It is that time of the year again, “New year, new me”! It is also time for everyone to create your New Year’s resolution that gets lost somewhere throughout the year. But wouldn’t you like this year to be different? There’s a way for you to create and maintain goals to make you look back on 2019 in satisfaction. So, let’s make 2019 SMART!
Creating SMART Goals
SMART goals are effective and achievable goals that will set yourself up for success. To make a goal SMART, it needs to be…
S- Specific: Be specific with your goal and include the 6 “W”s (who, what, when, where, which, why).
M- Measurable: Set milestones or steps needed to complete your goal.
A- Achievable: Goals are meant to inspire motivation, so is achieving your goal possible?
R- Realistic: Mainly with business goals. Make it relevant with your profession to help your business and your career.
T- Time-Bound: there is no such thing as an impossible goal, just an impossible timeline! (if your goal has steps, make a timeline for each step).
By transforming your goals into SMART goals, you are one step closer to a successful and productive year!
Maintain your SMART Goals
As most of us know, creating goals is the easy part. Sticking to them is a whole new story. Sometimes our goals overwhelm us so we just give up on them, or we just lose track of them. Fear not, here are some steps to ensure that you stay on track!
Step 1: First Create 5 SMART goals that you would like to complete in the next 2 years. Make sure these goals cover all aspects of your life (career, financial, education, family, attitude, physical etc.).
Step 2: Look at your list and decide which of these would have the most positive impact on your life if it was completed in 24 hours.
Step 3: Post these goals somewhere you can see them daily.
Step 4: Work on your number 1 goal all the time! Take turns working on your other 4 goals as needed.
According to author and business success Brian Tracy, if you work on your one major goal every day, you will find that you will feel more accomplished (Brian Tracy. 2016, May 10). The reason for this is that your number one goal is usually the hardest to complete. Most people throughout the year, spend most of their time working with the easier, less meaningful goals and find that after they do this, they do not feel that sense of accomplishment.
Brian Tracy, (2016, May 10). How to Set Goals: 80/20 Rule for Goal Setting | Brian Tracy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdiApKj3QPg