Setting up SMART Life Goals for the New Year!
If you're in the corporate world, there is a good chance that you've already stumbled upon SMART Goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
I have been working as a manager for several years, and it's been almost etched in me to prepare goals to achieve for my job. Depending on my role, it could be for a team I handle, for the business, and now for the product I manage.
It is the season of planning in our company. It took me more than a week to come up with a draft for 2023. Having thought about it, I'm doing pretty well in setting up and achieving goals on the job. The question is can I apply the same in real life?
Before we answer that, let's dig a tad deeper and understand SMART.
What is SMART in SMART Goals?
S - Specific
In setting specific goals, one should put details that bring clarity to everyone who reads it.
In a corporate setup, it usually answers the following questions:
What do you want to achieve?
When do you see it happening?
Who would do the action?
M - Measurable
Making sure the goal is measurable and trackable is another prerequisite in SMART. Here are some poor examples you should avoid in coming up with a measurable goal:
In your job: Be the best team in the company.
Make it measurable: Be the top team by selling 10,000 units per month...
In real life: I want to be more generous.
Make it measurable: I will donate 3% of my monthly income to...
A-Attainable
Being realistic with your goals is almost a no-brainer in setting up goals. You don't want to have something that gets you tired and lazy just thinking about how to achieve it.
This is where having a retrospect and looking at historical data comes into play. This will serve as a baseline for you to gauge whether the goal is doable.
You know yourself better than anyone. You know you can't take over the world in a flash.
R - Relevant
Your goals need to be important. It's pointless to achieve something that has no bearing. So look at the big picture and weigh things that deserve your time, focus, and energy.
T - Time-bound
In school, do you remember the stress and pressure when the teacher shouts 'last 5 minutes' during an exam? You hurried and gave it your all. It's the impact of timeboxing tasks.
Be sure to give yourself a healthy amount of pressure to hit your targets!
Is SMART applicable in real life?
It would be dopey not to see how SMART could help you reach your life goals. It would improve how you set your targets and possibly help you reach them.
We have varying reasons and motivations for coming up with our goals whether in work or life. Hence, I believe it all boils down to the following truths:
A goal is just a goal unless you execute it.
It's very likely you will not be able to achieve your goal, but that's okay, you become better every time you try.
When you achieve your goal, remember to be grateful, always.
I hope we all become SMART this coming new year!
