Are Your Goals SMART?

Are Your Goals SMART?

I know, I know the title is a little alarming and no I'm not insulting your intelligence. What I mean by "are your goals SMART?" is, do you have SMART goals? Unfamiliar with SMART goals? Great! Walk with me for a moment, SMART goals are five characteristics that assist you with completing your long terms goals; they consist of specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Here's a few ways to check if your on the SMART goal track:

Specific - What needs to be done?

(narrow down what your main goal is)

Measurable - Can it be measured?

(you want to be able to track your progress)

Achievable - Can it be done?

(will you be able to successfully execute on your goal)

Relevant - Should it be done?

(is your goal needed)

Time-Bound - When will it be done?

(putting a time frame/deadline towards your goal helps with seeing it through)

You want to utilize this process with most of your objectives, no matter the multitude; these steps are really useful for simplified projects. A thought that may run through your head, may be; how is this really beneficial to my process? It's a great way to hold yourself accountable and to make sure you actually complete what you set out to achieve. Also, I feel it helps with brainstorming; to me it really is the best method of brainstorming.

Although this process is very beneficial, it can be a bit complicated for objectives that require more creativity. Here are a few ways on how your creativity can be hindered, one key way is; it can cause you to have a limited view on your vision for major projects and for objectives that require more of a creative flow, you don't want to narrow your window. Another way would be putting a emphasis on setting deadlines, depending on the size of your team (if you have a team); this could possibly cause certain members to focus solely on meeting that deadline without including all of the different ideas that take place when you're utilizing your creative expression.

To ensure that this doesn't happen, always connect your SMART goals back to larger organizational objectives when it comes to the projects that require a little bit more creative intentionality. There are Pro's and Con's when it comes to SMART goals (even though I don't truly feel as if the Cons are really Con's, you just have exercise a little more brain power with the "Con's"), this method is still very beneficial to successfully accomplish your projects/task.

As always I hope that this information can assist you with conquering your goals, until next time; stay blessed and we'll chat soon! =)