Setting boundaries for student success

Kirsten had big ideas and the potential to go far in life, but it was becoming clear her disorganization might hold her back from success. She was a fun, high-energy student, full of passion, drive—and a complete lack of direction. When we would meet, she could harness her ideas and come up with a plan, but when she set out to follow through, those plans fell by the wayside. Compounding her constant confusion was her tendency to be a ‘yes person’, highly distracted by her busy social life. This combination created sheer chaos when it came to her schoolwork. Her academic performance suffered and she was at risk of not graduating.

It was important to me not to suppress her natural outgoing nature while helping her gain academic structure and direction. As a ‘people person’, Kirsten’s happiness was heavily influenced by her interaction with others. We worked on setting boundaries around her social life and creating weekly priorities. It was a challenge to carve out structured time without social media and friends interfering with her goals. But with a commitment to the coaching process, Kirsten found her stride and her friends adapted to her new boundaries. With coaching holding her accountable to her structured time, she was able to focus on her course load and graduate on schedule—and went on to pursue a graduate degree!