an overview to evaluate my progress, which is essential to set or reset goals.
I do the same thing with my workout.
Luckily, we have a watch, or many apps can do this.
To recap, here are some key questions about goal setting.
I hope this temple can help you to set new year goals effectively.
You can write in the comment the goal(s) you would like to achieve for this year.
Maybe you can come to check them out next year at this time.
If you have any questions, please write them in the comments, and I will do my best to
answer them.If you have any inspiring ideas and experiences, share them with us.
I wish you a wonderful new year and see you soon guys