Learn How S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting Will Change Your Life

Successful goal setting is all about being smart. Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals anyway. I am sure you have heard this term before. Smart goals are ones that are Simple, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely. This means ones that you can actually accomplish in a reasonable amount of time and that make sense to complete at this time.

Realistically, goals are already a part of every aspect of your life. For example: Do you want fresh breath regularly? Then you would be brushing your teeth morning and/or evening every day as action steps you are taking to reach your goal of fresh breath.

Unfortunately, most people don’t realize that they are haphazardly setting vague resolutions, not specific goals and are not following through with most of them. Thinking about something is not the same as taking action about that same thing. When you don’t set ‘official’ goals or objectives, life becomes a series of chaotic happenings you don't control. 

The best way to be successful with your goal setting is to be s.m.a.r.t. about your process and use a goal setting planner to organize and keep you on track with your biz, family and personal goals. 

Let’s get comfortable with what defines a S.M.A.R.T. goal

Specific

Basically you are writing a mission statement for this specific goal that is considering what you want to accomplish and framing it with the standard ‘w’ questions Who, What, When, Where, and Why. Get really clear here with a laser focus on each of these questions. It doesn’t have to be a detailed list but you should consider each of them. This will help guide you to the successful completion of your goal.

Measurable

It’s critical to establish a metric to use to determine when you achieve your goal. There needs to be some way to establish progress which will make a goal more tangible. If it is a longer term goal, set milestones along the way to measure results incrementally. No matter how long it will take to achieve, you are going to want to track your progress and you will need a metric or tracking system that is updated regularly.  

Consider whether this is a business goal, personal goal or family goal. Are you looking to increase sales, reduce expenses, be more efficient with content creation, better planning system for meals and shopping, more exercise, less stress, etc. How are you going to know when you have met your goal? Whatever it is must be measurable in some way. Assign specific numbers or results so that you can track them specifically. Assessing progress helps you to stay focused and meet your deadlines, 

Attainable

It’s great to want things but it’s also important to want things that are realistic and achievable. It’s good to determine how much this goal depends on other people and outside influences. Be realistic about this up front. 

Goals are meant to inspire motivation and not frustration. Carefully consider what you need, if you have it and if you need to, can you get it? This can relate to money, tools, training etc. 

Relevant 

Make sure this goal matters to you and aligns with your big picture, biz, family and personal situation. Relevant goals are worthwhile, at the right time, matches your other goals, efforts and projects, is within your skill set and abilities and that you can afford.  

Relevant goals move you forward and don’t distract or take away from other priorities. They are aligned with your mission and enhance your life. 

Time Bound

Timing is everything in life and goal setting is no different. Some goals may be good to postpone and others are a clear Yes! to start on now. Any goal you decide to pursue should have a target date. This gives you something to focus on and work towards.  

If it is a longer project/goal, you will want to set milestone dates that help you progress towards longer term completion dates. Either way, know when you are starting, when you want to complete and roughly how long it will take to complete. Then see if this is realistic and if not then adjust your dates prior to starting.  

Making Your Goals S.M.A.R.T.E.R.

The last part of setting smart goals is to then make them smarter. Smart goals get smarter over time. They are not static because life changes. We start projects and then things life happens. If your goals are part of a planning system then they can be adjusted as situations change.

Evaluate - does this goal still make sense?

So you got started on your goal and then something came up. Maybe it was a longer term goal and you ran out of money or a contractor changed their timing. It is good to then evaluate the initial goal and see if it still makes sense to continue or if you just need to adjust actions steps or results.

By tracking and evaluating as needed, we stay in touch with the positive outcomes. It isn’t enough to just set goals, we need to also nurture them to completion. 

Re-Do - reset your goal as needed

Sometimes we need to scrap the original goal altogether and either start a new one or let it go. It’s a much better idea to cut your losses than it is to keep working towards something that won’t be successful. 

Many times it is enough to re-do the original outcome or action steps. Update the goal with new information and renewed motivation and focus.

Conclusion

Whether you write S.M.A.R.T. or SMARTER goals, you’ll find that having some clarity about what you want to achieve can make all the difference between success and failure. Using a planner for this goal setting helps you to write down ideas that are potential goals to accomplish and projects to plan. Writing these ideas down allows you to evaluate and structure them using a goal planning sheet like the downloadable one at the bottom of this article.

For every 25 ideas you get, narrow them down to 5. Then look at these 5 and evaluate them to see if they are worth pursuing with goals. If any or all of them are then you can add them into your master planner to make sure they get done well and you accomplish what you are setting out to do. 

Also keep in mind that when it comes to setting S.M.A.R.T. goals, be prepared to ask and answer a lot of questions. The answers to them will help you fine tune your strategy and determine the usefulness of the goal. While you should be as realistic as possible, it’s also important to approach writing S.M.A.R.T. goals with a positive attitude. After all, this is something that you want to achieve.

*will open in Google Doc's. Make a copy and save to your Google Drive or Download to your desktop.