10 Tips for Setting SMART Goals
Setting goals can be difficult, especially if you haven’t tried it before. The first step in the process of setting goals is learning how to set goals, which are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound goals that can help guide your progress throughout the year (or lifetime). Use these 10 tips to help you set SMART goals that you can achieve!
1) Write it down
Writing down your goals will help keep them at the top of your mind and prevent you from just forgetting about them. However, simply writing your goals isn’t enough. Studies show that people who write their goals down are more likely to succeed in achieving them. Why? Writing is an active process you’re forced to evaluate where you are and where you want to be, which makes a huge difference when it comes to goal-setting.
2) Make it Specific
When setting a goal, start with a description of what you’re trying to accomplish. Many people are extremely broad in their goals, so it’s difficult to tell whether or not they have succeeded. For example, writing I want to save money is very broad and doesn’t allow you to see progress or help you figure out if you need to make adjustments. It also doesn’t motivate you as much as something like I want to save. The first goal sounds somewhat ambiguous and could be applied toward any number of things.
3) Make it Measurable
If your goal isn’t measurable, how do you know when you’ve achieved it? A vague goal like make more money can mean almost anything. Instead, write down exactly what that means to you: Increase my annual income by. This gives you a clear target to aim for. If your goal is to lose, on the other hand, a measurably realistic outcome is much clearer: Lose ten pounds in three months. Not only does lose ten pounds in three months give you a specific time frame in which to reach your target, but it also makes it easy to determine whether or not your final weight falls within five pounds of that goal.
4) Create a Time Limit
If you want to set yourself up for success, then you need to ensure that your goals are achievable. One way to do that is by putting a time limit on your goal. The term SMART is often used when talking about goal setting. The letters in stand for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time Bound. Each letter has meaning in creating smart goals: For example, when you set a time limit on your goal of completing a work project or something related to school, it will help keep you focused on completing your task within a specific timeframe instead of procrastinating because there's no real end date.
5) Make it Attainable (Realistic)
If your goal is to make , you need to first get control of your budget and cut back on unnecessary expenses. If your business is just starting out, that may mean living off ramen noodles and no new clothes but it’s a necessary step towards building a profitable business. To be successful at making money online, you must develop a sense of discipline and frugality in yourself. Once you’ve made those changes, set your sights on something attainable. You might not become rich overnight by working hard and setting goals but even if you don’t become wealthy from working online, it gives you an opportunity to experience life without having to worry about working in an office all day long!
6) Write Down Your WHY
It’s simple but profound: knowing your WHY is a driver and motivator to work toward your goal. The most important question that you can ask yourself in defining success is why? Why do I want to achieve my goal? If you want to meet that goal, what will be its purpose or benefit in your life? For example, if you want to get in shape and develop healthy eating habits, why do you want to eat better? Perhaps it will help you live longer, stay healthier and lose weight; but why are those things important to you right now in your life? Maybe it’s because they will give you more energy or enable you to be active with family or friends.
7) Get Others Involved
You've just gotten a promotion at work, you lost ten pounds through exercise and healthy eating, or your daughter just came home from her first semester at college. Whether you started working towards a goal last week or five years ago, celebrate your success! It's important to acknowledge that reaching goals takes time you're more likely to feel better about yourself and stay motivated if you reward yourself as you reach milestones. In fact, setting short-term goals that are directly tied to long-term outcomes can help sustain get you closer to realizing those big dreams. This way, whether you achieved something because of hard work or dumb luck (or a little bit of both), there's an end in sight and a sense of accomplishment that goes along with it.
8) Celebrate Success
Listing accomplishments is one of several ways to set goals. At its core, setting a goal means nothing more than deciding what you want and then making a plan for how to get it. That's not always easy, but if you already have experience with things like college or work projects (I don't know about you, but I definitely have), chances are that there are some things that aren't so hard. And if you're willing to talk about them in an interview, then why not mention your skills? If there's something specific that you're looking to work on (like presentation skills), then a listing of abilities can be extra helpful in.
9) Revisit Regularly
It’s very important to revisit your goals regularly. Don’t just write them down and walk away. If you do, odds are good that six months from now you won’t remember what they were! To make sure that doesn’t happen, schedule a time every week to review your goals, whether it’s at the beginning of each week or at the end of each month. Even if you just take five minutes each week to reflect on how you did in terms of meeting your goals, doing so will help keep you accountable and motivated! Plus, as time goes by and circumstances change and can adjust accordingly.
10) Document Accomplishments
If you've ever watched The Biggest Loser, you'll know that successful goal-setting requires keeping tabs on your progress. You can do that by writing down your weekly or monthly remind yourself of what these goals mean to you and write about why achieving them is important to your future happiness and success.