SMART Goals

A goal is something that you want to achieve, but it has to be SMART. What are SMART goals?

S.M.A.R.T. is a mnemonic acronym, giving criteria to guide in the setting of goals and objectives, for example in project management, employee-performance management and personal development. The letters S and M generally mean specific and measurable. Possibly the most common version has the remaining letters referring to achievable (or attainable), relevant, and time-bound. However, the term’s inventor had a slightly different version and the letters have meant different things to different authors, as described below. Additional letters have been added by some authors.

The first-known use of the term occurs in the November 1981 issue of Management Review by George T. Doran. The principal advantage of SMART objectives is that they are easier to know and understand when they have been done. SMART criteria are commonly associated with Peter Drucker‘s management by objectives concept.

* From Wikipedia

SMART goals are:

1. Specific: Your goal should be specific and measurable. You need to know how much you need to achieve it, what the deadline is, and what the steps are necessary for getting there.

2. Measurable: Your goal should be quantifiable. It needs a way of being measured so that you can see whether or not you are making progress on reaching it.

3. Achievable: Your goal should not be too hard or too easy to achieve – it should be within your reach. If it’s too hard, you might put off achieving it altogether; if it’s too easy, you might not appreciate the achievement as much when you do reach it.

3. Relevant: Your goal should be of importance. It needs to be relevant to you personally. If it’s not, then it might not be achievable and that would put you off achieving the goal itself.

5. Time-based: Your goal should be at least 6 months away to allow time for it to become a reality. This is important because you need time to plan and prepare. However, be sure to set a realistic, yet ambitious goal.