There are several ways to measure your goals, ranging from simple to complex and free to expensive. Sometimes it makes sense to spend money on tools, but when setting goals for your own purposes, keeping it low cost makes sense.
For instance, use a spreadsheet when first starting out. Most people associate Microsoft Excel with spreadsheets, and that costs money. However, there are free alternatives, such as Open Office Calc. The Open Office suite of products is available on multiple operating systems. This software is fully functional and compatible with Microsoft products. The best part is it is free.
Sometimes, you will need more sophisticated tools. For instance, when you work on multiple projects simultaneously and there may be dependencies associated with some of the goals, you’ll need to have a better method than a spreadsheet to manage these. This is also true when you have multiple people that you need to measure their contributions to the projects.
While you could use spreadsheets for this, they are not meant for collaborative activities. The reporting features are lacking in a spreadsheet program. A program such as Microsoft Project gives you more control over these types of features.
Keep in mind the tool should not be used as a means to run the projects for you. They have their uses, but the responsibility rests with you, or the project manager. Also, you have to consider some flexibility in the measurement as not every item will go according to plan. You may need to make some adjustments along the way.
Being too rigid with the plan can cause problems within a team. Strict adherence to a tool will make the projects rigid, by definition. On the other hand, you do need some ways to accurately measure the goals. It’s a delicate balance that requires compassion as well as firmness.
When choosing a tool, try to get your team involved, so they know what to expect. This isn’t always possible as some companies already have solutions implemented. If this is the case, you will need to manage the expectations of the team and provide any training and assistance needed to make the tool work for them.
Your manager determines what course you are to take. This is based on organizational goals or tasks that he or she has been given. Many managers are not adept at setting goals for themselves, let alone for other people. This can lead workers astray and is something that SMART goals can help with.
If your manager is not familiar with the concept, try to become an advocate. This is going to require you learning what it’s all about. It’s not a bad idea to take some training on the concept. There are courses available online, and you can start by searching for the term on YouTube.
Keep in mind that YouTube videos can be posted by anyone, so make sure you scrutinize the videos carefully. If someone sounds like they don’t know what they are talking about, move on to another one.
If your manager is not initially on board, you may need to take the initiative and start using the concept for your own goal setting. It’s much easier to convince people when you are successful with the concept. Trying to convince them from a purely theoretical perspective is not as effective. Managers want results and are afraid to try something that is not proven in their minds.
You may need to negotiate to position your ideas in a positive light. For instance, you can suggest that by setting goals using a SMART framework, you can get more done. Therefore, tell your manager you are willing to take on more responsibility to prove out the concept to him or her.
If your manager is not yet ready to accept this concept, at least you have planted the seeds. It’s likely he or she will look up the concept online based on you suggesting the idea. This will create an atmosphere of familiarity. When you bring it up again sometime in the future, your manager will be more receptive to the idea because it’s not a foreign concept.
One last means of getting manager buy-in is to document your experience with it. For instance, you could set up a journal and show how you used the framework to get your personal goals accomplished. It’s difficult to argue with success when it is recorded for your manager to read.
Having tips about SMART goals is great. However, sometimes it helps to solidify the concept by describing some applications of its use, which are described here. For clarification, the acronym is taken to stand for, Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Based.
Exercise Program
Goal: To work out every day for 20 minutes per day and achieve a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 20. I will use the X System to attain that goal.
Explanation: The specific part of the goal is to achieve the Body Mass Index of 20. It is measurable as I can take a BMI reading throughout the period to compare. It may be attainable, assuming I believe in the X System or have used it before. It is realistic in that if I go to the gym and the assumptions are true, I will reach the goals. For time-based, I have given it three months and 20 minutes per day.
Save for College
Goal: To save $50 per month in a 521 account and continue to do this until my child is ready for college as the cost of college keeps rising.
Explanation: Based on historical trends, college costs rise every year. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that they will continue to rise. The specific goal is to use a 521 account, which in the United States, allows for tax breaks when saving for college. My bank statements will allow me to measure whether I am saving enough each month and make the necessary adjustments. These goals are attainable as long as I can continue working. If I made some projections based on the number of years before needing the money, this plan is likely to be realistic. However, the best course of action would be to compare alternate plans to see which would give the best return. The frequency (time-based) is monthly over some years.
