We literally use so many acronyms in PLP it’s kinda bad! Well, here is another one to add to the collection “PGP”! PGP stands for Personal Growth Plan and it is a class that all PLP students in all grades HAVE to take. The purpose of this course is to bring out the organized, determined, and hard-working students we all are deep down, it is to show ourselves we can do anything we put our minds to. Now I didn’t just come to that conclusion now, I have gathered information over the past school year from different assignments and projects we have done based on goal setting, productivity, and the 7 habits. Today I will be talking about what the most Important thing I learned from each project was and then I will reveal the (duh duh duuuhhhh!!!) TIME MACHINE!! The driving question for this blog post is “What do I know now that I wish I had known before?” I will answer this question at the end of the post so keep reading!!

GOAL SETTING

For me, setting goals has always been something I don’t look forward to, something I don’t want to do but that all changed this year because of this new course. Between reading “What do you really want” and “The 7 Habits of a Highly Effective Teen” I have learned as much as I need to set SMART goals for my self in all parts of my life: Body, Soul, Heart, and Mind. These books made it easier for me to set goals and is now something I do constantly! I even have a project in each of my areas in an app I use called Things which you will find out more about later. Here is an example:

 

From “What do you really want?” I learned a technique called the goal ladder that I have started using more and more. Here is what one looks like.

I have discovered that these ladders are a great technique for me to successfully complete a goal that I want to without getting sidetracked or not-so-passionate about them.

 SEVEN HABITS OF A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE TEEN

This is an activity I did based on the Sharpen The Saw portion of the 7 habits to show a few goals I set for each aspect of my life.

I have basically inserted that chart in to my Time Machine because for me, Sharpening the saw is the over view of the whole book since it is what keeps the other 6 habits up to date:

. Be Proactive

. Begin With The End in Mind

. Put first things first

. Think Win-Win

. Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood

. Synergize

. SHARPEN THE SAW

When I first read this book, it really intimidated me. I didn’t believe I could be the person they were describing within it, but it isn’t as hard as I thought. Most of these habits are ones I had already started developing, most people have. These are just normal human traits! All I had to do was focus more and pay attention more to what I was doing with my actions and then everything happened from there. The funny thing is, once I started to get these habits under control, I also became more organized and fulfilling my goals. I am still working on them but I have definitely seen the benefits of then.

 Productivity

The tools we have been given for productivity are absolutely amazing. They have changed my life as a student and at home. Apps like Things and skills like timeblocking have become a huge part of my daily routine and I am so glad that we were given them. I organize my Things by each part of my life so Sports, People, School, etc. Within those areas, I have projects, so for school I have humanities, Scimatics, PGP, etc. And within those projects I have tasks which are my homework. It allows me to stay on deadlines and put first things first.

Timeblocking is something I talked to the teachers about at my mPOL so I have been working on it a ton. At the beginning of the year I would spend hours upon hours of just straight homework but now I have even blocked time to hang out with friends and I have an hour of free time everyday.

When these two productivity tools are used together they really help!

Time Machine

The Time Machine is something we would send back in time to the beginning of the year that would have helped us. For mine I created a physical Things Box! 

That is what it looks like. It may seem a little bit confusing but basically, I took what I know about Things  and turned it into something you can touch. We had to include what we learned about goal setting and the seven habits as well so I did. The area that I focused on is goal setting and the goals I set are based on what I learned in the 7 habits. I created a little unboxing video as well, it’s supposes to take place on the first day of school when I find the box and how much it has helped me.

“What do I know now that I wish I had known before?”

I remember when Things was first introduced to us and I refused to use it. I just continued using my paper agenda until the teachers finally made me try it and I haven’t gone back since. If I had this app on my iPad last year… Wooooeeeee!! Things would have been much easier. I love how it allows you to set deadlines and set times you want to start working on it. So I sent it back in time to my self to the beginning of the year with skills that teach me how to goal set and about the seven habits. I am so glad I had the opportunity to be part of the PGP class this year cause it has taught me so many amazing habits skills that I will use for the rest of my life.

~Jordyn