How to set goals with the SMART-method
Whether it’s getting fit, advancing in your career, or developing healthy habits, planning the details feels overwhelming…
Questions start to arise like:
–How exactly can I turn these ambitions into goals?
–How can I make my goals clear, realistic, and sustainable?
In this article, I’ll answer these questions and more, using the well-known SMART method. Here’s what you can expect:
- A dive into why setting goals matters
- An overview of the SMART method
- A break down of the 5 key elements of SMART goals
- Guiding questions to lead you through the goal setting process
- A real-life example to see the method applied in action
- Additional tips
Extra Information:
- Time needed: Reading time around 10 Min., if you follow the questions, plan at least 20 Min. in total
- Follow along: This article is designed for you to actively engage- read each section and answer the questions to get the most benefits
- What you will need: Paper (Notebook optional) and a pencil
- Set the mood: Grab something to drink, find a quiet place and make yourself comfortable
- My recommendation: Take your time to read and reflect by going through the questions. This article is meant to be read slowly and mindfully, not rushed. Plan out enough time, relax and enjoy
Why is goal setting important?
Many of us already have an idea of what we want to achieve. Unfortunately, our goals don’t become a reality unless we act on them.
And that becomes easier when we write them down and find a method to accomplish them. That provides the following things:
- Clarity and direction: Goal setting helps you to understand where you want to be in the future and what you want to achieve.
- Increases motivation and focus: By seeing what you are working towards, you feel motivated because you are coming closer to the vision of your desired self.
- Measures progress and success: By setting goals, you can track your progress and see what you have already accomplished. This allows you to celebrate your success and hold yourself accountable.
- It creates a sense of purpose and fulfillment: You are doing something that matters to you and that feels meaningful. It provides the sense of having a purpose.
What is the smart method?
The SMART method helps you to set clear, actionable, and structured goals. It increases the chances of achieving your desires because this method guides you through the goal-setting process.
Every letter in SMART stands for a word that represents the key principles of clear goal setting.
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
S for Specific
You want your goal to be specific and clear, making it easier to accomplish. That defines what you want without leaving room for misinterpretations.
To make your goal specific, ask yourself the following questions:
- What exact goal do I want to achieve?
- Why do I want to accomplish it?
- Who is involved in my goal?
- What kind of resources and equipment do I need?
- Where will it take place?
- When will it take place?
M for Measurable
A measurable goal helps you track your progress and see if you’re working towards it or not. It allows you to check if you are going in the right direction and helps you to stay focused.
The following questions can help you clarify how to measure your goal:
- What specific result will define my success?
- What smaller checkpoints or milestones can I set to break down my big goal into manageable steps?
- What tools and methods can I use to track my progress effectively?
A for Achievable
You want to set a goal that is achievable and realistic. It needs to be possible based on your skills, resources, and circumstances. If you don’t have the skill needed for your goal, you need to have the time to learn it.
- Is the goal realistic to achieve?
- Do I have the abilities, skills, or knowledge to accomplish the goal? If not, how realistic is it that I learn them?
- What obstacles could I face and how can I overcome them?
R for Relevant
The goal should be meaningful and important to you. It aligns with your values and supports your long-term vision. A relevant goal keeps you accountable and focused because it matters to you.
Here are again some questions to help you create a relevant goal:
- Would I still pursue this goal if the opinions of other people didn’t matter?
- Does the goal align with my long-term vision?
- How will achieving this goal influence my life? Will it bring me closer to the lifestyle I desire?
T for Time-bound
And finally, your goal should have a clear timeframe to be completed. It defines when you want to accomplish it and minimizes procrastination.
- When do I want to accomplish my goal? What is the specific date?
- Is the deadline set above realistic? Do I have to change my other priorities to make it attainable?
- How often am I going to track my goal?
Additional Tipps
Reflect yourself: While being on your journey, review your current progress to see if you’re on track or not. Look at what you’ve done so far‒ Are you meeting your deadlines? Are you struggling to get the smallest things done?
Be flexible: If you’re not getting anything done, try to change your approach. Take a closer look at your answers to the questions above and change them to fit your needs better. Maybe you’ve set unrealistic deadlines, an unspecific goal, or haven’t found time to pursue your goal.
Make it fun: Goals can always change over time and finding joy in the process is so important. Asking yourself how to celebrate your progress and adding rewards can make your journey motivating and sustainable.
A smart goal example
To make the goal-setting process with the SMART method easier, we’re going to go through every question together with a possible answer.
Let’s say your goal is to walk more.
Specific:
- What specific goal do I want to achieve? What exactly does “walk more” mean to you? Do you have a clear step goal, walking time, or several km you want to achieve daily/weekly/monthly?
- Answer: I want to get 10k steps done daily, it does not matter to me how long I walk and how many km I achieve.
- Why do I want to achieve this goal?
- Answer: I want to spend more time outside, get more movement during the day, and improve my overall health and my mood. I often sit at my desk and therefore lack much movement.
