On Goal Setting
Previously I had mentioned goal setting, specifically SMART goals. I want to go into that a bit more here today because I think there’s a missing piece that doesn’t get talked about for how to use SMART goals effectively to achieve your objectives.
SMART Goals Recap
There’s plenty of material on what SMART goals are, so I won’t go into too much detail here, but a brief recap is that goals should be:
- Specific: well defined; not vague
- Measurable: you can know when you’re done, or if you’re making progress
- Achievable: it’s realistically possible
- Relevant: you honestly believe that achieving the goal brings you closer to achieving your overall objective
- Time-Bound: there are time constraints as part of the goal
It’s not obvious, but this doesn’t address how you’re going to achieve your your objective.
A Different Perspective on SMART
Not all SMART goals are made equal. Consider the following (contrived but realistic) example:
Objective: I want to be in better physical condition.
Goal: I will lose 20 lbs in the next 6 months.
The goal meets all of the SMART criteria.
- It’s not vague
- You know when you’re half way there (you’ve lost 10 lbs)
- Beyond extenuating circumstances, 6 months to lose 20 lbs is achievable
- If you’re overweight, it’s relevant to the objective
- It’s got clear time constraints
… but the problem is that it doesn’t help you reach your objective. There’s no how.
Consider some alternative goals:
Objective: I want to be in better physical condition.
Goal: I will workout at the gym 4x weekly, for the next 6 months, following a <insert name> strength-training plan.
Goal: I will consume between x and y calories, per day, for the next 6 months. I will track it using myfitnesspal.
Do these look like goals that actually help? You tell me? I think they do.
A Different Approach on SMART
So how do you position yourself to start defining goals that will actually help you achieve your objectives? Make goals for the things you can do. Things that depend on you. Goals where you’ll know, as soon as possible, if you’re falling behind, so that you can make adjustments.
Not this: I will read 12 books in 2024.
But this: I will read an average of 30 minutes/day, 5 days/week.
Not this: I will get x certifications this year.
But this: I will study an average of 30 minutes/day, 5 days/week.
Not this: I will complete project x by end of Q1.
But this: 2 goals…
- I will practice GTD for 30 days in Q1.
- I will practice Pomodoro twice a day for 30 days in Q1.
Not this: I will get promoted this year.
But this: … that’s for a future article.
Check Your Work
I have a checklist that I use to validate whether or not I’ve got a set of goals that will work for me. I ask the following questions:
Are these goals achievable in the aggregate?
Any goal can be achievable, in isolation, but if I have 5 goals dedicating an hour a day each, I’m probably not going to achieve some of them.
If I accomplish these goals, do I believe that I will have accomplished my objective?
This is the relevance check. Often a single goal won’t be enough for me to achieve my overall objective, but together they should. If not, I might be missing something. Sometimes I need an outside opinion to validate this.
Am I solely responsible for achieving my goals?
I can only depend on myself for the things I will hold myself accountable to — and I do try to hold myself accountable to achieving my goals. If I depend on someone else for something, I will make goals defining how I will work with them instead.
Conclusion
This perspective on goal setting has proven effective and transformative for me. I like to think of it as aligning my behaviors in a direction and constantly pushing me in that direction. Not only am I on the path to hitting my targets, but I end up hitting a constellation of other, related targets around them that I never knew existed.
I probably should have expected that, but it wasn’t obvious to me at the time.
Hope it helps.
