Set Smart Goals

I started posting an inspirational video every Monday called Opportunity Day. These are under three minutes and will focus on changing our attitude about Monday. (Go see them all here.) Monday has traditionally gotten a bad reputation because we *have* to go to work. Instead we should see our work as an opportunity.

Anyway, this latest video was about setting goals and sharing them with someone. You can set goals all you want but if you don’t tell anyone you will be more likely to procrastinate and make excuses.

I mentioned that goals need to be SMART but since my videos are off the cuff and live, I couldn’t remember the acrostic. So, here it is:

Specific – set specific goals. I once heard someone describe this as being able to hand the goal to someone else and they should be able to do it.

Measurable – You need to be able to know when you accomplish the goal. “Get better at responding to emails.” is not a measurable goal. “Respond to all emails within 24 hours.” is measurable. You will know if an email is in your inbox too long.

Attainable – If a goal is not attainable, forget it. You won’t keep trying to shoot at a target that can’t be hit.

Relevant – An irrelevant goal, or one that is on the fringes of importance to you, will leave your cross-hairs quickly.

Time Based – Set a time limit for your goal. This does two things, it makes you run after it right now and it keeps a goal from gathering cobwebs. If you don’t set a time limit, a goal can sit there for years. I know this from experience.

Lets all get SMARTer together.