Did you set new year’s resolutions this year? If you did, now a couple of weeks have gone by, are you still going strong or have you lost momentum? If you’re struggling with your goals, maybe you need to reshape them for maximum success.
Most of us have some goals set out to improve our lives, whether personal or professional. After all, without the challenge of reaching a goal you’ve set for yourself, life would be stagnant. But the process by which we set goals matters. Although, you are responsible for whether you follow through with the goals you’ve set for yourself, how you set them has a hand in determining how successful you’ll be in achieving them.
You’ve probably already heard of the SMART goal setting process. SMART is an acronym that stands for:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
Setting SMART goals works because it lays each step out for you.
Specific
When setting a goal for yourself, you must steer away from generalized statements. The more precise the goal is the better. Goals that are too vague will end up setting you up for failure.
For example, let’s say you want to drink more water per day. “I will drink more water every day,” is far too general. Lack of specificity will enable you to make excuses. The wording doesn’t hold you accountable; it is not enough of a detailed plan to follow through with. Instead, clarify the specifics.
Try something like “I will drink 8 glasses of water every day – 2 glasses of water in the morning before breakfast, two glasses with lunch, two glasses after the gym and two glasses before bed”. This goal is specific and direct. It explicitly states what your expectations are for yourself and enables accountability.
Measurable
Your goal will be more easily met if you can assess progress along the way, giving you more motivation and focus toward your ultimate ambition.
Our water goal above is clearly measurable. You can easily count and track whether or not you drank 8 glasses of water per day.
Attainable
Although your goals should help stretch you outside of your comfort zone and push you to the next level, it’s important that they remain achievable.
If you were only drinking coffee and soda before setting the water goal above, maybe 8 glasses isn’t attainable right away and you need to build up to it. Equally, a goal of 40 glasses of water per day isn’t something that a typical human can achieve.
Relevant
The goals you set should be important to you and align well with your life.
If you’re a delivery driver with very limited bathroom break options, maybe drinking 8 glasses of water during the working day isn’t compatible with your lifestyle, and might need some rethinking to become more aligned.
Time-bound
Your goals should have a deadline to achieve them. This will help keep you on track and focused, and give you opportunities to celebrate your small wins along the way.
The water goal can be achieved in a day, but if you weren’t drinking much water before, you might want to build up to 8 glasses a day by the end of, say, three months.
By implementing the SMART Goals system, you will gain the ability to achieve your goals, faster and with a higher success rate.