When we work with college students and they’re struggling, it’s vital that we help them pick up wins.
A win can be anything: making it to class, a good test score, getting an assignment in on time, going to the gym, etc. When students are struggling in school, many times this also means they’re struggling to initiate and aren’t feeling that motivated for school work.
In my experience, motivation can be built up in 2 ways. The first way is internally. They do therapy, they mature, they see things differently, or they start shifting their perspective. The other way, and what we as executive function coaches focus on, is that they are motivated by external factors. They get a good grade on an assignment, get amazing feedback from a TA, are getting an A in a class. There’s a lot of different ways that students can start to do well, feel good about themselves, and then have that momentum build.
So as coaches, when we try to help students gain that momentum, we are trying to help them stack up wins. Now a win doesn’t have to be a massive achievement, like an A on a midterm. In fact, we like to start with small attainable goals that students can do each day (or at least Monday through Friday).
When I pick a goal with a student, I want it to be both achievable, but also help kickstart their day and help carry them through the rest of the day productively and effectively.
Here are some common morning goals that I have had students set:
Make their bed:
This is a classic. The first thing they do in the morning is get up and make their bed. It helps set the tone for the entire day.
Meditate:
Many students will set an amount of time (say 5 minutes) and meditate each morning. This is a small, simple task that they can do in their pajamas. However, it will wake them up and help them get going.
Read a book:
10 minutes of reading (for fun) is a good way to get the day started. Preferably, this will be done on a kindle or with a real book.
There are countless other examples, but the intention is clear: Get an easy victory to start the day.