Here is my recommended song for this post.

The end of school is almost here. Now on top of PLP we have our other course, PGP, as a cumulative project to highlight what we have learned this year. We were given the task of creating something we would send back in time to our past selves at the start of the school year and tell them what we have learned and how it is useful. I decided to make a podcast.

For me Goal Setting has been a huge part of my life, like I expressed in the podcast. Ever since I was young I’ve had goals, either to help me with school or look forward to things in the future. I found, this year, learning/improving our goal setting skills has helped me continue to be motivated. Goals keep me on the right track towards what I want to achieve. That’s why I focused heavily on that topic for the podcast as all of the other things we learned this year can be transferred into goal setting and helping you achieve your goals. That’s really what I wish I had known at the start of the year, I wish I knew the differently things we have done in PGP at the start of the year so I could have worked on those skills sooner and apply them to more things.

Now with Productivity (Things and Time Blocking) I didn’t enjoy as much this year. I found that since it was so technology based that it was a lot harder to do it. I never check my calendar on my phone or use my phone as an agenda book so I found it to be a big struggle to adapt to what we had to do. That’s why I took what we were learning and shifted it to a more physical and visible system. I used my whiteboard, hanging in my room, as my time blocking and Things board. I write down what needs to get done under different subjects and I use different coloured markers to define when I’m doing things based around my schedule. I find it to be much more useful and it works better for me.

Now, the Third and final thing we did was read a book about the 7 habits of highly effective teens. These were 7 things we as people can do that improve ourselves and the people around us. For each section of the book, detailing the 7 habits and how they can help use, we did a worksheet and created an artifact to show our learning. Before doing those activities I had kinda used some of the habits but not all. With doing those activities it allowed me to work on my usage of them and begin to make them have a greater presence in my life. One that really spoke to me is Habit 5, Think Win-Win.

I use it in my school and extracurricular life. I had already had a bit of a sense on how I use it but going through the workbooks solidified why I use it and helped me continue to use it. In school I work to help others understand topics in various classes and in doing so help me better understand them as well. This is a Win-Win situation, my friends gain a better grasp on our units and I develop my understanding as well.

All of these things we have covered this year in PGP has helped me get through the year, successfully, and has also help to set me up for my future in and outside of school. To me goals are the biggest take away, I now know how to make better goals, ones I can achieve and work towards. Going into my final year of high school and beyond I trust that goals will get me through and I can’t achieve them without all of the other things I have learned in PGP.