Are Your Goals Smart

 When you want to achieve something, where do you start?

Are you the type of person who gets a good idea and starts to work
enthusiastically right away, without thinking much about what you
need to do to get to your goal?

Or are you the type of person who spends so long considering every
requirement you might need to equip yourself for the journey ahead
that you never actually get around to doing anything constructive?

Either way, you are probably setting yourself up to fail

But there is a better - and easier - way to make sure you reach
your goals. The article below will give you a proven, step-by-step
plan that will take you from start to finish in the most effective
way possible!

Are Your Goals SMART? A Proven Way To Achieve Your Goals.
A guest article by Segun Aminu

SMART stands for:

    Specific
    Measurable
    Attainable
    Realistic
    Timely

As we examine each of these attributes, I encourage you to get a
pen and paper to write down the goals you want to achieve. Evaluate
each goal and make changes as needed to ensure that your goals are
SMART.

Specific

A specific goal is distinct, straightforward, and clearly defines
what you want to accomplish. It should not contain any ambiguous
language. To ensure that your goal is clearly defined, address the
following "W" questions:

Who:

Identify who is involved? Is this a personal goal or a
goal that involves others? An example of a goal that involve others
is a manager setting a goal for the team.

What:

Define what to accomplish. What are you going to do? Use
action words like develop, build, organize, learn, etc.

Where:

Identify the location(s) if this applies to the defined
goal.

When:

Set a time frame for the goal to be accomplished.

Which:

Identify the requirements for the goal. It is also
important to identify and understand the constraints.

Why:

This is really important! Understand the specific reason,
purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal. Having a compelling
WHY helps you to focus your effort and motivates you to attain the
goal.

Ensure that your goals are specific and clearly defined. An example
of a specific goal will be "I want to go back to school to get a
Bachelor degree in Computer Science." It's not just "I want to go
back to school." It's stating exactly what type of degree you want
to obtain.

Measurable

A measurement provides feedback and lets you know when the goal is
achieved. It is important to establish concrete criteria for
measuring your progress as you work towards achieving the goals
that you set.

To determine if your goal is measurable, asks questions like - How
much? How many? How will I know when the goal is achieved?

It is easier to stay on track when you measure your progress. It's
like managing a project - if you can't measure your progress, you
can't manage your project.

Measuring your progress helps a lot when you have smaller,
short-term goals that leads to a long-term goal. As you reach your
target date on the short-terms goals, you experience a sense of
excitement that stimulates you to intensify your efforts at
achieving your goals.

Attainable

After your goals are identified, you begin to figure out how to
accomplish them. In the process, you develop new attitude,
abilities, skills and financial capability required to reach your
goals. You begin to pay closer attention to previously overlooked
opportunities that brings you closer to achieving your goals.

Almost any goal is attainable when you plan wisely and establish a
time frame that allows you to reach that goal. However, if your
goals are too far out, there is a high probability that you won't
commit to doing it when you know that it's too much for you.

Work on developing yourself, and with time you just might have
gathered enough resources to achieve those seemingly insurmountable
goals.

Realistic

Realistic goals are challenging yet attainable within the given
time frame. The goal needs to be realistic for you and where you
are at the moment. A goal of losing 50 pounds in one month may be
unrealistic for someone who has never exercised and enjoys
carbohydrates.

Set goals that you can attain with some effort. When the goal is
too difficult to attain, you might be setting yourself up to fail.
On the other hand, setting a goal that doesn't require too much
effort to achieve exerts low motivational force. It sends the
message that you are not capable.

Make your goals high enough that you feel some sense of
satisfaction after achieving such goals. In the example given
earlier, someone who wants to go back to school to get a degree in
Computer Science will put in a lot of hours to study, do homework,
and write codes. After getting the degree, such a person
experiences the exhilaration of achievement.

Timely

Set an aggressive, yet realistic time frame for the goal. Putting
an end point to your goal creates a sense of urgency and gives you
a target to work towards.

For me personally, when I don't set time to accomplish a goal, my
commitment is vague. I tend to procrastinate because I feel like I
can start at any time. Without a time limit, there is no urgency to
take action immediately.

Be sure to allocate an appropriate time frame to your goal. The
time must be attainable and realistic.

My challenge to you

Everyone can benefit from goals that are SMART. Setting SMART goals
gives you a sense of purpose.

My challenge to you is to set a goal and accomplish it! No excuse