How to reach your smart goals

Remember last New Year’s Eve? Probably you were out partying and enjoyed ringing in the New Year with your friends.

But do you also remember your New Year’s Resolutions? Doing more sports, getting organized, quitting smoking, or eating healthier was probably on your list. And with utmost probability, one or several of these resolutions have been on your list before. So why is it so hard to actually reach our goals and do more sports, get organized, quit smoking, or eat healthier?

Research by Dr. Locke has shown that goals are often not reached because they are not specific enough. If a goal is too general, it does not function as a powerful motivator and you are more likely not to reach it.

Setting smart goals

In order to influence yourself and to increase your motivation, every goal should be clear and challenging. By following the SMART-principle, any goal can easily be converted into something more specific and motivating.

SMART is for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound. Applied to a specific idea like getting organized this would mean:

-Specific: What exactly do you want to organize? Your laptop, your receipts, your apartment? Specify as much as possible!

-Measurable: Define at what point you consider your goal completed, for example when all the stuff in your apartment has been organized into boxes and drawers.

-Attainable: Are you actually capable of reaching your goal? Set goals that are challenging, but still attainable.

-Relevant: If something is irrelevant to you, you will not be motivated to work for it. So tweak your goals in a way that clearly reveals your personal benefit from reaching the goal.

-Time-bound: Always set up a deadline for your goals, for example to organize all the files on your laptop by next Friday.

The importance of goal-setting

Why is this type of goal-setting important for ambitious women (and of course, ambitious men)? If you want to have a successful career, you will constantly have to improve your work, continue learning and developing new skills. This does not happen over night and it will demand time and persistence. However, by setting goals that follow the SMART principle, you can easily keep track of what you are working on and how well you are doing. Consequently, you will be less likely to just give up on your plans.

So why not think about three goals you’ve been trying to reach for a while and define them according to the SMART principle right now?

Carolin