Previously I shared my plan to start my goals for 2015 this week. I left you with the assignment to narrow down to 1-3 of your own. Did you do it?
Here is one of my 3 goals: Lose Weight.
I have another personal goal and just one professional goal. I’ll stick to talking about losing weight for the purposes of this post, though.
I have a good goal, but it has a couple problems. How will I actually accomplish this goal? Also, how will I know I have accomplished this goal? When will I know I’m done?
I need to make my goal what Michael Hyatt calls SMART.
- Specific
- Measurable
- Actionable
- Realistic
- Time-bound
Let’s go through each.
1) Specific – I must identify exactly what I want to accomplish. Be very clear.
Bad: Lose Weight.
Good: Lose weight, keep it off and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
2) Measurable – It’s not helpful if you don’t really know if you hit your goal or not. You must quantify your goal.
Bad: Lose some weight.
Good: Lose 20 lbs, keep it off and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
3) Actionable – Make your goals begin with action verbs (lose, run, finish, etc.). Using a to-be verb (“be,” “have,” etc.) would be the opposite of what you want. Deciding on values for your life might involve a to-be verb (e.g., Be Health, Be Present, Be Honest), but here we are working on establishing goals and new habits.
Bad: Be more consistent at running.
Good: Run 3 times a week.
4) Realistic – Don’t go crazy attempting to do something you really can’t.
Bad: Become a professional athlete.
Good: Exercise 3-5 times a week.
5) Time-bound – You need a date. When is it going to be done? You can make it December 31st or March 1st. The important thing is to have an due date on your goal.
Bad: Lose 10 lbs.
Good: Lose 10 lbs by March 1st.
So instead of “lose weight,” my new SMART goal is going to be: Lose 20lbs by October 1st, 2015.
For more on SMART goals, see The Beginner’s Guide to Goal Setting and How to Make New Year’s Resolutions Stick by Michael Hyatt.
Please share your goal(s) for 2015. Are they SMART? Tell me in the comments section.
