Goal setting helps you build the life that you want. When you set goals with clear action plans, you can determine how to use your time and resources to progress forward. When you fail to develop good goals, you will lack direction and purpose.
According to Zig Ziglar:
A goal properly set is halfway reached.
Learning to become a good goal setter liberates you from the ranks of mediocrity. It creates a sense of purpose in your day-to-day life. It energizes you to take action to meet your goals. It provides an action plan for getting things done.
Becoming a goal setter is important when it comes to:
- Setting your career paths.
- Determining business success.
- Designating performance goals.
Using a solid goal framework will lay the necessary steps for what success looks like. I recommend incorporating SMART goals to your goal-setting processes.
What are SMART Goals?
SMART is an acronym. It stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based. When you follow this formula, you can start setting SMART goals to craft well-planned, trackable, and precise goals.
You might have set goals in the past that were difficult to track or achieve because it was improperly framed. Starting with poorly crafted goals makes it nearly impossible to achieve anything. Write SMART goals to design what success looks like for you.
SMART goal's definition:
S = Specific
Use clear and concise language to describe what you want to achieve. When your goals are specific, it will be easier to set the roadmap towards accomplishing it.
Example: "I want to write a children's book that generates $10,000 monthly by the end of the year."
M = Measurable
You should always set measurable goals. The goal should be tracked based on the metrics of your choice. You should always use numbers to determine the progress towards your goal. Using milestones gives you the opportunity to evaluate how you are doing.
Example: I will write 5 pages for 30 days to finish writing 150 pages for the first draft of the book.
A = Achievable
You should aim for achievable goals. Set goals that are within your ability to accomplish. People often make the mistake of choosing goals that are too far beyond their reach. Before you create a goal, determine whether you have the capability to reasonably accomplish the goal. If not, set the preliminary steps you need to take to get to that point.
Example: "I will take a 30-day writing course to learn how to write captivating content."
R = Relevant:
When implementing SMART goals, you should determine whether it's relevant and important to you. Each goal should align with your long-term goals. If a goal simply isn't that important to your long-term objectives, ask yourself why this goal is important to you.
Example: In order to market my book effectively, I will put out short-stories weekly on my website to collect emails and build an audience to sell to.
T= Time-based:
Deadlines help motivate and prioritize goals. Setting realistic timeframes allows you to budget time and resources to achieving your goals.
Example: To write a book that generates $10,000 per month by the end of the year, I will sign by for a good writing course by this Friday.
Why Use SMART Goals?
SMART goals help you with performance management. It gives you a clear and concise direction for what needs to happen by when. When the goals you set are SMART, you will be able to track, manage, and achieve your goals efficiently.
Here are some circumstances you might want to set SMART goals:
- Increasing employee engagement by setting an employee's goals.
- Motivating your sales team to increase sales.
- Help your team improve customer satisfaction.
- Setting professional development objectives with your staff.
- Helping your inventory management software development team set agile goals.
- Creating a marketing strategy for boosting organic traffic and brand awareness
5 Examples of SMART Goals
I have created a list of SMART goals examples below:
Example 1: Writing a film script
I will write a 120-page feature film script about Steve Jobs by the end of 4 months to pitch Sony Studios.
- Specific: The goal of writing a script has a well-defined topic.
- Measurable: Success is measured by the number of pages within 2 months.
- Achievable: The goal setter will write 1 page per day to complete this goal.
- Relevant: The goal setter wants to create a script to sell to a major studio.
- Time-based: The goal setter needs to accomplish this goal by the end of 4 months.
Example 2: Applying to be a manager
I will apply for 5 finance manager positions at my company after I finish my MBA program at the end of this academic quarter.
- Specific: The goal setter has a goal to be promoted to be a manager.
- Measurable: Success is measured by finishing the MBA program, and applying to 5 different managerial positions.
- Achievable: The goal setter will have the appropriate credentials after their MBA program to apply.
- Relevant: The goal setter is looking to advance their career after completing their MBA.
- Time-based: The goal setter will achieve the objective by the end of the academic quarter.
Example 3: Building blog traffic
I want to boost my blog's traffic by 10% this month by posting 8 new blog posts weekly.
- Specific: This goal has a specific goal of a 10% increase based on 8 new pieces of content per week.
- Measurable: Success is based on the amount of content and the increase in traffic.
- Achievable: The blog traffic increased by 10% the last time they posted 8 times.
- Relevant: By generating more blog traffic, they generate more leads and sales.
- Time-based: The goal will be completed by the end of the month.
Example 4: Increase conversions on the landing page
I want to increase the conversions of my landing page by 10% this week by adding a banner at the top.
- Specific: The goal is specifically aiming for a 10% increase in conversions.
- Measurable: Success is measured by a 10% conversion rate increase.
- Achievable: Adding banners have been seen to increase conversions by 10% for similar pages.
- Relevant: Generating more conversions means the business has more customers
- Time-based: The goal needs to be complete by the end of the week.
Example 5: Selling real estate
I want to perform my first $500K real estate sale by the end of 3 months.
- Specific: The goal is specifically to sell a $500K property, not a $200k property or $1M property.
- Measurable: Success is committing a single $500K sale.
- Achievable: As long as they reach out to the right leads and do open houses, they should be able to sell the home.
- Relevant: The first $500K sale will give them money and confidence.
- Time-based: The goal needs to be accomplished by the end of 90 days.
Final Words
Setting SMART goals helps you visualize and understand the steps needed to accomplish your objectives. It's easy to just start running with a rough idea of what you need to do. But this is usually a recipe for disaster. When you properly invest time and effort into effective planning and goal setting, your goals become significantly easier to accomplish. Figure out what your ideal life looks like. Write down your long-term and short-term goals. Determine how everything integrates together. Then execute until your goals come true.