Setting Goals: The Path to Improvement (book excerpt)

Don’t try to solve all your problems at once. Pick just one area that needs improvement, and work on it until you’ve reached your goal. To turn your achievement into a new habit, repeat the behaviour you are practicing until it becomes automatic.

Set a realistic goal. Decide in advance what you need to do to meet the goal, how you will measure success, and what your deadline will be. If you fail to reach the initial goal, revise it and try again.

Improvement is like hiking up a mountain: you do it one step at a time. If looking at the peak discourages you, forget about it and concentrate on the next step, and then the next. On the other hand, if looking at the peak inspires you, just keep imagining the fabulous view from the top!

Defining a Goal

A poorly defined goal will be pretty useless. Look at this one:

“My goal is to improve my marks in English.”

This is a nice idea, but it’s not a well-defined goal, because it leaves many important questions unanswered. For example, how much improvement is desired? How will the improvement be measured? Over what period of time is the goal to be achieved? What action is required to achieve the goal? How will progress toward the goal be recorded and judged?

A well-defined goal answers these questions right from the beginning. Here’s an example:

Goal: To read for 15 minutes every day.
Action required: Establish a fixed time and place to read. Eliminate all possible interruptions, and set a timer for 15 minutes.
How often?: Every day.
Start date: [to be filled in]
Monitoring: Keep a daily record in your homework diary, and also on your wall calendar if you wish.
Time limit: One week. End date: [to be filled in]
Measure of success: If you read every day for 15 full minutes, give yourself a treat.
Revision: If you fell short, repeat for another week. When you read for seven straight days, give yourself that treat. Then continue, with a treat at the end of each successful week, until the reading itself is a treat. At that point—not before—increase the time to 20 minutes.

Defining goals like this takes practice. To help you out, I’ve included sample goals with many of the Good Habits described in Part Two of this book. For each of them, the time limit is one week, and I recommend that you begin all your goals with a one-week time limit. Why? It keeps you focused. If you start to slip, the worst that can happen is that you lose a week.

Some goals are hard to define in a way that can be measured or counted. My students, for example, sometimes want to improve their handwriting skills. They set a goal: to write more neatly. But how can someone know whether the handwriting is neater, or how much neater it is? Instead, I tell them to set a goal to practice the skill they want to improve. Goal: to practice neat handwriting for ten minutes every night. With a goal like that, you can keep a record and tell whether the ten minutes has been spent on handwriting. And if you do practice writing neatly for ten minutes every night, you can be sure that your handwriting will improve.

Monitoring your progress: Keeping a daily written record of your goal-setting activity is crucial. For example, you decide to read for 15 minutes every evening, but you don’t keep a daily record. A week later, will you be able to tell exactly how many minutes you have read, on which days? Maybe you will, but maybe you won’t. In addition, keeping a daily record means that you remind yourself daily, and these reminders really help keep you on track. And finally, if you can’t keep a daily record of your achievement, you probably haven’t defined your goal in a way that can be measured. If that’s the case, re-read the paragraph just before this one.

Many of you will be tempted to skip the monitoring—don’t!

Reminders: Try using a digital calendar or organizer that can send you reminders—a beep, a message on-screen, or an email. This can be a great way to ensure that you don’t forget, and an easy way to keep a written record of your goal-setting.

Support: Find a friend who wants to improve his or her habits, and work together to keep each other motivated and on track.

To build a new habit, all you have to do is set a goal, monitor your progress daily, and keep at it—perhaps for weeks, perhaps for months—until the behaviour you are practicing becomes automatic.

In Appendix A, you will find some goal-setting aids:

•Set a Goal, a form for recording your goal, assessing your success, and deciding on the next step.
•Form a Habit, a different version of Set a Goal, designed to help you work on a single goal over several weeks or months and form a new habit.
•The Learning Log, a sheet to help you keep track of your behaviour during class time.
•The Homework Tracker, a sheet to help you monitor your good habits regarding homework.
•The Daily Check Sheet, to get daily feedback from teachers on how you are doing.
•The Post-Report Evaluation, to help you figure out what your report card really means.

