We’ve all heard it, you need to set smart goals. Goals that make sense, goals that you can achieve, or you’ll never accomplish it. But did you that smart actually stands for something?? Cuz I didn’t. Till now….
S- specific
M- measurable
A- attainable
R- relevant
T- timely
It’s an acronym people! I never knew it, till I started working this year on some serious goal planning. Like, change your life goal planning. I know, you’re like “isn’t the goal every year to change your life?”. Well yes, it is, but I don’t seem to accomplish them.
Why is that? Well, it’s simple really. They’re too broad. Not enough action steps to see results. Too big overall.
We as humans, at least myself specifically, like to dream big. Like real big. The problem with dreaming big, is we get bogged down the greatness of it all. Like “how are we gonna accomplish this” When we set goals that are too big, there’s a part of our brain that says, “you can’t accomplish this, it’s too great or too broad”
The truth is most of us, myself included are on autopilot. We do things because that’s what we’ve always done. Not realizing that the choices we make every day have consequences down the road. It’s a great book, easy read, I highly recommend it. Really makes you re-evaluate your choice and behaviors.
So how does the S.M.A.R.T. method apply here? Simple, it’s a definitive way to set goals that we can actually accomplish. So let’s get started!
Specific– They must be clear and well defined. Not vague or overly large. It’s the difference between saying, I wanna lose weight vs. I wanna lost 25 lbs.
Measurable– Make sure to include precise measurements, dates, and info so that you can measure your goals. You will never know if you’ve accomplished something if you can’t measure or track your progress. It’s the difference between saying I want to reduce spending vs, I will reduce all spending by 5% by June 1st.
Attainable– Make sure that your goal is realistic for the scope and time frame. Saying you want to lose 150 lbs in a year is going to be a tough, if not insurmountable goal. When we set our goals completely out of reach, we lose track and focus and give up. Set them for something realistic. I wanna pay off $5000 debt this year, vs, I wanna pay off ALL debt and save $25k in the bank.
Relevant– Is your goal relevant to your life? Does it fit with your immediate and long-term plans?
Timely– Does your goal have a deadline? You must have a timeline for your goals. A specific start and end date, otherwise there is no urgency to accomplish them.
One of the things that I love about goal setting, is seeing all the cool things that I think I’m going to accomplish. While I’ve been successful at accomplishing many of them, I always miss a few. Most often, when I look back, I’m missing one of these components. They’re too vague, there’s no timeline, it’s not something measurable.
Since reading The Compound Effect, I’ve also started working on my goals quarterly. Meaning, I might do a large list at the beginning of the year, but I break them down by quarter into very specific steps and dates to accomplish things.
This has taken my goal setting in an entirely new direction and given it life. It’s much easier to think about a goal/task I wanna accomplish in a 3-4 month section of time. I’m also much more likely to accomplish my goals if I give myself some sort of small reward for it. If I wanna make sure I do 5 cardio workouts a week for 90 days, I let myself buy something nice, like a top or pair of jeans to celebrate at the end of that 90 days. While I don’t encourage lavish spending if you reach your goals, I do think taking care of yourself with something small, is a great motivator.
Spend some time jotting down things you’d like to work on, learn, or change about yourself, and then get specific and set some goals. Great things can happen if we only dream, make a plan, and execute it!
