Truly defining S.M.A.R.T. Goals!

 

I was listening to a podcast the other day and the host was really diving into some of the best practices to truly gain the most benefit from creating your S.M.A.R.T. goals. 

Now, if you have been in any kind of environment where establishing goals is a critical component of either completing your tasks for furthering your development, chances are you have heard of making S.M.A.R.T. goals. If you haven’t, let me break it down for you real quick. The S.M.A.R.T. Acronym for these goals stands for:

S = Specific

M= Measurable

A= Attainable or Achievable

R= Relevant

T= Time Bound

When you have a specific goal in mind that you are trying to accomplish, breaking down that goal into these five components allows you to design the tasks necessary to complete that goal. What I found interesting was how granular the host was encouraging his listeners to truly take advantage of the necessary steps in order to complete that goal. The more granular you got with each section, the higher the completion percentage rose within that section. 

So for example, let's say your goal was to lose some weight. Using a S.M.A.R.T. goal method, let's say that you decide you want to lose 50 lbs to be healthier (Specific), using a scale to track your weight loss (Measurable), you’ve weighed that before, you can do it again (Attainable) losing these pounds will reduce stress on your body and allow you to be healthier (Relevant) and you want to accomplish this in the next 3 months (Time Bound). Sounds like a good plan right? What if you dug a little deeper?

Starting with ”S”, why 50 lbs? Is that what your doctor recommended? Do you remember a time when you were 50 lbs lighter than you are now? Do you remember how much better you felt at that weight? Was there a certain outfit you liked to wear when you were at that weight? Did you have more mobility? Are you wanting to be a positive role model for someone in your life? Really dig into the specifics. Ask yourself why you want to lose 50 lbs. Then when you have that answer, ask yourself why to that answer, and then maybe ask yourself why again for that answer. 

With “M” How are you going to measure your progress? Are you going to weigh yourself every month, every week, or every day? Are you going to write it down each time? Will it be a specific time of day each time? Will you track the food you eat, how much water you drink, certain foods or drinks you reduce or eliminate, that help move the needle one way or another/ All of these are items you can track and measure.

How about attainable. Is 50 lbs attainable? You may have to tag team this with relevant and time bound. If you’re thinking of 50 lbs in the next 3 months, that's about 16 lbs a month, 4 lbs a week. The average healthy weight loss is 1-2 lbs a week. So is that attainable and relevant? Does it fit within the timeline you have proposed for yourself? Or do you need to adjust? Does your approach seem relevant to what you are wanting to accomplish?

And lastly time bound. Three months! Are you just going to pick a date and start, and then check your weight at the end of 3 months, or are you going to set mini timeline goals. Will you set milestones for each week of where you would like to be, how much data you will track, so you know if you’re pushing the needle in the right direction?

This is just an example, but as you can see, by asking “why” or “how can I” for each part of the S.M.A.R.T. goal, it creates an opportunity for you to dive deeper into why you want to achieve this goal and how you're going to achieve it. This approach provides you with an even more detailed action plan, allowing you a better chance of succeeding at your goal or at least getting you one step closer. I firmly believe that you can apply these tactics to just about any goal you have. You just have to be willing to set aside a few minutes to truly detail it out. 

Let me know what you think. I’m curious to hear if going the extra little bit helps you with whatever goal you are striving for.