You know that feeling: you want to set a goal for yourself, but don’t know where to start? Then take a smart approach and make your learning goals SMART! With five steps and examples of the SMART method, you can quickly formulate a goal that is achievable for yourself.
What is the smart method?
The SMART method ensures that your goals become real goals. This is because you make your goal Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound. If your goal ticks all 5 of those points, you make it easier for yourself to achieve learning goals. Who would not want that?
When do you use smart goals?
You use SMART objectives whenever you want: with good intentions or wishes for home and/or personal changes. You also use the SMART method at work in your career development. For example, you use SMART when creating a personal development plan (PDP) or when setting goals.
step-by-step plan: this is how you make your goals smart
You make goals SMART in 5 simple steps:
- be specific
- to make measurable
- acceptable to yourself and others
- perform realistically
- make time bound
1. be specific
The first step in setting a SMART goal is to make it nice and specific. You do this by answering the 5 W questions:
- What do you want to achieve?
- Who is involved?
- Where are you going to do this?
- When are you going to do it?
- Why do you want to achieve it?
examples of specific goals
- with our Marketing department we want to attract more than 5,000 visitors to the site before the end of the month to increase brand awareness
- I’m going to gain more work experience as a care provider at the hospital to expand my resume, so I’m going to work there 2 days a week from May to August.
2. make measurable
Then we move on to measurability. Based on which figures or conditions do you know that you have achieved your goal? This could be growth of your company, extra working days that you will work or a certain requirement that you set. How do you do that exactly? You do this by answering these 3 questions:
- How much needs to be done?
- How do you measure that?
- What is the end result?
examples of measurable goals
- with the 10 videos we are going to make we want to reach 10,000 views on YouTube before the end of the year
- for the training on Microsoft Office, I will do homework 2 evenings a week so that I have completed it with a minimum of 8 before September.
3. acceptable to yourself and others
An acceptable goal means that the goal has arisen logically from your work and that you and your colleagues/manager fully support it. It shouldn’t just fall out of the blue, so to speak. You must have something to do with your goal! Again, there are a few questions that will make your goal acceptable:
- Are you fully behind your goal?
- Are your employer and/or your colleagues also behind the goal?
- Did the goal arise logically from your work or your employer?
examples of acceptable goals
- based on my performance review, I will draw up a new financial plan for lunch costs at the office
- Based on my job description and performance this past year, I want at least a 10% raise.
4. Perform realistically
A realistic goal: that sounds quite logical, but is often overlooked. With an achievable goal you not only motivate yourself, but also all the other people involved. And if your goal is too difficult or too easy, you quickly lose your motivation. We shouldn’t have that! To make your goal achievable, ask yourself the following questions:
- Are the steps you need to take towards your goal feasible?
- Do you have enough knowledge and resources to achieve your goal?
- isn’t the goal too easy or too hard?
examples of realistic goals
- To win at least one new client for my boss, I’m going to advertise the company within my network
- I’m going to read online articles for an hour a day to prepare myself for my course at work.
5. make time-bound
To make sure you’ve met your goal, a start date and end date are ideal. This way you know exactly where you stand and the deadline keeps you motivated. SMART goals are therefore often short-term.
Do you have a long-term goal? Then try breaking these down into smaller, shorter goals. Make your goal time-bound by including the following questions:
- When will you start?
- When are you done?
- When did you reach your goal?
examples of time-bound goals
- From October 1 to December 31, I will shorten the delivery time and compare it with the figures for the past year
- From Monday to Friday, I will write reports so that they can be sent to my manager on Friday afternoon.
Also read : 10 steps to changing your career goals