SMART Goals
December 29, 2006 by Lillie
As the New Year approaches, many of us are thinking about making resolutions or setting goals.
New Year’s resolutions are often cliches – lose weight, save money, give up smoking or other bad habit – and just as often broken and forgotten early in the year. However, setting goals and making plans at the beginning of the year can be a positive experience.
To achieve your dreams, you must set SMART goals. You can read about several variations of SMART goals and get more detailed advice on goal-setting at these sites: GetMotivation.com, Human Resources About.com, Nine Quick Learning Strategies for Success, Top Achievement, and many more.
Briefly, SMART goals are:
S = specific: “complete the first draft of a 50,000 word mystery novel” rather than “write a book”
M = measurable: “write 15 minutes every day” rather than “write more”
A = attainable: ”get an agent to represent Book Title” rather than “sell Book Title to a major publisher, receive a $100,000 advance, and make #1 on the New York Times bestseller list”
R = relevant: “join a business organization to meet prospective clients for my freelance writing business” rather than “join the country club because my relatives think I should”
T = tangible: “write an outline for a series of articles on subject” rather than “come up with ideas about subject”
Note: Some version of SMART goals assign the word “actionable” to the letter A, the word “motivational” to the letter M, the word “realistic” to the letter R, and/or the word “timely/time-bound” or “trackable” to the letter T. There are plenty of other words that would be effective in describing successful goals, as well, but the main point is to set goals that will help you achieve your dream – whatever that is.
[tags]goals, smart[/tags]
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Ahhh yes SMART… I learned about that stuff in college. Come to think of it, its actually a very straightforward and sensible way of defining your goals.
Frank,
I didn’t learn this in college, but I was a sociology major and psychology minor. We didn’t get into things as practical as setting goals.
I’ve never heard of this before. I’m a procrastinator by nature, so either this would be really useful for me, or really not! I often make new years resolution with no intention of fulfilling them. I think that’s a bad thing. Nice article.
Amy,
SMART goals are a good way to accomplish things you want to do if you use them correctly and keep them realistic. But, as you say, you have to be sincere in wanting to achieve something. If you have no intention, no system is going to work.
REALLY VERY INFORMATIVE POST.I LIKE YOUR IDEA.ITS VERY INSPIRING.SMART GOALS ARE GOOD WAY TO ACCOMPLISH THINGS.GOOD WORK.KEEP POSTING.
monika,
Yes, SMART goals are very effective.
Never heard of it before but it sounds useful.
.-= Jim@free xbox live´s last blog ..Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction recap =-.
Jim,
Many people find SMART goals very useful.
This is a smart advice. I would use this when ever i want to set a goal. Thanks Lilie.
Mel,
I’m glad you appreciate the smart advice on setting smart goals.
This is really useful. I think I will try it even it is not new year because setting goals is not just for new year.
Ron,
You’re right—you can set goals anytime. Glad you found the post helpful.
Goals should be long and short term. Reward yourself whenever you reach a short term goal.That way you will be motivated to reach for your long term goal.
Excellent advice, John.
I’m not SMART at all, and that may be where I’m going wrong. I need to be a lot more specific with my targets because there’s a lot I want to get done this year and if I take it step by step and make my targets measurable I’ll be more likely to hit them.
rose,
Many people are vague about their goals, but it’s hard to hit a target you can’t see.
Once again I will need some more clear goals for the coming year!
aretha,
Don’t remind me how close it is to the end of the year!
This is really fantastic advices for achieve the targets in new year. Thanks Lillie.
Hims
Hims,
It’s hard to believe it’s just about a new year again.
This is really fantastic advices for achieve the targets in new year. I would use this when ever i want to set a goal. Excellent advice.
Robert,
Glad you found my New Year’s advice from several years ago this New Year.
SMART i like it. Seems like a real efficient way to solve problems and reach goals.
bert,
Both easy to remember and do and effective.
[...] have looked back on 2006 and talked about SMART goals. Now it’s time for me to look ahead and set some SMART goals for [...]
SMART goals are so important to goal setting. It really does help someone set up goals that they can actually achieve. Many people get carried away with goal setting and try to take on too much…this get things to a manageable level so they don’t get too overwhelmed and then feel frustrated and discouraged when they fail.
True, Marcelina. And when you achieve one goal, you create another … and another … and another.