SMART Goal Setting
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Photo by Will Scullin http://bit.ly/HRJEF5
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I’ve been watching a show lately on HGTV called Income Property. This show is really cool to watch because the host doesn’t just do a cool remodel for people to ooh and ahh at (even though this also happens) but he teaches people how to make money with their property. Before he gets started on the remodel though, there is something he always does first — draw up floor-plans for how the space will look when it is finished.
Having a plan when you start something is very important to success. Whether you’re working out, reading your Bible daily, or building a home a good plan always helps you to be successful. For most of life, this planning takes the form of goal-setting.
Goal setting is a very important thing to do when trying to make a change, but it is also something that’s easy to get wrong. Ask someone what their goals are and you’re likely to hear responses such as, “I want to lose weight” or, “I want to get out of debt” or, “I want to change careers.” Unfortunately, these often turn out to be more like dreams than goals and people end up continuing to gain weight, make minimum payments, and work a 9–5 that they hate. Their goals are not S.M.A.R.T.
S.M.A.R.T. goal-setting is something I learned when I was in the Boy Scouts, it is a tool that helps you evaluate your goals and, if necessary, revise them so that they are more effective at helping you hit what you’re aiming at. S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym that stands for:
- S — Specific
- M — Measurable
- A — Attainable
- R — Reasonable
- T — Timely
A goal that is specific answers the “W” questions, “Who” “What” “Where” and “Why”. A goal that is measurable is a goal that you can clearly identify when you have accomplished it. A goal that is attainable is actually possible to accomplish, while a goal that is reasonable is likely to be accomplished. Finally, a goal that is timely has a specific time frame attached to it. Let’s use this tool to evaluate the debt-free dream from above.
The statement “I want to be debt-free” is fairly specific and is measurable (we know it’s been accomplished when there is no more debt), it may or may not be attainable and reasonable (depending on the person’s income and amount of debt), and it certainly isn’t timely. So let’s change it and try, “I want to be debt free next Friday.” This goal is better because it is timely, however, barring exceptional circumstances, it is probably not very attainable or reasonable, and is missing a lot of specifics.
Let’s try this; “I will repay my remaining $10,000 dollars in student loans in two years by skipping my morning Starbucks and paying an extra $117 each month on top of my $300 minimum payments.” This, is a S.M.A.R.T. goal! It is much more specific, using exact dollar amounts and explaining where the extra payments will come from in the budget. The dollar amounts are very reasonable and attainable (just do the math on a daily latte and muffin), it is still measurable and it has a solid timeframe.
That is an example of how S.M.A.R.T. goal-setting works. Those are the kinds of goals I need to be setting when I pick my habits (e.g. “do 20 minutes of weight-training every morning” rather than “work out more”) and will be the key to a successful 52 week challenge!
