Goals and dreams are part of everyone’s life. However, it takes a lot of work to make them happen. It may take months of dedication and hard work to accomplish them. Having them in life enables students to achieve their dreams. Therefore, setting smart goals is the key to achieving that.
It is essential to set realistic and attainable goals. But how can students set smart goals that enhance their education, career, and life? To do this, they need to know some basic techniques. This article will teach them how to develop incredible plans and reach their academic goals effectively.
Organizing Their Thoughts
Students must organize their thoughts to set smart goals. In most cases, it will resolve their career issues and dilemmas. It would help if they sit down and evaluate themselves. They must identify their passion and their strengths. Afterward, they can explore their options.
The internet is an excellent resource for information. By utilizing it, they can narrow their career options to one or two and maybe with a few backup options. They can also ask their teachers and parents for advice. They will know what to do, even if it does not lead them on the most appropriate path.
Establishing Specific Goals
Once you have organized your thoughts, you can set goals specific to each study subject. If you study Maths, your particular goals may include scoring well in the upcoming math exam, improving your numerical knowledge, etc.
Students can achieve good grades by focusing on these specific goals. Furthermore, you are free to engage in other endeavors of your choice. For instance, college-bound students can prepare for SAT by accessing quality SAT prep materials that’ll help them crush their exams.
Tactical and Strategic Planning
It is always better to do brilliant work than hard work. It would be helpful if you made a list of tasks you need to complete. But first, preparing a schedule would be ideal. It will be beneficial to list the topics and concepts you will need to cover on the test. You can divide subjects according to their difficulty level or similarity.
Meanwhile, note down how long it takes to complete each topic. As a result, you will gain a better understanding and more confidence to study more and more. As a result, you save time. You can hang it on the wall as motivation. You will gain positive momentum as a result.
Stop and Reevaluate
Getting to your goals doesn’t always mean working endlessly. Besides causing exhaustion, it won’t have the desired effect. There are times when you need a break. It is essential to take breaks between studies. There are many benefits to taking breaks. During this break period, you can do whatever they want.
Moreover, you can review all the work you’ve done this entire time. It would be better to stop working and start assessing your actions. During that time, you can change any ineffective methods. Besides, you can seek to improve productivity.
Identifying Barriers to Success
Once you’ve developed an improvement strategy, you must identify your barriers to success. Students would undoubtedly become more aware of what stands between them and victory. The solution to this puzzle is essential for every student.
For instance, students may dream of raising their grades from C to A. However, they may keep getting Cs. As a result, they must reassess themselves and identify what keeps them from succeeding. Are they putting the maximum effort into their homework? They must find a way to change something and improve themselves whenever something seems wrong.
Strive For Progress
Instead of focusing too much on perfection, aim for progress. It takes time to improve, and no one can achieve perfection overnight. There’s no way to cross everything off your checklist every time. A few flaws or delays may occur. If you fail to achieve your goals, you should not be nervous or depressed.
The improvement process is gradual, and it occurs to everyone at some point. Keeping perspective is therefore possible through focusing on improvement. As long as the students keep striving for their goals, they can celebrate small successes and achievements.
Conclusion
Students should follow these smart goal-setting techniques to be successful and make their lives productive. High ambitions and the desire to achieve big things call for all these. You will find meaning in your life when you have a plan for your future, which will help you lead a successful life.
Online Threat Alerts Security Tips
Pay the safest way
Credit cards are the safest way to pay for online purchases because you can dispute the charges if you never get the goods or services or if the offer was misrepresented. Federal law limits your liability to $50 if someone makes unauthorized charges to your account, and most credit card issuers will remove them completely if you report the problem promptly.
Guard your personal information
In any transaction you conduct, make sure to check with your state or local consumer protection agency and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see if the seller, charity, company, or organization is credible. Be especially wary if the entity is unfamiliar to you. Always call the number found on a website’s contact information to make sure the number legitimately belongs to the entity you are dealing with.
Be careful of the information you share
Never give out your codes, passwords or personal information, unless you are sure of who you're dealing with
Know who you’re dealing with
Crooks pretending to be from companies you do business with may call or send an email, claiming they need to verify your personal information. Don’t provide your credit card or bank account number unless you are actually paying for something and know who you are sending payment to. Your social security number should not be necessary unless you are applying for credit. Be especially suspicious if someone claiming to be from a company with whom you have an account asks for information that the business already has.
Check your accounts
Regularly check your account transactions and report any suspicious or unauthorised transactions.
Don’t believe promises of easy money
If someone claims that you can earn money with little or no work, get a loan or credit card even if you have bad credit, or make money on an investment with little or no risk, it’s probably a scam. Oftentimes, offers that seem too good to be true, actually are too good to be true.
Do not open email from people you don’t know
If you are unsure whether an email you received is legitimate, try contacting the sender directly via other means. Do not click on any links in an email unless you are sure it is safe.
