There are so many tips and tricks and student hacks out there that can seem so overwhelming and counter-intuitive. Some days, writing a master to-do list and cleaning your environment or having a cozy drink next to you just won’t do it.
I’ve certainly been there for more than I care to recall. I’ve certainly been on the edge of a panic attack when I realized I needed to annotate 12 books for AP Literature, take 4 three-hour exams in the same week, and proceed on with my daily life as a human being. I used to be on the verge of tears every time I looked at my to-do list each morning.
You’re here for the quick answer, and that’s okay. I’m not here to waste your time, either. There is a way to fix this; a way for every student to thrive academically and not lose their humanity. Welcome to my Purpose-Goal-Task Map!
What is a Purpose-Goal-Task Map?
I am proud to present to you this long-awaited, very personal method for how to thrive as a student (or as anything, really). A Purpose-Goal-Task Map is essentially a brain dump that you do on a piece of paper, but in an organized, intentional manner.
The resulting effects are: a clear mind, a renewed passion, and a fiery motivation to study or simply to slay life. Are you ready to find out how to do it? Great, grab a cup of coffee (or whatever your jam is), a paper and pen, and read on.
How Do I Make a Purpose-Goal-Task Map?
It’s the easiest thing you’ll ever do, but the hardest to get out of your mind. You see, this, unlike most of your school work, requires a lot of soul-searching and self-knowledge. So, pull up your sleeves and get ready to dig deep.
1. What is Your Purpose?
Find the answer to that question and you are already 90% ahead of most students and most human beings. Ask yourself, what am I here (on earth) for? What does my life mean and why do I even want to be a good student? It sounds pretty floaty and deep, but I promise we’ll get practical in a minute. First, though, you really need to know your overarching aim in life, otherwise everything will be pointless and you’ll have a mental breakdown with every new load. For example, my purpose in life is to represent Jesus Christ on earth and offer my gifts in service of humanity as an action of love to Him. Whatever yours may be, spiritual or not, write it down and own it.
2. What Goals Do You Have That Will Feed Your Purpose?
Now, after you have looked at the big picture, you can make your focus a little more specific. What are your big goals in life that will fulfill your purpose and make you one happy human? What are the really big things that you want to do that will mean the most to you when you are on your deathbed? Do you want to have a healthier relationship with a family member? Do you want to get a degree to be a doctor and save lives? Do you want to travel to foreign countries and document the experience to strengthen international ties? Do you want to have a fitter body so that you can take your future (or current) kids on a bike ride when you’re 45 after a long day of work? What is it that you want to focus on that can contribute the most to your overarching purpose?
To give you some ideas, mine are: grow closer to Jesus, become an attending neurosurgeon (notice that there are many steps involved in this single goal), maintain a healthy and fit body and mind, grow closer to parents and siblings (perhaps start a family in the future), and spread my faith and mental philosophies through my creative pursuits.
3. What Daily Actions Can I Take That Will Bring Me Closer to Those Goals?
So far, the whole process has been abstract, almost useless or impractical. But, rest assured- this is where we bring ourselves back to earth. You can have the most noble, sincere dreams, but if you don’t back them up by daily actions, they boil down to a bunch of firing synapses inside of our little brains. The big question now becomes: what can I do daily to get to where I want?
Sticking to these actions long enough to see tangible results is a different topic for a different post, but for now, it is sufficient to identify and write down those actions. Then, take at least one initial step toward them. Here’s the catch: you may have many different big goals for your life (like I’ve shown above), but that does not mean you should start taking one action for every one of those goals on the same day. I repeat: DO NOT OVERCOMMIT YOURSELF. Any lasting, sustainable change has to be gradual. For you to want to change every aspect of your life overnight is detrimental, if not counterintuitive to what you’re trying to do right now. It will lead to burnout, fatigue, and then depression (trust me, I’ve been there).
But, hold up, you may say, how small do these steps have to be? Well, small enough for you to be adding them everyday to your already jam-packed schedule without being exhausted by that additional step. For instance, one of my main goals is to grow my relationship with Christ and my family. I don’t need to take 2 hours out of every day to intricately highlight and star full-on passages in my Bible or check up on each one of my four siblings. I can achieve the same results (yes, the same results) in modified, customized versions of those actions to fit my lifestyle with ease.
When I’m getting ready in the morning I always have on worship music or a Christian podcast to get me focused on God and the Word at the beginning of each day. When I’m walking or driving to school or to appointments, I’m always sending check-up messages and calling my immediate relatives and friends. When I’m doing chores or housework, I always make a point to talk to whoever is around me in the house. Slow, casual, incremental progress. What we fail to truly comprehend is the extent to which these small daily actions can make a difference in our lives over a long period. And, quite honestly the part about the time being “long” is irrelevant because the time will pass anyway, but it might as well pass when you are living it intentionally and using every bit of it to your advantage.
Congratulations! If you completed this (long) activity, then you have a good chunk of your life figured out. I urge you to re-read your Purpose-Goal-Task map at least once a week (if not once daily) to get your mindset in the game and focus on what’s truly important to you.