If you’re not sure where to start, ask a parent or teacher for help in choosing and defining a goal that will work for you. If you’ve never set a goal before, go ahead and try one that’s simple, such as the reading example above. Or choose one of the other sample goals provided in Part Two (also listed in Appendix B). Or start with what I think are the two most fundamental Good Habits: “Read every day” and “Use a homework diary in every class, every day.”

Once you have some practice setting goals, monitoring them, and revising them, you’ll be able to set goals in every area of your life. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to improve your habits if you work at it systematically

2nd edition, revised and expanded, is coming!

I am now working on a second edition of Good Habits, Good Students, which will be updated and expanded, including an entirely new section (more on that, later).

If you are one of my readers and have ideas about what a second edition should include, please share them with me! I want the book to be as useful to students, parents, and teachers as it can be. Thank you!

Oh, and by the way: I now have an author’s page on Amazon. ;^)

Kick the sugar habit—or it will surely kick you

Update, January 2020: Sugar addiction is no longer a metaphor.

The sugar that is added to processed food and beverages acts as a slow poison that disrupts normal liver functions in the same way that alcohol does. It leads to high blood pressure, heart disease, Type-2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, pancreatitis, liver disease, fetal insulin resistance, and, of course, obesity.

That’s the bad news from Dr. Robert Lustig, professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, where he runs their obesity clinic for children. You can hear it straight from him in a 90-minute presentation that has been posted on YouTube.

The good news? All of this damage is 100% preventable. Here’s how:

  • First, eliminate all soft drinks, sports drinks, fruit drinks, and other sugar-flavored beverages from your diet.
  • Second, eliminate all commercially-processed food products, including “fast foods”, of course, because these are loaded with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) that slowly kills your liver, makes you fat, and eventually kills you.

To put it more simply: Forget all that complicated stuff about calories, low-fat diets, and good cholesterol. Just cut out the added sugar.

Your only source of sugar should be fruit, where it is mixed with a lot of fiber—essential to a healthy diet—and other important micro-nutrients.

In Dr. Lustig’s obesity clinic for kids, the patients

  • drink only water and milk—no sugared liquids
  • eat high-fiber carbohydrates (i.e., not fast-food carbs, which have little or no fiber)
  • wait 20 minutes before eating a second portion
  • and must “buy” video/computer time minute-for-minute with physical activity.

This program, if followed, is successful. I know: you are not surprised that eliminating junk food and exercising would lead to weight loss. Here’s what is surprising: in studies conducted at Lustig’s clinic, kids who gave up sugared liquids still lost weight, even if they ignored the other three rules. But kids who did the other three—ate high-fiber carbs, waited 20 minutes before taking a second portion, and exercised—failed to lose weight if they kept drinking sugared liquids.

Conclusion? Above all, it’s the sugar.

Here are some other highlights from Dr. Lustig’s presentation:

Obese babies

Worldwide, there is now an epidemic of obese 6-month-old babies. Why? Because they are being fed commercial formulas that are loaded with sugar—”milkshakes for babies.” Popular diet and exercise theories cannot explain obesity in 6-month-olds—only the sugar in baby formula can.

Fructose

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) was invented in Japan in 1966 and introduced to the American diet in 1975. Since then its use has exploded. Why? First, it costs half of what sucrose (table sugar) costs. Second, it is added to processed foods and soft drinks—and baby formula—to make them taste good.

Competing diets

The Adkins diet is all fat, no carbohydrates. The “Japanese” diet is all carbohydrates, no fat. If followed correctly, they both work. Why? Because they both eliminate fructose. On the other hand, if you follow either of them but keep your sugar consumption constant, neither of these diets work. In other words: it’s the sugar!

Why fiber is important

Over-production of insulin—one of the effects of fructose in the liver—leads to Type-2 diabetes. According to Lustig, fiber in the diet slows the speed at which food is absorbed in the intestines, and inhibits the absorption of some free fatty acids, both of which reduces the insulin response. Pre-industrial people consumed 100-300 grams of fiber each day. Today the average American consumes just 12 grams of fiber per day. Fiber is removed from processed foods and fast foods because it takes too long to cook, takes too long to eat, and won’t store well.

Why exercise is important

The common notion is that we exercise to “burn calories”, but Lustig ridicules the idea that we can overeat sugary foods and then burn those calories off with exercise. Just one cookie, he says, would require 20 minutes of running. So we simply cannot exercise enough to compensate for a sugar-soaked diet.

