SMARTER goals is an acronym for:
S - Specific. Specific goals focus your energy and attention. The more specific your goal the more focused is your attention to achieve your goal. What do you want to accomplish? What are the benefits to attaining the goal? What do you need to do to accomplish the goal? Try to use action words such as organize, lead, do, develop, build, lose, gain; to develop a specific goal.
For example, suppose you set a goal to lose weight or to become fitter. More specific goals that focus your energy are to lose 5 pounds, or to run 3 times a week for 20 minutes each time.
M - Measurable. Measurable goals establish concrete criteria to measure your progress. How will you measure your specific goal? If you can't measure the goal then how will you know that you have achieved your goal? You need to ask yourself questions such as How much? How many? When will I know when I have completed the goal? Are there any benchmarks or milestones?
For example, rather than setting the goal that you need to do some exercise today or reading tomorrow, transform your goals into measurable goals such as "I want to walk 5 miles today" or "I want to read chapter 8 by tomorrow".
A - Achievement strategies. How are you going to reach your goal? Often in my practice, people say they have a particular goal, but they don't know how they are going to achieve their goal. How are you going to achieve your goal? Have you put in place a clear action plan to achieve your goal?
For example, a person wanting to lose 5kg in 6 months may have an achievement strategy of cutting their mid-morning snack and walking 2 miles at lunch time.
R - Realistic. Are you willing to commit to the goal? A SMARTer goal that is realistic does not mean easy, but rather, whether the goal is within your capabilities and satisfies your needs and desires. One of the common failures of goal setting is that people set goals that are too hard or are too easy.
For example, if you have just started a running program, it is unrealistic to have a goal of completing a marathon in two weeks time. This will just set you up for failure.
T - Time-based. Setting a time-frame for you goals firms up the priority of the goal. Does your goal need to be achieved by tomorrow, next week or next year? Whatever your goal, make sure that you have a time-frame that you can work towards. This creates a sense of urgency to take action today! Again, SMARTer goals are those with time-frames that are realistic and achievable.
E - Exciting, energetic and ethical. Are you setting goals that you are excited and passionate about? If your goals are exciting for you then you will motivation to keep going when things get tough. Is your goal ethical? Is the goal what you want to do, and is it in line with your beliefs and values? If you do not agree with the goal or you feel that the goal is not a worthy goal for you, then achieving that goal will be difficult and give you little satisfaction if you complete it.
R - Resourced and reviewed. It is important that you have the resources to be able to achieve your goal.
For example, if you are not willing to put the time and effort in to achieve your goal then it is unlikely that you will achieve what you are aiming for. Are you willing to make sacrifices to achieve your goal?
Are you reviewing your goal? Life is filled with uncertainty and your circumstances change. For this reason you need to be able to review your goals on a regular basis. Reviewing the goal progress and the importance of goals to you is important for your goal success.