If you’re afraid your goals for the new year will fall flat, you’re not alone. It’s difficult to set goals and even harder still to achieve them. But why? If you’ve struggled in the past sticking to your resolutions, it’s likely that you haven’t set a proper goal. Often, our “goals” are more like wishes. We have a glimpse of what we want but, we fail to understand how to transform those wishes into actionable to-do’s. This year, try a new approach: set S.M.A.R.T. goals.
The S.M.A.R.T. method is a practical system for setting goals and achieving them!
The Fundamentals of the S.M.A.R.T System
S — In order to achieve exactly what you want, you need to be specific with your goals. General goals are not helpful and have a tendency to lead you on a nebulous path. If you want to earn more money, specify how much more. If you want to spend more time with family, how much time?
M — Your goals need to be measurable, both incrementally and as a whole. Think about the metrics you’ll need to evaluate to determine the progress you’ve made toward achieving your goal. Adding tangible numbers to your goals allows you to approach your objectives from a data-driven perspective so you are able to evaluate, measure, and report on, your successes. At Workman Success Systems, we have a saying: what gets measured gets done!
A — Bottom line, your goals need to be achievable. Don’t set a goal that is too lofty or out of reach. Make sure you have the resources and capabilities to succeed in your efforts to avoid being discouraged.
R — Your goals need to be relevant to your business, but they also need to be relevant to your life so that you create personal accountability. In other words, don’t set goals just because others give them to you. You’ll likely have little interest in achieving them without being personally invested.
T — Lastly, your goals need to be timed. Giving yourself a time frame for when to achieve your goals is that extra push that you need to break through roadblocks. Deadlines are a great way to create the personal investment discussed in the previous step in the system. If you need help with your time management, try Workman Success Systems’ calendar resource called the My Perfect Week Scheduler. Build your perfect week and you’ll always achieve your goals in a timely manner.
So when you’re creating your goals for the new year, take a step beyond wishing and develop specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timed goals.
Bonus Tip:
Write It Down. Writing your plan out makes all the difference in whether or not you follow through with your goals. Write down each aspect and all the context you can think of that surrounds your goals so you can see it, understand it, and remember it.
If you need help creating your business goals for 2021, schedule a free business evaluation with our professional analysts!
