“A goal properly set is halfway reached.” – Zig Ziglar
Everyone can set goals. Whether it is small or big, all ambitions are valid as long as they have certain purposes in people’s lives. However, not everyone can achieve their objectives. There are a number of factors: internal ones such as desire, habit, and motivation, as well as external factors: environment, location, and current situation. These things will definitely affect someone’s life and their ability to achieve goals which is why creating a smooth execution of plans in to reach them is highly very crucial.
When setting goals, you may ask yourself questions like:
As Zig Ziglar has mentioned, when individuals can set their goals properly, they are already halfway reached in accomplishing them. Those who know how to exercise it effectively and who really utilize productivity tools in setting their goals have a lot of advantages when compared to those who do not have an organized technique and who only rely on the first step—planning.
So, let me guess. You have stumbled across this page, reading this paragraph on your gadget and subconsciously asking for ideas on how to make your goals a lot more achievable. Well, the only answer is SMART. Yes, that’s it! If you can be smart, so are your goals! Curious about what it offers? Continue scrolling down the page and let’s get to it!
In this post, you will learn:
SMART is an acronym that you can use to help you determine your goals. The concept is often drawn from Peter Drucker’s concept of “Management by Objectives.”
George T. Doran then used Drucker’s concept and created the SMART goals methodology to improve an organization’s way of moving forward.
Each of your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
In his 2003 book, “Attitude Is Everything: If You Want to Succeed Above and Beyond,” businessman, author, and founder of Success Motivation International, Paul J. Meyer describes the characteristics of SMART goals. We’ll go over his definitions in more detail to see how you might build, develop, and achieve your objectives:
It is simple. You must have clear and specific intentions when it comes to your goals, or else, your motivation will be focused and severely affected.
When planning out your goal, try to answer the five “W” questions.
Example Scenario:
You are currently a team member in a Software Development project, assigned as Junior Developer, and you would like to become the Project Manager in the future. Having a clear, definite goal could be like; “I want to gain the required skills and experiences in order to become the Project Manager in my organization. In this way, I could build my career and lead a diligent, successful team.”
By having perceptible, distinct goals, you can monitor your progress and stay inspired in achieving them. Keeping track of your progress will help you stay focused, fulfill deadlines, and enjoy the thrill of becoming closer to your objective and accomplishing it.
A measurable goal should have questions like:
Example Scenario:
By determining the timeframe where you can complete the required training courses and gain new experiences, your goal of becoming a Project Manager is measurable.
In order for your goals to be successful, they must be closer to reality. You must extend your skills and abilities to get more chances of achieving them, but keep in mind that they must be possible to accomplish. Because if a goal is achievable, you are capable of identifying unnoticed resources and opportunities.
Questions for an achievable goal are like these:
Example Scenario:
Your realistic capacity in achieving your goal as a Project Manager must be appraised. Evaluate yourself based on your current skills, experiences, and qualifications. Or, for instance, you may ask yourself things like:
Of course, your goal must be applicable. It must be closely connected and suitable to what is being considered and done. To ensure its relevance, check if your plans will push you to move forward toward your accomplishment.
The following questions are valid for a “relevant goal”:
Example Scenario:
Even if you want to gain new skills and experiences for you to achieve the goal of being a Project Manager, there are still other things to think of like asking yourself if:
Without a target date, your goal is going to be both boring and irrational. Every goal requires a deadline for you to focus and work on it. This last part aims to prevent daily tasks from interfering with your long-term goals. Sounds organized and prioritized, right?
A time-bound goal typically has these questions:
Example Scenario:
As we said earlier, gaining the skills to become a Project Manager may entail additional trainings and experiences. You may ask yourself questions like:
To answer the question, the decision is yours. If you want clarity, focus, and motivation, you will definitely need to use the concept of SMART Goals. Aside from these, it can also enhance your capability to achieve your goals by motivating you to define your plans and objectives and to create a deadline. SMART Goals are easy to use and understand by anyone, anywhere, and anytime since it doesn’t require professional tools or training to start with.
Despite its good sound in theory and recommendation from experts to use as the best practice context for goal-setting, SMART goals can make you do dumb things, and this is according to Jody Thompson, an article writer from Workology.
“SMART goals encourage you to focus on activities rather than outcomes.” – Jody Thompson
As she has written, relying too much on this framework is not crystal clear on the outcome, despite having a “decent” set of SMART goals that are even aligned with the outcome of your certain goal. Leaving out one tiny detail may result in an encounter that will land you to failure. However, you need to credit yourself that you are just working hard to achieve each of your SMART objectives!
In order for you to accomplish your goals with no regrets, shifting our focus to outcome-based goals would surely help us a lot. By focusing on them, you can now align towards a common goal first.
Goal-setting focused on outcomes gets everyone on the same page first. Creating measurable results in this manner is both effective and feasible. This framework promotes outcome-based thinking and fosters a culture of constant performance management.
So, the next time someone tells you that you should develop SMART goals, take a step back and make sure you’re starting with the proper goal first, or we can call it as a destination, before doing such things. Otherwise, if you are a ship, you don’t have a sail on!