- Who is involved in my goal? Am I going to walk alone, with my friends, my family or a walking group?
- Answer: I am mostly going to walk alone. But if my friends spontaneously have time, they can join me.
- Where will it take place? Am I going to walk outside in my neighborhood or in nature? Do I want to walk on the treadmill in the gym?
- Answer: I want to walk in a park next to me, on my way to work and back home.
- What kind of resources or equipment do I need? Do I need to buy new clothes or comfortable shoes? Do I need a gym membership? Do I need an App or any other device to track my steps?
- Answer: I already have an App who tracks my steps and I own a pair of comfortable walking shoes. A Gym Membership is not needed because I am going to walk outside.
- When will it take place?
- Answer: Every morning I’m going to walk 15 minutes to work by getting off the bus 2 stops earlier. In my lunch breaks and my in-between- time, I am going to walk around 10-20 minutes in total. And on my way home I’ll walk 15 minutes again. On the weekends I am planning to walk in the park next to my home.
Measurable:
- What specific result will define my success?
- Answer: Achieving my daily step goal of 10k.
- What smaller checkpoints or milestones can I set to break down my big goal into manageable steps?
- Answer: I feel like getting 10k steps per day is too much for me at the beginning. I’m going to start with walking 5k steps daily for one month. Then I’ll increase it by 500 steps the following month. This way I can see slow but sustainable progress, without overwhelming myself.
- What tools and methods can I use to track my progress effectively?
- Answer: A step tracker that I can download from the AppStore.
Achievable:
- Is the goal realistic to achieve?
- Answer: By splitting my big goal (10k steps daily) into smaller goals (starting with 5k steps this month & increasing it by 500 steps monthly) it feels realistic and achievable.
- Do I have the abilities, skills, or knowledge to accomplish the goal? If not, how realistic is it that I learn them?
- Answer: I don’t see any problems here.
- What obstacles could I face and how can I overcome them?
- Answer: If the weather is bad, I can wear warm clothes or walk on the treadmill at the gym. If the weather is very warm, I am going to walk in the mornings or the evenings. On the days when it is really hard for me to walk, I make sure to reward myself by going to a cafe’ or watching a nice movie afterward.
Relevant:
- Would I still pursue this goal if the opinions of other people didn’t matter?
- Answer: Jes. It’s important to me to go out and get some daily movement. I benefit from it and seek energy out of my walks.
- Does the goal align with my long-term vision?
- Answer: Walking more aligns with my goal of living a balanced and active lifestyle. My health is significant to me and while walking outside I support the fit version of myself.
- How will achieving this goal influence my life?
- Answer: Hitting my daily step goal is going to improve my productivity, my energy, my mood, and my focus. That makes a positive impact on my life and brings me closer to the healthy and mindful lifestyle that I desire.
Time-bound:
- When do I want to accomplish my goal? What is the specific date?
- Answer: I want to start walking 5k steps daily this month. After that, I want to increase my monthly steps by 500 until I reach 10k steps per day. Then I want to keep it consistent. With this approach it would take me 10 months to achieve 10k steps daily.
- Is the deadline set above realistic? Do I have to change my other priorities to make it realistic?
- Answer: The deadline is realistic because I am making small improvements monthly. While increasing my steps every month, I have to invest more time into walking. I could cut other things shorter to prioritize my walks. For example reducing my screen time and work on my time-managment.
- How often am I going to track my goal?
- Answer: Every day I can check if I achieved my daily step goal by looking at my App.
Additional Tipps:
Reflect on yourself after a week: am I walking 5k steps daily or not? What is my step tracker saying? What is working good and bad so far?
Be flexible: If I do not walk consistently, why so, and what can I change? Should I postpone my walking times to the morning/noon/evening?
Find joy: How can I make the process of walking more enjoyable? Can I pair walking with listening to my favorite podcast? Can I reward myself every day/week/month by buying a new book, going to a café, watching a nice show on Netflix, or drinking my coffee every morning?
A possible, visual walking plan:
February: 5000 steps daily –Monthly reward: buying a new piece of clothing
March: 5500 steps daily –Monthly reward: going to a café
April: 6000 steps –Monthly reward: watching a cozy movie May: 6500 steps –Monthly reward: buying yourself flowers
My experience
I personally have a daily step goal as well and I noticed I walk naturally more on some days than others. That’s why I changed my goal of “getting 5k steps daily” to “achieving a monthly average of 5k steps”. It helped me to make the walking process more enjoyable and less strict and controlling!
Conclusion
- The SMART method guides you through the goal-setting process.
- Your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
- If you apply that you get clear and realistic goals, creating high chances of achievement
- Goals are most likely to always be a part of your life, that’s why you should make the whole process enjoyable and sustainable.
Now I am wondering what you think about the SMART method. Have you already tried it out? If so, have you succeeded or not?
Feel free to share your opinion in the comments or write me an Email via my contact page 😉