Instead, here are the benefits of exercise. First, it improves skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity—i.e., like fiber, it helps prevent Type-2 diabetes. Second, it reduces stress, which in turn reduces our appetite because stress makes us feel hungry. Third, it increases our metabolic rate, which again improves insulin function in the liver.

Why everyone is fatter than they used to be

Americans of all ages are eating more than they did 30 years ago. Why? Because sugar in the liver screws up the normal processes that make us feel full when we have eaten. We eat, but we are still hungry. The biochemical system in our bodies that tells us when we have had enough to eat has been disrupted: it doesn’t work anymore. And this is a direct result of sugar consumption. And it’s not only in America. All over the world, wherever soft drinks and fast food are replacing traditional diets, we see the same effects: obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc.

Why Coke makes us fat

What is in Coke? Caffeine and salt. Caffeine is a stimulant and diuretic, i.e., it makes us urinate. There are 55mg of salt in a can of Coke—the equivalent of drinking a pizza. So if you take in salt and lose free water, you become thirsty, and want to drink more. Why is there so much sugar in Coke? To hide the taste of the salt. (This is like sweet-and-sour pork in a Chinese restaurant: the sugar disguises the saltiness of the soy sauce.) “New Coke” has more salt and more caffeine, and therefore makes people even thirstier than old Coke. So they drink more and more, and their sugar consumption skyrockets. No wonder kids who drink soda pop get fat. In just five years, 1989-94, soft drink intake by American children increased 41% and fruit drink intake increased 35%.

Sports drinks

Gatorade was invented in the 1970s. It works very well for elite athletes who exert themselves to the point that their glycogen is depleted. The original formula, however, tasted terrible, so when the Pepsi-Cola company purchased Gatorade in 1992, they added loads of HFCS to it to make it taste good. Then they began marketing it to kids whose glycogen levels were just fine. Result? A generation of fat kids sucking down sports drinks.

I urge you to watch Dr. Lustig’s presentation. I used to take the view that a little sugar—or even a good whack, once in a while—was harmless, but Lustig has convinced me otherwise. If you don’t have time to watch the video, however, that’s okay: just stop consuming added sugar. Now.

UPDATE: June 1, 2011

Dr. Lustig’s thesis seems to be borne out by this news report from Shanghai, China:

Shanghai schoolchildren getting very fat very fast: survey

UPDATE: February 2014

Another link: 25 reasons to stop eating sugar.

UPDATE: April 2014

More evidence against sugar (including the high amounts found in canned and dried fruit, and fruit juice) in this article from the Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/mar/31/refined-sugar-real-villain .

UPDATE: June 2014

Vox interview with Robert Lustig: http://www.vox.com/2014/6/6/5786974/the-war-on-sugar

“Our Year of No Sugar: One Family’s Grand Adventure”: http://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/my-health-story/year-of-no-sugar-one-family-grand-adventure/

UPDATE: February 2015

Sugar is 8 times more addictive than cocaine; it can take six weeks to kick the habit and overcome the craving for sugar. And why is pizza so addictive? —it’s all the added sugar in the tomato sauce.

http://abc13.com/health/study-sugar-is-as-addictive-as-cocaine/533979/

Plus: activist group in the UK calls for ban on sales of energy drinks for kids under 16.

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-31623771

UPDATE: March 2015

This excellent summary of the case against sugar is written by The Iowa Clinic, “the largest physician-owned multi-specialty group in central Iowa.” 

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sponsor-story/iowa-clinic/2015/02/24/added-sugar-diet-nutrition-iowa-clinic/23934317/

UPDATE: April 2015

How to Break Your Sugar Addiction in Ten Days (from Dr. Mark Hyman and the Cleveland Clinic).

100 push-ups

HundredPushups.com is a great exercise site. They have sister sites for sit-ups, squats, and pull-ups. Each site provides a simple program that takes about 30 minutes a week, and promises that over six weeks you can dramatically improve your fitness.

The secret? A graduated sequence of repetitions in five sets. Each sequence is repeated three times (say, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday).

HundredPushups.com can give your workouts a highly effective structure. The goal-setting is done for you. All you need to supply is a bit of will-power. Go check it out!

