Time to get SMART

A good way to bring calmness out of chaos is to set goals. I’m sure you’ve heard this a thousand times before, but it’s true. After all, if you don’t know what you want, how will you know when you’ve got it?

When you set goals, you should make sure they are SMART goals. This term was first proposed by George T. Doran in the November 1981 issue of Management Review.

The acronym stands for…

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time-Bound

Let’s go through these one at a time.

Specific: You should have a good idea of what the goal is. Know what you want to achieve.

Measurable: Have a way of tracking your progress. This can give you an incentive to stay on track as well as a way to stay motivated.

Achievable: Can you accomplish this goal? Is it realistic? If the answer is “no”, don’t waste your time. Move on to something else instead.

Relevant: Does your goal fit in to the bigger picture? Is it in line with other objectives or will it be a distraction? Your goal should be in alignment with other objectives.

Time-bound: Providing a deadline for completing a goal sets it in focus and helps to avoid procrastination. Make sure the deadline is realistic, however.

You can set SMART goals for a specific project, for a business in general, or for your life and what you want to make of it – either in the long or short term.

When deciding on how to achieve your goals, it’s a good idea to start with the result you want, and then work backwards to now. That way, you can define each step you need to take, and will know what is necessary to get the desired outcome before you even start to work towards it.

PS. Your copy of my Course to going from chaos to calm is waiting for you here: