Smart Goal Setting
By
setting SMART goals and by measuring their achievement, you are able to
see what you have done and what you are capable of.
The process of achieving
goals and recognizing their achievement will give you the confidence
and a belief in yourself that you'll need to be able to achieve
higher or more difficult goals.
Providing that you have the
self-discipline to carry it through, goal setting can be relatively
easy. However, while most of us are great at setting goals, many of
us are unable to follow through to completion.
Do you fit this mold? How
many times have you decided on a course of action but then lacked
the discipline to carry it through? How many times do you make the
same New Year's resolutions year after year? You're not alone. The
majority of people do not ever carry out these resolution – although
they are a great topic of conversation on the night.
Two of the biggest causes of
not achieving your goals are
-
Not being specific about the goal
and
-
Procrastination. Both of these can
be overcome.
That's where setting
SMART goals comes in. SMART goals are
-
Specific
-
Measurable
-
Action-Oriented
-
Realistic
-
Timed
For example when planning
career goals it is not satisfactory to set a goal like "take a
course" or "go back to school". These aren't goals … they are vague
ideas. You must make the goal specific. For example, "I will enter a
college computing program next fall" or "for the next three months I
will search for work in the banking industry". You must be specific
about exactly what you are trying to achieve and when you want to
achieve it.
Overcoming procrastination
starts with setting a priority level for all tasks that lead towards
your goal. Make a list. Always do the high priority tasks first and
leave the lower priority tasks for later. Another worthwhile step is
to perform the tasks that – in your mind at least – are the worst or
the most onerous. Get these jobs out of the way and the remainder of
the tasks won't seem nearly as difficult or time consuming.
It is worthwhile spending
some time considering why you procrastinate. Do you prefer to spend
your time online, or gaming, or reading? If you are unconsciously
avoiding taking the steps that will lead you to achieve your goal,
you are sabotaging your own best outcome. Or are you? Have you set a
goal that you really want to achieve?
If you've set your goal and
you are determined to achieve it then having identified the things
that cause you to procrastinate it should not be difficult to avoid
those poor habits and take the necessary prioritized steps to
achieving your goal.
