SETTING SMART GOALS

Without goal setting, your life becomes a series of chaotic happenings you quickly have no control over, or as I would say: a “hot mess”. Whether that goal is being more organized, finding a job, being successful in school, or other, it needs to follow the SMART criteria to be effective and met.

Simply use this proven goal setting strategy to increase thing like your productivity, leadership, management skills, and more.

☞☞☞ IT'S TIME TO ACHIEVE MORE NOW!!!

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Specific

What Do You Want?

Think about what you want to achieve. Make sure you are setting this goal for yourself, and don't be too general. The more specific your goal is, the more likely you will realize it. Next, ask yourself the 5 W's: Who, What, Where, When, and Why. Does anyone else need to be involved for you to reach the goal? (i.e. if your goal is to be healthier, more specifically to lose an X amount of pounds, will you need to consult a personal trainer?). Where can you achieve this goal? When can you reach it? And more importantly, WHY are you setting this specific goal? Write down the obstacles you are likely to face in the process, and how you plan on overcoming them.

Measurable

Break down your goal into measurable criteria ( i.e. the goal is to get straight A’s in your class, an example of a criteria could be to attend all classes). When you measure your progress you are more likely to stay on track to reach your goal. The criteria can be quantitative or descriptive, whatever you find fits best. Tracking your progress through measurable goals is a good way to determine if you are on the right track.

Attainable

Is this goal possible to attain? Is it acceptable for you? You will have to be the judge of that and weight in the time, effort, and sacrifices that will be needed to reach the goal against the profits from attaining that goal. Make sure you are completely committed to putting in the work required into this goal. Setting goals that are hard to achieve might be discouraging.

Relevant

What are your desires? Is this goal relevant to YOU? Revisit the WHY question and think about what the objectives behind the goal are and if achieving this goal will realize those objectives. Be sure this goal fits with your other life plans and that they won't conflict in any way. If after asking yourself all these questions your goal isn't relevant, simply adjust it!

Time Based

Set yourself realistic and flexible deadlines and find a way to own up to them. Setting yourself a deadline helps you identify and stick to the actions you need to take to reach your goal on time, but most importantly, it creates internal pressure and motivation to reach the goal. My personal tip is to set mini deadlines to reach my goal step-by-step and reward myself on my way to achieving it.

I really hope this breakdown on SMART goals will help you achieve what you haven't had the chance to yet. Your HOMEWORK is to sit down for 10 minutes and reflect on the goals you are trying to reach.

Do they fit all the SMART goal qualities?