SMART Goals
It's that time of year again! Actually it's not, it's like the middle of August. Not exactly New Year's resolutions but I'm setting goals anyways! And they're gonna be smart this time (or at least broken down into smaller, achievable SMART goals).
SMART goals, like [[!OKR]]s, are there to help you set clear and reachable goals with an eye towards practicalility and a clear sense of progress and completion.
SMART
- Specific (What do you want to accomplish? Make it clear and task-orientated, not abstract. Consider who/what/when/where/why)
- Measurable (what can you track to determine if you've met the goal? Makes the goal tangible)
- Achievable (How important is this goal? Is it motivating? Is it achievable in the timeframe with your current tools/skills? If not, what do you need to attain them?)
- Relevant (Does it make sense with broader business and/or personal goals?)
- **Time bound **(What is the deadline? Can the goal be achieved within that? What are the key milestones?)
smartER
SMART goals can be extended in a variety of ways (wikipedia collects a few, along with some alternative goal-related acronyms because you know you have to have an acronym for everything). The main trends are:
- Evaluate (Is it agreed with relevant folks? Can you consistently evaluate and recognise progress?)
- Review (Reflect at the end of the period on what worked/what didn't and why)
- Impact (What is the desired social impact or objective beyond yourself and how is that measured?)
Executing
Some words of wisdom I heard is that if you're hitting all your goals 100%, you're not stretching yourself or thinking big enough. You want to stretch, but not make it unachievable. A 70% success rate might be 'true' success, indicating you're heading in the right direction but still dreaming big enough to grow.