Here we are, starting a new year. Are you expecting great things for 2025? Lots of people approach each January with hopes for whatโs coming.
One thing you can count on every January is being tasked with setting SMART goals.
This article is chock-full of information to help you sit down and write those goals. Real goals. Ones that can have an impact on you and your future.
Set SMART Goals
Letโs start with you setting SMART goals. I know youโve heard of these before:
- Strategic
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Realistic
- Timely
Your goals, if they are good goals, will include each of those aspects.
โOnly 5% of people set goals, and that 5% achieves more than the other 95% combined.โ While it may sound crazy, itโs true. How are you doing?
Knowing how to write SMART goals is vital if you want to improve your performance in business and in life. The following examples show you how to set SMART goals that actually work.
- SPECIFIC: You must be specific when you write SMART goals. Itโs not just โI want to lose weight.โ Itโs โI want to lose weight on the paleo diet.โ
- MEASURABLE: You must be able to quantify your goals. โI want to lose 40 pounds on the paleo diet.โ
- ACHIEVABLE: Your goal must be achievable. โI want to lose 40 pounds on the paleo diet and by scaling tall buildings.โ What do you need to learn in order to scale tall buildings? Whatโs your plan for learning that? Do you need to rethink this goal?
- REALISTIC: Your goal must be realistic. โI want to lose 40 pounds on the paleo diet so I can run a marathon in two weeks.โ That is an unrealistic goal. Make sure your goal will test you โ but not beyond what can be done.
- TIMELY: Set time limits. This will give you a sense of urgency. It will help your unconscious align with your intention. โI want to lose 40 pounds on the paleo diet by losing five pounds a month for eight months.โ
When you have all five points woven into your goals, you stand a good chance of achieving those targets.
Read on to learn how a moose taught me the value in setting SMART goals: How I learned to write SMART goals, courtesy of a moose.
Goal Setting Is a Process
Honestly, I dread setting goals each year. It takes consideration and concentration to work through the SMART goals process. Here are a few tips that might help you, like they did me.
- Your goals must align with your values. Otherwise, youโre likely to say one thing, but actually do another. If it has been a while since youโve identified your core values, check out this info from com.
- Break goals into 90-day blocks. This step helps you keep your focus on what needs to be done now. Otherwise, you might focus too much on something fun scheduled for September and forget about the quarters before that.
- Find an accountability partner who can help you hold yourself (wait for it) . . . This may be a coworker, your supervisor, even a significant partner.
For more details, check out these strategies from MentorLoft.com.
Excuses or Results?
Setting goals and following through on them is a challenging task. It is also one with great payoffs if you use these goal-setting strategies.
As Susan Scott writes in โFierce Conversations,โ you can have excuses, or you can have results. The choice is yours. Whatโs it going to be?
About the Author
Pamela A. Scott is an executive coach and founder of MentorLoft, a coaching firm that works with CEOs and execs to prepare their NextGen leaders to run their company. Pamela specializes in coaching engineers and CEOs of professional service firms. For more information, visitย www.mentorloft.com.
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