# SMART Goals Setting goals for yourself is a must, but **goals need structure**. Designing SMART goals is even better. Let’s explore what those are! ## What are SMART Goals Goals range between lifelong dreams and short-term wins you can achieve. And that’s fine! But ideally, your goals should be achievable within a certain time frame. They should be clear, realistic, achievable, and, importantly, relevant to you. SMART is an acronym that stands for: - Specific - Measurable - Achievable - Relevant - Time-bound Moreover, you should be able to tell if you’re making tangible progress towards your goals, and reevaluate or abandon those if needed. Setting SMART goals helps because it gives you clear objectives, motivation, and focus, ways to observe your progress, and means to move on when you need to. SMART goals help focus efforts, use your time and resources productively, and improve your chances of success. **SMART goals are concrete, significant, meaningful, inspiring, and action-oriented**. Let’s dive deeper. ## Specific For a goal to be meaningful, it needs to be specific. Vague goals rarely help moving forward. They just raise questions and create doubt. When you define a goal, make sure to dig deep enough to have a clear objective in mind, and an idea about how to get from start to finish. Ask yourself the following questions: - What needs to be achieved? - Why is this goal important to me? - What are the main steps required to go from A to Z? - Who needs to work on it? Who will be involved? - Which resources do I (or we) need? - Who will be responsible for it? - What does DONE mean for this goal? Based on your analysis, write down a sentence that expresses the goal clearly. Here’s a bad example ❌ > I want to be the boss Here’s a better one ✔️ > I want to grow from my current role to the highest position possible in the firm I’m currently working for. To achieve this, I need to improve my communication skills, my management skills as well as my negotiation skills. I need to express my motivation and apply for open positions that will move me forward. I will consider myself done once I am at least two levels above in the company’s hierarchy. The first goal isn’t specific at all, while the second is very specific. It is much clearer. ## Measurable If a goal is well-defined, it should be straightforward to know when you’re making progress. The fuzzier the goal, the harder it is to know which direction to take and to feel the progress you make. Ask yourself the following questions: - How will I recognize progress? - How will I know when I’m done? - When and how will I know I have failed? Include measurable elements in your goal definition. ## Achievable It’s okay to dream and set inspiring goals. But goals you can never achieve can break your morale. Generally speaking, prefer goals that are realistic and achievable. Your goals should be within your reach. At least your short-term goals, that is. There may be different reasons making some goals hard or impossible to achieve: - Not having the budget you need or ways to get the funding - Not having the physical or mental ability to get where you need to - Not having the bandwidth to work toward that goal - … Before you add a goal, make sure it is actually achievable. However, consider that even if you lack some resources right now, there may be a path forward where you find what you currently lack. Moreover, evolving towards being able to achieve a new goal might be an intermediary goal you could focus on. Ask yourself the following questions: - How realistic is this goal? - How can I accomplish this? - Is there a way to get access to what I need? ## Relevant Your goals should align with your needs, values, principles and [[Personal Manifesto]]. Not only that, but your goals should fit into your life’s purpose. There’s no point in chasing a dream that gets you to a place you don’t want to be. And there’s more to that. Sometimes, the journey itself may be long, and you might not enjoy it at all. So make sure that your goals are relevant and meaningful to you. Ask yourself the following questions: - Does this goal align with my needs, values, principles, and life purpose? - Does this goal move the needle forward in my life? - Will working towards this goal help me grow in a meaningful way? - Am I the right person to achieve this? - Does this conflict in important ways with my other goals? - Is it the right time for me to do this? ## Time-bound You should have a clear idea about when (at the latest) you want your goal to be achieved. Set a time limit on your goals. That way, you won’t chase an unattainable dream too long. Once you hit the time limit, you will still get to choose if it’s worth continuing to invest, or if it’s time to move on to something else. I have faced situations where my goals were not time-bound and, after the fact, I realized that I had just wasted a ton of time and money. You can check out my story. Now, I have learned my lesson. It’s okay to let go, and it is often even very beneficial. - When can I start? - When should I achieve meaningful progress? - When should I be done? - What can I do within a week, a month, a year? - When should I give up? ## Example > I am going to learn programming and Web development. My goal is to switch careers and find a junior-level job within two years. I will spend an hour every day of the work week. Each month, I will build a prototype to showcase my progress and hone my skills. This will enable me to observe my progress and understand where I need to improve. If I don’t manage to get a job within two years, then I will choose another path. This goal is SMART. It is specific enough, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. ## Resources - SMART Goals Evaluation sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Ooz7hzvNIrLsBE-hKAdkAddQdYFy__K-mzHnGNMNYKk/ ## References - SMART Criteria: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria - How to set SMART goals: https://clockify.me/blog/productivity/smart-goals - How to write SMART goals: https://www.ucop.edu/local-human-resources/_files/performance-appraisal/How%20to%20write%20SMART%20Goals%20v2.pdf - Examples: https://helpfulprofessor.com/smart-goals-examples-for-students/ - My failed startup story: https://www.dsebastien.net/2021-01-04-20-months-in-2k-hours-spent-and-200k-lost-a-story-about-resilience-and-the-sunk-cost-fallacy   ## Related - [[Personal Manifesto]]