Goals
Everyone has goals. Many people do not reach their goals for lack of planning.
These three sets of goals should be developed: lifetime, intermediate and short term.
Lifetime goals should be written out.
These goals should be clear and reasonable. For instance,
the goal to win a research prize is clear and measurable.
Other lifetime goals might include publishing a certain number of influential books or articles,
earning a departmental chairmanship at a major university,
successfully competing for a grant from the National Science
Foundation or securing a consultantship with a big corporation.
Intermediate goals relate to outcomes during the next few years.
For the beginning doctoral student, intermediate goals may include completion
of course work and preparation of a doctoral research proposal. Like lifetime goals,
these are measurable and clearly stated.
Short-term goals involve outcomes expected during the next 12 months.
These goals are more performance oriented,
and they help with achievement of intermediate goals.
Examples of short-term goals are earning an A in a course,
learning how to program a computer or performing an experiment.