(Thanks for the tip, Sean!)

Book excerpt: Take responsibility for your mistakes

Apologize, fix it, and move on.

What should you say if you’re caught doing something wrong? Apologize, first. Then, if you can do anything to repair the damage, do it.

All of us make mistakes. The question is, how do we respond to them? If we try to weasel out of trouble, point the finger at others, and deny responsibility, all we do is make ourselves look bad and lose the respect of those around us. All we do is show the adults involved that we are still acting like little kids. So if you get caught, don’t say, “It wasn’t me.” Or, “Those other guys were doing it first.” Or, “I didn’t know.”

If you make a mistake, have the courage to say, “I messed up, and I’m sorry. How can I fix it, or make up for it?” Then follow through. People are ready to forgive you—but only if you’re ready to take responsibility. Apologize, fix it, and move on. That kind of response will earn admiration and respect.

I once saw two students sweeping the entranceway to their school after having been caught for a minor misdeed. One of them saw this task as a punishment, while the other saw it as doing service to the school. The first one was angry at being caught and still refused to accept responsibility for what he had done. The second had admitted his mistake, apologized, and asked what he could do to balance the scales. It wasn’t a big deal, but this incident spoke volumes about each of these two individuals. They were the same age, but one was still a boy, while the other was clearly a young man on the way to becoming a responsible adult.

A few words about cheating
Have you ever copied homework from a friend? Used a “cheat-sheet” during a test? Plagiarized an essay or report? Far too many students would answer “yes.”

Why do students cheat?

First, because they are desperate. Bad habits have put them into a corner: their homework’s not done, they aren’t ready for the test, or they’ve put off writing the paper that’s almost due.

Second, they’re still thinking like little kids instead of responsible young adults. They think that if they “get away” with cheating, they will be better off. They don’t realize that they are only cheating themselves. If they earn good grades for work they didn’t do, they aren’t learning what the work was supposed to teach them. And no matter who else believes them, they will look into the mirror and see a cheater.

What’s the right thing to do if you find yourself in a corner and make the wrong choice? You already know: take responsibility. Apologize, fix it, and move on. Then when you look in the mirror, you won’t see a cheater. You’ll see someone who messed up but was courageous and smart enough to be honest about it.

Two glowing reviews on Amazon.com

Bob Duffin teaches in Mesa, Arizona. In April of this year he posted the following review of Good Habits, Good Students under the heading, “Advice that can really work”:

I teach mathematics in middle school and am always looking for high quality reference material to help my students develop better academic and personal habits. “Good Habits, Good Students” is full of good, practical advice that students understand and relate to. This year I recommended it to all of my classes. The students who read the book made favorable comments and said it would be very helpful in school and in life. There is no better reference than that.

In May another Amazon reviewer who goes by the name “BookMaven” titled his or her review, “Every 9th grade student and parent should read this book!”:

This is a great book for both students and parents. Students should use this book to check themselves at the start of high school. Too often, students find themselves in the 11th grade attempting to undo the mistakes of the first two years of high school. Read this book going into high school and you will be in a good position for starting off on the right track. Read it earlier and you will be all the better off.

Bob and BookMaven, I’m so glad that you and your students have found the book to be useful, and grateful to you for spreading the word. If you see this, please drop me an email message. Thanks!

You can read both of these reviews here.

Online note-taking apps

This article from listified.com reviews eight online note-taking applications that you might find useful.

Of course, an application you like will help. But you still need to know how to take notes—how to organize them, what to write down, what to leave out, how much detail to include—and that takes practice, whether with a pencil or with a computer.

Inspiration, ambition, motivation

If you are inspired, ambitious, and motivated, acquiring good habits is easy: follow the advice on this web site, and in my book.

But if you lack inspiration, ambition, and motivation, you are unlikely to make the effort needed to acquire good habits.

What to do?

Talk to people who seem to be inspired, ambitious, and motivated. Find out what drives them. Read about people who have been inspired, ambitious, and motivated and have achieved great things as a result. Seek out people, especially, who are inspired about subjects that leave you bored: maybe they can show you something that will spark your interest. If math is not your thing, for example, find a really good math student, or teacher, and ask: what is it about math that interests and excites you?