The ideal situation is to be able to address each of the five components of SMART. Don’t worry if you find some overlap. As long as you can work from your plan, it won’t make much of a difference.
Of course, you will certainly be aware that setting and achieving goals requires a lot of self-discipline, so if you want to learn about growing your own self-discipline then download the featured resource below which is a free report all about the power of self-discipline; download it, read it and take action 😊
People struggle with setting goals. It seems like a daunting task. This is largely because they lack the proper knowledge to do so. After all, not everyone goes to management school. Even those that do are not always as prepared as they should be.
This may be the reason why management consultant, Peter Drucker, came up with a system as part of his Management By Objectives (MBO). This system is essentially the SMART Goal setting system. If you are not familiar with SMART, it is an acronym that stands for specific, measurable, assignable, realistic, and time-related. Each component deals with a part of goal setting.
To have a specific goal, imagine creating a video with you telling the viewers what your goal is about. They should be able to comprehend your goal without any questions. The more specific you can get, the better the overall goal setting process will be. For example, suppose you specify that you want more money as a goal. Would this draw questions if you presented this goal as it is? If the answer is yes, then you need further refinement.
When you figure out your goals, the next step is to understand how to measure them. General goals will be difficult to measure, whereas specific goals will be easier. This is the part that can help you be accountable for meeting your goals.
For a goal to be assignable, you need to be able to describe it in a way that you can pass it off to someone else. They should be able to run with it, and not get too stuck on the details.
You need to set time frames for your goals. Otherwise, you will come up with excuses to push them off, and you will never get them completed. The best way to do this is to break up your goals into tasks, and then come up with milestones for each of those tasks.
SMART is an acronym. Those five letters mean different things to different people or groups. While many of the replacements are similar, if everyone who relies on them is not on board, this can cause problems with a project or plan.
For instance, some reference the “A” in the acronym, as achievable. That’s a great aspect of any project to have. If it is not achievable, there is no way a goal or task will get accomplished. However, there are others who consider the “A” as standing for agreement. That is not similar to achievable. And it’s one thing to have achievable goals, but if not everyone on the team is in agreement, that will cause problems down the line.
Another example is the “M” which many believe stands for measurable. That is a worthy aspect of any goal. If you can’t measure your goals, you won’t know when you are successful with them. The “M” can also mean motivational. If you use motivational instead of measurable, somehow you won’t be as inclined to measure how you are doing. It may happen, but there is nothing to guarantee that. This is why people use guidelines such as SMART in the first place.
Some will use rewarding as the “R” component. When you accomplish your goals, that will be the reward. So, it’s difficult to imagine what people come up with when they use this as part of the acronym.
The key when using a system such as this is to come up with the meaning for each that makes sense. This will depend on who is involved in the process. If you are the only one affected by the outcome, then you have some flexibilities in what the definition should be. If you are using it as part of a team, however, you will need to define it in a more concrete manner. If you allow for any ambiguity, this can delay or even derail your project.
Even within a team, you have some flexibility. However, all changes should be communicated to the team. It is going to affect them which means they have the right to know.
You may recall the goal acronym Called SMART. The “S” stands for specific. The others are measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-based. If you don’t get the specific component right from the start, it will set you off in the wrong direction. This is the beacon of your goal navigation if you will. If your beacon is going south when you meant to go north, you can guess things will not turn out as planned.
What kind of business do they want to run? If you are good at advertising and you buy an accounting business, you probably are going to struggle getting this concept to fly. Of course, you could hire talented people who know the accounting side of the business.
On the other hand, if you decided you were going to start a Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising agency that helps clients increase their return on investments with Adwords, this is much closer to having a solid goal that is specific. You may be able to refine it even further. Perhaps, the businesses that you target are only B2B, etc. This is much more specific than the higher level PPC advertising to anyone you can find.
