Creating SMART goals.

S pecific
M easurable
A ttainable
R elevant
T ime bound

In the previous exercise one of the goals I set was to de clutter my life and lighten my load.  This is not really specific enough to be considered a goal.  Unless a goal is specific it is hard to know how and where to get started.  Creating SMART goals makes all the difference.

Create SMART goals by asking the following questions.

WHAT, WHO, WHEN, HOW, WHY?

WHAT?  Do we know exactly what I want to achieve?  Sort of but not exactly.  To answer the WHAT more fully.  I want to go through every room in my house and every cupboard and every draw.  As I do so I will throw out, recycle or sell everything that I no longer want or use.

WHO?  I will do it. 

WHEN?  I will put one hour a day aside to do this and one weekend day per week until it is done.  I will have the job completed by the end of October 2010

HOW?  One room and one cupboard at a time.   Something’s will go in the rubbish, some will go to the city mission, some I will sell on trade me.  Some I will arrange to take to a car boot sale.  Lots of things I will put out and invite friends to take when they come over.

WHY?  Because I want to simplify my life and lighten my load.  I want to free myself up to be able to travel or go where ever the next phase of my life takes me.

By the time I have answered these questions my goal is a lot SMARTER.  It is now specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound.

Next I put my goals through another little test just to make sure I really want what I say I want.  If my goals are not really desired – guess what – I won’t follow through. 

So I ask myself:

1.    Why do I want this?  Because I want to lighten up. I am looking for the next phase in my life and know de cluttering is a good first step.  This generally clears the way for a new direction to show up.

2.    Is it concrete and tangible?  Yes it is now.

3.    If I waved a magic wand and could have it now –does it feel right? Absolutely.  No question about it.

4.    What objections if any come up?  I worry that I don’t have the time or the energy.

If I find any objections lurking in the shadows I set about resolving them.

I ask myself is it reasonable to worry that I don’t have the time or the energy?  I realise it is when I race ahead in my mind that I feel overwhelmed.  If I simply stay in the present moment, stick to my schedule, taking one step at a time.  I don’t have a problem.

After I have put my goal through the process above, it is usually full steam ahead.  As long as I take the actions I said I would and review the situation regularly I find I keep moving towards my goal.

Example #2

Let’s take a more business focused example.

I want to increase my guitar teaching business.  (Not really a SMART goal yet.)

So let’s go through the questions.

WHAT?  I want to double my guitar students from 10 per week to 20 per week.  I want to double my revenue from $350 gross per week to $700 gross per week.

WHO?  I will do this.

WHEN?  I will begin now and plan to have achieved my goal by this time next month.

HOW? 

* Offer all existing students a free session when they introduce a friend.  The friend gets to come along and join in with their friend’s lesson, on a complementary basis for the first session.

* Offer group lessons where two or three can participate together for a reduced rate of $25 each per half hour instead of the usual rate of $35 per half hour.

* Create on my computer a flyer with my services and special offers.  Get some printed and hand out to parents and children at the local schools gates.

* Have my friend who is good with producing marketing copy look at the wording of what I produce.

* Approach the local schools and see if they have a need for someone to come in and teach guitar lessons as part of their music curriculum.

* Take my flyers into the local music stores and ask if they will place them on their counter for a month in exchange for me directing all my students to their stores.

* Run an advertisement in the local newspaper for three weeks.

WHY?  At the moment I am subsisting and I want to save and work towards achieving other goals in my life.

Having answered these questions my goal is now a lot SMARTER.  It is now specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound.

Again I put this goal through the final test just to make sure I really want what I say I want. 

1.    Why do I want this?  Pretty much what I said above for the WHY question.

2.    Is it concrete and tangible?  Yes it is now.

3.    If I waved a magic wand and could have it now – how does it feel? – is it right?  Absolutely.  No question about it.

4.    What objections if any come up?  I worry that I am not very confident about marketing myself.

Again any objections lurking in the shadows I need to resolve them.

In this instance I know I can do all those things.  I just need to take courage.  I will do this by doing one thing at a time.  I will also talk to my older brother who is always encouraging and will acknowledge and support me to take action.  He might even come with me to the school gates as this is possibly the hardest step for me to take.

Great, I now know what I need to do and exactly how and where to get started.

* * * The Next Step * * *

Write down something you want and take it through the steps of making it a SMART goal.