Think before you click
If an email or text message looks suspicious, don’t open any attachments or click on the links.
Verify urgent requests or unsolicited emails, messages or phone calls before you respond
If you receive a message or a phone call asking for immediate action and don't know the sender, it could be a phishing message.
Be careful with links and new website addresses
Malicious website addresses may appear almost identical to legitimate sites. Scammers often use a slight variation in spelling or logo to lure you. Malicious links can also come from friends whose email has unknowingly been compromised, so be careful.
Secure your personal information
Before providing any personal information, such as your date of birth, Social Security number, account numbers, and passwords, be sure the website is secure.
Stay informed on the latest cyber threats
Keep yourself up to date on current scams by visiting this website daily.
Use Strong Passwords
Strong passwords are critical to online security.
Keep your software up to date and maintain preventative software programs
Keep all of your software applications up to date on your computers and mobile devices. Install software that provides antivirus, firewall, and email filter services.
Update the operating systems on your electronic devices
Make sure your operating systems (OSs) and applications are up to date on all of your electronic devices. Older and unpatched versions of OSs and software are the target of many hacks. Read the CISA security tip on Understanding Patches and Software Updates for more information.
What if You Got Scammed?
Stop Contact With The Scammer
Hang up the phone. Do not reply to emails, messages, or letters that the scammer sends. Do not make any more payments to the scammer. Beware of additional scammers who may contact you claiming they can help you get your lost money back.
Secure Your Finances
- Report potentially compromised bank account, credit or debit card information to your financial institution(s) immediately. They may be able to cancel or reverse fraudulent transactions.
- Notify the three major credit bureaus. They can add a fraud alert to warn potential credit grantors that you may be a victim of identity theft. You may also want to consider placing a free security freeze on your credit report. Doing so prevents lenders and others from accessing your credit report entirely, which will prevent them from extending credit:
- Equifax
- Experian
- TransUnion
Check Your Computer
If your computer was accessed or otherwise affected by a scam, check to make sure that your anti-virus is up-to-date and running and that your system is free of malware and keylogging software. You may also need to seek the help of a computer repair company. Consider utilizing the Better Business Bureau’s website to find a reputable company.
Change Your Account Passwords
Update your bank, credit card, social media, and email account passwords to try to limit further unauthorized access. Make sure to choose strong passwords when changing account passwords.
Report The Scam
Reporting helps protect others. While agencies can’t always track down perpetrators of crimes against scammers, they can utilize the information gathered to record patterns of abuse which may lead to action being taken against a company or industry.
Report your issue to the following agencies based on the nature of the scam:
- Local Law Enforcement: Consumers are encouraged to report scams to their local police department or sheriff’s office, especially if you lost money or property or had your identity compromised.
- Federal Trade Commission: Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or use the Online Complaint Assistant to report various types of fraud, including counterfeit checks, lottery or sweepstakes scams, and more.
- Identitytheft.gov: If someone is using your personal information, like your Social Security, credit card, or bank account number, to open new accounts, make purchases, or get a tax refund, report it at www.identitytheft.gov. This federal government site will also help you create your Identity Theft Report and a personal recovery plan based on your situation. Questions can be directed to 877-ID THEFT.
How To Recognize a Phishing Scam
Scammers use email or text messages to try to steal your passwords, account numbers, or Social Security numbers. If they get that information, they could get access to your email, bank, or other accounts. Or they could sell your information to other scammers. Scammers launch thousands of phishing attacks like these every day — and they’re often successful.
Scammers often update their tactics to keep up with the latest news or trends, but here are some common tactics used in phishing emails or text messages:
Phishing emails and text messages often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. You might get an unexpected email or text message that looks like it’s from a company you know or trust, like a bank or a credit card or utility company. Or maybe it’s from an online payment website or app. The message could be from a scammer, who might
- say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attempts — they haven’t
- claim there’s a problem with your account or your payment information — there isn’t
- say you need to confirm some personal or financial information — you don’t
- include an invoice you don’t recognize — it’s fake
- want you to click on a link to make a payment — but the link has malware
- say you’re eligible to register for a government refund — it’s a scam
- offer a coupon for free stuff — it’s not real
About Online Threat Alerts (OTA)
Online Threat Alerts or OTA is an anti-cybercrime community that started in 2012. OTA alerts the public to cyber crimes and other web threats.
By alerting the public, we have prevented a lot of online users from getting scammed or becoming victims of cybercrimes.
With the ever-increasing number of people going online, it important to have a community like OTA that continuously alerts or protects those same people from cyber-criminals, scammers and hackers, who are every day finding new ways of carrying out their malicious activities.
Online users can help by reporting suspicious or malicious messages or websites to OTA. And, if they want to determine if a message or website is a threat or scam, they can use OTA's search engine to search for the website or parts of the message for information.
Help maintain Online Threat Alerts (OTA).