Is there room to get more specific with your goals? There usually is, but you don’t want to get so specific that you are only targeting a few clients based on your criteria. This is dangerous as those clients can pull the plug at a moment’s notice. However, you may decide that you want to target businesses who have large advertising budgets, etc. You will have more businesses to work from when you do this.
If you want to know how specific you should be, you should be able to explain your goal to a friend in a way where they don’t need much explanation of your concept. If you find they have a ton of questions or need clarification, this is an indication that further refinement of your goals is needed.
Of course, you will certainly be aware that setting and achieving goals requires a lot of self-discipline, so if you want to learn about growing your own self-discipline then download the featured resource below which is a free report all about the power of self-discipline; download it, read it and take action 😊
When we think of goal setting, we usually think of goals that envision a specific outcome. Some examples include:
Of course, these are just a few of the more common goals that people set for themselves.
And this is a big mistake if you really want to achieve the best things in life! Setting goals is critical to your success and can act as a motivator to keep you going and you can also reward yourself for hitting milestones along the way 😊
Ok, as shown above, many goals are oriented around hitting a specific outcome or target.
But what if we based our goals on changing behaviors instead of obtaining a specific outcome? Could we modify or completely change behaviors that would lead us to the desired outcome quicker, healthier, and with less stress? Some experts certainly think so.
Behavior-based goals focus more on the behaviors we want to strengthen rather than the negative actions we want to remove.
The difference may appear to be subtle, but it does make a difference to the way you approach goal setting and the intended result.
In strengthening the positive behaviors, we change the way we act and react in many situations – not just situations surrounding a goal that is outcome-based. The ripple effect of creating more positive behaviors in our lives is wide-reaching, affecting far more than just what we may have had in mind when creating the goal.
Many businesses today are focusing on behavior-based goals rather than outcome-based goals, because of this ripple effect. Smart companies know that when behavior changes for the positive, the employee is happier not only at work but in their personal life and family life as well.
This type of goal setting isn’t seen just in the office, either. Personal trainers, life coaches, psychologists, therapists, and so many other professions are adding behavior-based goal setting to their repertoire of techniques. This helps those in these industries to help their clients reach success, whatever that may mean to them.
Goals that change behaviors can be seen as a kind of intermediate goal that helps one achieve outcome-based goals easier, faster, and with more residual positive effects. A positive behavior that is strengthened in order to reach a goal is going to be strengthened in every situation where that behavior is utilized.
Now, when you are looking at setting some behavior-based goals, it pays to make them “SMART” when doing so.
Not sure what we mean by “SMART” behavior-based goals? Well, let’s take a look at that now…
When you’re discussing goal setting, SMART has nothing to do with your intelligence. (But it is smart to use this technique!).
So, let’s get into what SMART really means!
While behavior-based goals can be harder to quantify than outcome-based goals, by focusing on the specific behaviors that need development or strengthening, we can see that clearly defining these behaviors is possible.
For instance, “I will close or turn off all electronic notifications while working on this project”, is basically stating that the habit of becoming distracted will be curbed in order to achieve more productivity.
To be effective, the road towards achieving a goal must be able to be measured.
In the example in the above paragraph, the measure would be how much more of the project one is able to accomplish by turning off all electronic notifications.
You want your behavior-based goal to be attainable, i.e. not so overwhelming that you start out feeling as if you can’t do it. That defeats the entire purpose of the exercise.
Build on these small successes and before you know it, you’ll be achieving your big goals, as well!
Set yourself up for success right from the beginning by setting goals that are realistic to your personality and your lifestyle.
Start with easy behavior changes that are easy for you to accomplish, and fit your lifestyle and personality. Once you’ve mastered those, you can ramp up to changing behaviors that might be more challenging to you.
Giving yourself a time limit on achieving a specific behavior change can often spur more action toward that goal. But there’s a fine line between too little and too much time.
Changing behavior patterns often takes time, so make sure that you’ve accounted for this.
So, what are you waiting for? Start setting your SMART behavior based goals today and see what a difference they can make to your life success.
Of course, you will certainly be aware that setting and achieving goals requires a lot of self-discipline, so if you want to learn about growing your own self-discipline then download the featured resource below which is a free report all about the power of self-discipline; download it, read it and take action 😊
