Be SMART in goal setting

July 2nd, 2007 by Carmen Schubert

“Setting goals is an extremely powerful technique for accomplishment, but it requires more then just writing down what you want to achieve”. That is a true statement. It can be quite a challenging task, but if goals are defined clearly, it is more easy to implement them. Most of us know how difficult it can be to set up goals and objectives.

In order to support you with this challenging task, Paul Christenbury has defined in his article different steps that will help to define and achieve goals with more success. The most effective guidelines in goal setting is probably the advice to set SMART goals. Setting SMART goals means that they should be…

- Specific
- Measurable
- Action-oriented
- Realistic
- Time and Resources Constrained

This formula is not a new invention, but it definitely helps to come your “dream” a bit closer. Goals should be clear and specific, so that we know what we are striving for. Furthermore, they need to be measurable in order to check if the goal has been reached or not. The goal should be action-oriented and realistic, so that it can be put into practice. Time and resources constrained means that a definite deadline for completion should be scheduled and furthermore, only limited resources are available.

It is fact, that some goals are easier to achieve then others. Maybe because they are only short-term oriented or easier to realize – I do not know. Nevertheless, we should face the goals we have set, especially the challenging ones. In order to simplify the process and be able to accomplish the goal, Paul Christenbury suggests to break goals down to manageable steps. And I think he is right. It is easier to go small steps to achieve a goal rather then taking a big step. Think about it.

Furthermore it is important to keep track and constantly review and re-assess the goals that have been set. Keep your goals in mind, and you will stay on track.