The jump-off has finally arrived. 2018 has come in with a blast and what better time to start fresh. New goals, new tasks, a new outlook and even better a top of the grind mindset. What are your goals for 2018? Are you looking to launch a new product/service? Will you invest in cryptocurrency? Are you seeking new direction? Everyone is looking for the come up and 2018 will be the greatest opportunity to do so. With the start of 2018, I plan to use S.M.A.R.T. Goals worksheet to layout my year ahead. If you haven’t heard of SMART goals, here’s a brief description. “An S.M.A.R.T. goal is defined as one that is specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time-bound. … goal criteria.”
If you have heard of S.M.A.R.T goals before…jump below to download our worksheet to get started.
SPECIFIC – While crafting your goal keep in mind that it needs to be spelled out very precisely and drilled down and you also need to have a reason WHY behind your goal. By attaching some benefit or emotional attachment, this will help you stay on track and keep you focused. For example, a goal might be to earn $12,500 per month and onboard 5 new quality clients monthly in the next 90 days. Using language that leaves no doubt as to what the goal is, why you want to achieve the goal, and how you will reach your goal is very important. If you are not able to be detailed in your description of the goal, it will be hard to meet it. Take the time to do this part right.
MEASURABLE – This is where a Journal comes into play. Your journal acts as a report card and a method to measure what you want to accomplish and what you actually accomplished. If your goal cannot be quantified, then it is not a full goal and you will not know when you have succeeded. An example of a measurable goal would be “I want to deposit into our bank account an additional $200 dollars per week. I will accomplish this by adding an additional 10 paying customers to my store each week.”
[bctt tweet=”Welcome 2018 by getting your SMART goals in order. https://goo.gl/gM9QR3″ username=”@webpres”]
ACHIEVABLE – There are different things that “A” can stand for, but it’s usually actionable or achievable. In order to achieve anything, you must take action. So, make your goal actionable, where you do something each day that will eventually result in an accomplished goal. You want to make sure that your goals are achievable or you will quickly get frustrated. Be accurate about the time it takes to reach a goal, and what actions it takes to get there. Also, know who will be responsible for doing it.
REALISTIC – “R” can stand for realistic or relevant, and both are important. In order for your goal to lead to success, your goal should most certainly be realistic or you will fail. If you’re currently making $500 a week and your goal is to increase that to $10,000 in 90 days, that’s not realistic. However, you may be able to increase it by $300. Once you achieve that goal and are earning $800 a week, you can set a new goal to increase your income by another $500 a week or something similar.
Make your goals as realistic as possible. Your goal should also be relevant to your life’s vision and match your values. There is no point in making or achieving goals that have no relevance to your long-term life goals. You could instead use that time to reach goals that get you one step closer to actually reaching your life goals. So always ask yourself, if the goal is relevant to your life goals. Yes, you should have life goals!
TIME BOUND / TIMELY / TRACKABLE – Various authors refer to the “T” in the S.M.A.R.T. acronym as time-bound, timely or trackable. I like time-frame just because an hour is a frame of time and it is easier for me to visualize. All of these T’s are important parts of the goal creating and setting process. If you do not set a time limit and you can not track what is happening, your goal will be hard to quantify or show as achieved. In other words, your goal is incomplete.
[bctt tweet=”Welcome 2018 by getting your SMART goals in order. https://goo.gl/gM9QR3″ username=”@webpres”]
Let’s work together to create some S.M.A.R.T. goals. Download the following quick guide and worksheet below to get started. Feel free to comment on additional conversation or check us out on FACEBOOK.