How to Set SMART Goals ‘SMART’ is an acronym for 5 characteristics that help you set well-defined goals: Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Relevant Time-Framed Say your goal is ‘To lose weight’. Here’s how to make it SMART… Step 1: Make it Specific ‘To lose weight’ is vague. What exactly do you want your weight loss to look like? Specific: I’ll fit into my black skinny jeans It helps if: You can picture it clearly Step 2: Make it Measurable How precisely will you know when you’ve reached your goal? What’s at the finish line? Measurable: My black skinny jeans will zip up all the way It helps if: There’s an objective, defined point Step 3: Make it Achievable Here you run a reality check. Are you prepared to make the commitment your goal will take? If the skinny jeans are 12 sizes away, are you willing to dramatically alter your life? Is there a more achievable target you are willing to to work for? Achievable: My black skinny blue bootleg jeans will zip up all the way It helps if: Your goal and your commitment level are well matched Step 4: Make it Realistic Relevant Some people use Realistic here, but Achievable covers that territory. Instead, I suggest you make your goal Relevant to your life and other priorities. If it’s a ‘should’ inherited from someone else or out-of-date thinking, ditch or revise it. For instance, if a weight-loss buddy thinks your goal should be to finish a marathon but you loathe running, competition and the outdoors, choose something else. Make it relevant to you or you’ll run out of steam early on. Relevant: My black skinny blue bootleg jeans will zip up all the way – which is relevant to my goals of being healthy and looking my best It helps if: You aren’t fighting with yourself to reach your objective Step 5: Make it Time-Framed What’s a reasonable date for achieving your goal? Strike a balance between being so ambitious you never expect to succeed and aiming so low you lack incentive to try. You can tweak the date as you make progress. Time-Framed: My black skinny blue bootleg jeans will zip up all the way – which is relevant to my goals of being healthy and looking my best – by July 1 2009. It helps if: The time frame is close enough to energize you (sometimes you need a series of sub–goals) Optimize your chance of goal success: Bonus Steps To really boost your likelihood of reaching that outcome, here are some extra questions to ask yourself during goal-setting activities. These move you from planning and strategizing to action. 1. What resources do you need? Make a list of all the things, people and information you need to achieve your objective. For instance: Ask Sally to be my goal buddy Buy comfortable walking shoes Buy a rain hoodie Get some motivation magazines 2. What needs to be scheduled in your diary? Most goals need time and activities – make sure you have these allocated in your diary. For instance: Schedule 3 x 30-minute walks per week Schedule 2 x bike rides per week Schedule menu planning Schedule menu shopping 3. What milestones are important along the way? It helps keep up your motivation if you mark your progress along the way with rewards. Start by deciding which milestones to reward. For instance: Jeans go over my knees Jeans go over my hips Jeans zip up with effort Jeans zip up comfortably (final) 4. What rewards will you give yourself for reaching those milestones? Next, choose your rewards. For instance: Jeans go over my knees – Get a manicure Jeans go over my hips – Get a pedicure Jeans zip up with effort – Get a facial Jeans zip up comfortably – Get a full-body massage Follow these steps and you’ll be well on your way to achieving your goal. 10 Tools for Goal Achievement Lifehacker’s Top 10 Tools for Sticking to Your New Year’s Resolutions is a collection of tools and strategies that are just as useful for goals as for resolutions. My faves are: 10. Schedule your goals inside your high-energy times My productivity benefits from scheduling thinking work in the afternoons, when I’m more creative and clear-headed. Mornings are great for admin, emails and returning calls. 9. Make them S.M.A.R.T. SMART stands for: Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Relevant (I think achievable and realistic hit the same note. Relevant matters because you’re more likely to persevere with and achieve a goal that meshes with your larger life goals.) Time-framed. I love this approach – all my Wizards and the Life MakeOver Journal include SMART goal planners. 7. Channel your Inner Seinfeld—Don’t break the chain The post includes web apps for building your Seinfeldian chain. Over to you Do you use any of these tools? Got any faves?
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 13:37:50 +0000
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