Now that it is the second week of January, I’m sure you have thought about what goals or intentions (as I like to call them) you want to set for the new year, but before you do, make sure that they are SMART ones. I always cringe when I hear someone say that their one and only goal for the new year is lose 50 pounds when they haven’t broken it down into smaller, more realistic goals. How will you lose 50 pounds if you haven’t defined exactly what steps you need to take in order for the weight to come off? As an update to a post from last year, I thought it would be good to review SMART goals.
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Specific: What are you going to do in order to achieve your goal? If your goal is to workout five days a week, what type of exercise are you going to do and for how long? When…first thing in the morning, while your children nap, the lunch hour or at the end of the day after work? If your goal is to eat healthier, define what that means. Will you eat so many fruits and veggies per day, only go out to eat once a week, etc? Be very specific of exactly what you are going to do and include all of the details (who, what, when and where).
Measurable: Set goals that you can measure and track over time. Measurable goals allow you to gauge your progress and reward yourself for staying on track. For example, if your goal is weight loss, you can certainly measure it. Weigh yourself before you start working on your goal, in periodic increments, and at the end of the time period you set for yourself to accomplish it.
Attainable: Make sure you goals are realistic and reasonable. If your goal is to lose all of your baby weight in four weeks, how realistic is that? It took nine months to gain the weight, so give yourself at least that time to lose it! Break the goal down into a smaller one of losing 1-2 pounds a week. It is all about making smaller, more attainable goals (baby steps) to help you ultimately reach your larger goal.
Relevant: How relevant are your goals to what you ultimately want to achieve? If your ultimate goal is running a marathon, why set a goal for losing weight? The weight loss will come from your training, so just focus on setting goals related to running to prepare you for the marathon.
Time Specific: Set a time limit as to when you want to accomplish your goals. Is it in 3, 6, 9 or 12 months? Setting a date is important, as it gives you something to work towards. Without a date, you might be less likely to stick to your goals and you can get trapped in the thinking that you have lots of time to accomplish them, thus you will continue to procrastinate. If you keep saying to yourself, “I can always start tomorrow,” chances are you will never accomplish your goal, as you will continue to put it off.
Questions:
What are some of your goals for 2014?
Do you use SMART goals when setting goals for yourself?
I’ve never used the SMART method before… partially bc i’ve never heard of it until now. Ha! Love the whole idea behind it though. For January I’m just working on not assuming someone is giving me attitude when they arent.
Once I learned about SMART goals, it is the only way I construct goals now. I find that it really helps to stick with your goals and not forget about them!