Be SMART About Your Goals
Hands up if you didn’t accomplish all of your goals in 2019.
Same.
What was your reason? My reason was that I was ambitious and didn’t calculate how much external factors would derail my goals.
As the year went on, I edited my goals using the framework below. Making my goals SMART enabled me to accomplish most of my goals. And I am okay with that. I made tremendous progress that will inform how I continue to develop my goals this year.
The SMART Goals framework outlines goals and identifies what it will take to accomplish them.
SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. Each of the components of a smart goal determines what decisions you will make and actions you will take to crush it!
Nothing is worse than a vague goal. My problem with vague goals is that they’re incomplete and less likely to be accomplished, resulting in frustration and loss of hope. And, that is not good and no way to move forward.
Take the following goal, for example:
I want to be a writer.
It’s great to say it out loud and take the first step towards making a change in your life. But, if you stop here, what’s next? How will you hold yourself accountable if you have a lot of competing priorities? How will you know when you have accomplished this goal? What does it mean to be a writer?
To answer these questions, let’s introduce each component of a SMART goal while expanding on the goal above.
Specific
This component focuses on defining your goal using more detail, for example:
I want to publish a book about writing goals.
Measurable
This component emphasizes the need to break down this goal into quantifiable and tangible pieces, for example:
I will write an outline for my chapters in one week. Then, I will write a chapter every month until the book is complete.
Attainable
This component identifies resources and tools used to reach your goal, for example:
To publish the book, I will need to commit to a word editing document to type, re-prioritize other items on my calendar, and finally research publishing and self-publishing options.
Relevant
This component connects your current goal to broader goals, purpose, or meaning, for example:
Writing this book will establish me as an expert that will provide future business opportunities.
Timely
This component sets a deadline, for example:
I will publish the book in 18 months.
Combine each component for a SMART goal, for example:
I will publish a book about writing goals to establish myself as an expert in my field in 18 months. I will start with outlining my book and writing a chapter a week. In that time I will make schedule changes and explore publishing options to make this all possible.
Building a SMART goal is not intended to be easy and is expected to be difficult. By taking these steps, you will identify gaps, make adjustments, focus on actions needed, and will be more likely to reach your goal.
Click on the button below to access my free worksheet for building goals.
Comment below with questions or to share your goals with me and our community.