It can be difficult to create a good goal and stick to it. Sometimes, your can meet your goal easily and not see much progress in your life, while other times, you might make a goal you think you can reach but it is unattainable. Setting goals is helpful because they give you more motivation and organization, both in the short-term and the long-term, so your goals must be of high quality. One way to do this is to create “SMART” goals, which are proven to give your project a good foundation.
What are SMART Goals?
SMART is the mnemonic for all the different qualities that good goals should include. It stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based.
Specific: First, any goal you set must be specific. You should know the who, what, where, when, and why of your goal in order to make sure that it is well-planned. This will allow you to stay on track, and eventually, you will be able to meet your goal more easily. Otherwise, you may have issues along the way that provide you with road bumps and delays.
Measurable: A goal is measurable if it describes exactly how much you want to get done. You should be able to measure your success in reaching the goal, whether it be regarding how many clients you want to serve, or how many hours of work you want to get done. If a goal is measurable, then it is obvious once it has been accomplished and this will keep you motivated as you continue to progress.
Achievable: Your goal must also be achievable, which describes whether or not you can reasonably accomplish it. It needs to be realistic because otherwise, you will lose motivation to continue working on it. Also consider constraints such as how much time you have to get it done, as well as how much money or effort you need to commit to achieving your goal.
Relevant: It is also necessary that your goal is relevant to your life and your career. If it is not, then you will have difficulties with prioritizing it and getting it done quickly and efficiently. When your goal is related to your values and long-term hopes and dreams, then you are more likely to treat it seriously and succeed. It will feel much more important to you than other projects that may not be so relevant to your life.
Time-based: Finally, you should make sure that your goal is timely. Deadlines are important to ensure that you know how much you need to get done and when you need to make this progress. This includes short-term milestones and an ultimate long-term deadline for when your entire project should be completed. You may base the deadline on events going on in your life, such as when your next project begins or when you plan on going on vacation, or it can be defined by the estimated amount of time the project should take.
How do SMART goals work?
SMART goals are clear and practical enough that they can help you organize your thoughts and get things done. The structure that the SMART mnemonic gives will make sure that your goal is detailed and practical. Without this, you may have difficulties planning how to meet your goal and could lose sight of your objective.
When you have an idea of something you would like to accomplish, just use the SMART mnemonic to organize your plans. Walk through each adjective and make sure that you incorporate it into your goal, and if you do, you are sure to be successful in staying on track. You will always know what the next step to take is and you will also be able to track your progress along the way.
Enterprise Staffing knows that SMART goals are important, and we use this framework as the backbone of every project. Whether you want a construction worker, an electrician, or a medical staff member, we will give you what you need, and all of our staff members will get the job done quickly and efficiently through setting SMART goals, and we encourage you to do the same.