The Goal Setting Guide: An Introduction and Thinking SMART

Goal setting is probably the most important productivity skill out there. Without the ability to set achievable goals and accomplish them none of us would ever do anything. I set myself goals many times per day which is why I find it so hard to understand the phenomenon that resulted in me deciding to write this series of articles: The New Years Resolution.

I hate the word resolution, I looked up it’s meaning in the dictionary and it says it means ‘a firm decision to do or not do something’, which is great but it doesn’t help you achieve what you desired that just means you promise to yourself you will or will not do something, whatever that something is.

My dislike for the word resolution may be the reason I have never managed to keep any of my new years resolutions but some how I doubt it. I think the problem lies in the way that a resolution is set. For example if I had smoked 20 cigarettes a day for the last 20 years saying as the clock strikes twelve on the 31st December ‘my new years resolution is to quit smoking for good’ is unlikely to lead to that actually happening. However if I set myself a number of SMART goals throughout the year, I could almost guarantee (with will power) that you could quit smoking.

SMART
As you’ve probably already guessed SMART is one of those annoying acronyms made up by academics who think its mildly amusing but it does make remembering a little easier so we’ll make use of it. SMART obviously stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely!

Specific
Goals should be straightforward and emphasize what you want to happen. Specifics help us to focus our efforts and clearly define what we are going to do.
It can be broken down into….

WHAT are you going to do? Use action words such as direct, organize, coordinate, lead, develop, plan, build etc.

WHY is this important to do at this time? What do you want to ultimately accomplish?

HOW are you going to do it? (By…)

Ensure the goals you set are very specific, clear and easy. For example instead of setting a goal to lose weight or be healthier, set a specific goal to walk 5 miles at an aerobically challenging pace.

Measurable
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. In the broadest sense, the whole goal statement is a measure for the project; if the goal is accomplished, the is a success. However, there are usually several short-term or small measurements that can be built into the goal.

Choose a goal with measurable progress, so you can see the change occur. How will you see when you reach your goal? Be specific! “I want to read 3 chapter books of 100 pages on my own before my birthday” shows the specific target to be measure. “I want to be a good reader” is not as measurable.

Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set. When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goals.

Attainable
When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop that attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. Your begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.

Goals you set which are too far out of your reach, you probably won’t commit to doing. Although you may start with the best of intentions, the knowledge that it’s too much for you means your subconscious will keep reminding you of this fact and will stop you from even giving it your best.

A goal needs to stretch you slightly so you feel you can do it and it will need a real commitment from you. For instance, if you aim to lose 20lbs in one week, we all know that isn’t achievable. But setting a goal to loose 1lb and when you’ve achieved that, aiming to lose a further 1lb, will keep it achievable for you.

Realistic
Realistic, in this case, means ”do-able.” It means that the learning curve is not a vertical slope; that the skills needed to do the work are available; that the project fits with the overall strategy and goals of the organization. A realistic project may push the skills and knowledge of the people working on it but it shouldn’t break them.

Devise a plan or a way of getting there which makes the goal realistic. The goal needs to be realistic for you and where you are at the moment.

Be sure to set goals that you can attain with some effort! Too difficult and you set the stage for failure, but too low sends the message that you aren’t very capable. Set the bar high enough for a satisfying achievement!

As a side note to this I will say that it is often best to set an almost unattainable goal then set smaller realistic goals to achieve the main goal.

Timely
Set a timeframe for the goal: for next week, in three months, by fifth grade. Putting an end point on your goal gives you a clear target to work towards.

If you don’t set a time, the commitment is too vague. It tends not to happen because you feel you can start at any time. Without a time limit, there’s no urgency to start taking action now.

So What Now?
Well what I do is write down on a piece of paper all the things I would like to achieve. Then look through them and try to apply the SMART principles to them. Often I have to break down my aims into smaller chunks because those big aims often take time and need to be thought of in smaller chunks to be most effective. For example many athletes aims are to win an olympic gold medal but if that was your only goal it would be impossible to achieve whereas if that goal is broken down into smaller more manageable ones it becomes entirely possible since the steps to the over goal are small enough to see the way to achieve them.

This is just the first article in a short series on goal setting I am writing here. I hope this introduction was useful and introduced you to SMART goal setting or refreshed your memory if you’d already heard of it. Like always if you have any questions on how anything in this article can help you or just want to say hi send me an email – oli@oligibson.com