S.M.A.R.T. Goals: What They Are and How to Implement Them
Pamela Hilliard Owens, M.Ed.
90% Retired! Solopreneur. Branding and Marketing Specialist for independent authors and creative professionals. Biz Books Author. Substack Author.
Issue #102 Productivity March 28, 2023
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the daunting task of reaching your goals? Do you sometimes find yourself struggling to make progress because you don't have a clear plan of action? If so, you’re not alone! Many creative solopreneurs find themselves in this same situation. Fortunately, if we approach our goals using the S.M.A.R.T method, we can create manageable objectives that will help us focus our efforts and see real results!
In this article, I'll break down exactly what S.M.A.R.T Goals are and how creative solopreneurs can use them to achieve success in their endeavors - from starting a business to tackling big challenges - with ease and confidence!
What are S.M.A.R.T. Goals and why are they important for creative solopreneurs
As a creative solopreneur, having effective goals is key to achieving success. S.M.A.R.T goals are an important tool for making sure you reach them. S.M.A.R.T stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely—the five criteria for making powerful objectives and identifying what steps are necessary to get there.
An example of a specific goal would be “publish a new blog post every Wednesday.”
A measurable goal can look like “generate 800 views per blog post.”
Attainable goals allow you to set reasonable objectives such as “grow my email list by 5 subscribers per month.”
Relevant goals involve focusing on important tasks that match your vision such as updating the website design for your blog.
Timely goals ensure that there is a deadline set to finish certain tasks: “apply to appear on 3 podcasts within this week.”
For creative solopreneurs, SMART goals help you stay on track and make sure that your work is consistently moving toward long-term success!
How to Set Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound (S.M.A.R.T.) Goals
When it comes to maintaining productivity as a creative solopreneur, setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (S.M.A.R.T.) goals can provide a helpful roadmap to success.
For example, if you are a writer who wants to increase your productivity, you could create a goal of writing 500 words every day - this is both specific and measurable.
To make the goal achievable, break the task into smaller increments: aim to write 100 words within half an hour.
Make sure that the goal is relevant - in this case to your career ambitions - and set yourself a realistic time period for completing it, such as thirty days.
By striving towards small yet meaningful successes with the help of S.M.A.R.T goals, writers and creative solopreneurs like you can become more productive along the way.
Examples of Specific Goals to Guide You
As a creative solopreneur, you already understand the importance of goal setting. But sometimes goals can be too vague for a creative to get motivated. That's why S.M.A.R.T. goals are so useful: they help to provide structure and clarity as you strive toward success!
With this kind of goal-oriented approach, you'll have the best chance of realizing your dreams as a creative solopreneur!
Examples of Measurable Goals to Help You Track Your Progress
As a creative solopreneur, you know that setting good goals is one of the best ways to ensure success. With S.M.A.R.T. goals, you have a clear set of criteria to help you plan and track your progress, making sure each goal achieved brings you closer to achieving whatever you set out for yourself.
In terms of measurable goals, here are some examples that can help you get started:
Setting clear and achievable S.M.A.R.T goals - including measurable ones - will allow you to build momentum and make tangible progress in your creative business.
Examples of Achievable Goals That Help Push Yourself Out of Your Comfort Zone
As a creative solopreneur or business owner, it's important to push yourself out of your comfort zone in order to see true growth. One great way to do that is by setting achievable S.M.A.R.T. goals that support this goal.
For example, if you're looking to get more clients or customers, an Achievable S.M.A.R.T goal could be to reach out to 3 new leads each week with a personalized pitch for your services.
Or if you want to promote more of your creative work on social media platforms such as Instagram, you could make a time-bound goal like creating 10 new posts over the next month while paying special attention to the captions and hashtags you use on each post so they adequately reflect your brand's message and truly engage with potential customers/clients.
By setting achievable S.M.A.R.T goals, you're giving yourself double the benefit; not only are you pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, but you can also take pride in reaching those goals along the way!
Examples of Relevant and Time-Bound Goals To Keep You on Track and Focused On Your Vision
As a creative solopreneur, it is important to have clearly defined goals so that you can stay productive and in line with your vision. S.M.A.R.T goals – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound – are an ideal way to keep you actively progressing towards your objectives.
A relevant goal could be to study one hour of coding per day for three days a week over the next two months - this is specific, measurable, achievable within time constraints, and relevant to the overall project vision.
Pacing yourself toward completing projects by breaking down the work into manageable chunks with deadlines can make sure nothing slips through the cracks or falls off your radar, which leads to an easy way for creatives like you to stay on track.
All in all, making S.M.A.R.T goals is a great way to stay on track and achieve your dream outcomes as a creative solopreneur. Having the ability to craft specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals will aid you in goal setting which can result in accomplishments and growth on your creative journey.
Consider trying out the tips shared today when thinking of how you would like to set your goals for Q2 of 2023 and beyond. If you need extra help along the way make sure to reach out for my customized one-on-one coaching program - I'd be happy to walk through it with you step by step.
Here is the link to Pam's Power Hours 3-Week Customized One-on-One Coaching Program.
Here is the link to Pam's Power Hours 6-Week Customized One-on-One Coaching Program.
Also, I invite you to join us in my Global CREATIVE Community Facebook Group, where you can actively network with me and other creatives. Every weekday in the Group, we discuss the week's topic.
I look forward to hearing from you and especially to working with you!