SMART Goals

Different organizations use slightly different words for SMART.

One common version is:

Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound.

Other versions may use words such as:

• Action-Oriented
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Timed

The exact wording matters less than the underlying questions:

“What am I doing? Can I tell whether I did it? Is it realistic? Does it matter? And when will I work on it?”

Compare:

“Get healthier.”

with:

“Walk after dinner three times per week.”

The second goal gives you a behavior to work with.

If your goal is:

“Be less isolated,”

ask:

“What would I actually do if I were becoming less isolated?”

Maybe:

• Call a friend once a week
• Attend a group activity
• Invite someone to coffee

You do not need to specify every possible detail.

A goal should be clear enough to guide action without becoming a complicated contract.

Measurement might involve:

• How often
• How long
• How many
• Whether an action happened
• Whether a milestone was completed

For example:

“Practice guitar three times this week”

gives you something concrete to track.

Some goals are measured with a simple:

Did it happen or not?

Example:

“I will schedule the appointment by Thursday.”

The measure is whether the appointment was scheduled.

Compare:

“Get hired by the end of the month.”

Hiring depends partly on other people's decisions.

A more controllable goal might be:

“Submit three applications each week this month.”

You can still care about the outcome.

But measuring your own action may give you a fairer way to evaluate progress.

Consider:

• Time
• Energy
• Money
• Physical capacity
• Other responsibilities
• Information
• Available support

A goal can be challenging without being unrealistic.

Suppose you have not been exercising and set:

“Exercise for one hour every day starting tomorrow.”

A more achievable starting goal might be:

“Walk for 15 minutes three times this week.”

You can increase the goal later if appropriate.

A realistic goal may still require:

• Effort
• Practice
• Discomfort
• Persistence

The question is not:

“Will this be easy?”

It is:

“Is this reasonably possible?”

A realistic goal during a high-energy period may not be realistic during a difficult week.

Adjusting the goal to current circumstances is planning—not failure.

A goal is easier to evaluate when you know what it is for.

Ask:

“Why do I want this?”

and:

“What does this move me toward?”

Example:

Value: Connection

Goal: “For the next month, I will make plans with someone at least once each week.”

The goal gives a concrete expression to the broader value.

You may create a perfectly SMART goal around something you do not actually want or need.

Ask:

“Is this important to me, or am I setting it only because I think I am supposed to?”

External responsibilities still matter.

But knowing why a goal exists can help you decide how much priority it deserves.

Compare:

“I'll update my résumé eventually.”

with:

“I'll update my résumé by Sunday evening.”

A time frame helps distinguish an intention from a plan.

Not every goal has a natural completion date.

For an ongoing behavior, try:

“I'll try this for two weeks and review how it is working.”

The review date creates a point for reassessment.

Avoid using the time frame as:

“If I don't finish by Friday, I've failed.”

Instead:

“Friday is when I plan to finish or review what needs adjusting.”

Some deadlines are externally fixed.

Others can be changed when circumstances change.

Broad:

“I want to be more social.”

SMART:

“For the next four weeks, I will contact one friend each week and invite them to do something together.”

Broad:

“I need to study more.”

SMART:

“Monday through Thursday this week, I will study from 6:00 to 6:30 PM at my desk.”

Broad:

“Get the apartment under control.”

That may still be too large for one SMART goal.

Try:

“By Sunday evening, I will wash the dishes, take out the trash, and complete two loads of laundry.”

Break Tasks Into Smaller Steps may help with execution.

Broad:

“Take better care of myself.”

One possible SMART goal:

“For the next seven nights, I will begin getting ready for bed by 10:30 PM.”

A broad intention can generate several different goals.

Examples include:

• Getting hired
• Receiving a promotion
• Being accepted into a program
• Having someone forgive you
• Making someone like you

You can influence some of these outcomes, but you cannot completely control them.

Desired outcome:

“Find a new job.”

Action goal:

“For the next four weeks, I will submit at least three applications each week.”

The outcome still matters.

The action goal identifies what you can actually do.

A value might be:

Connection.

You cannot finish connection and cross it permanently off a list.

A goal related to connection might be:

“Have dinner with my parents twice this month.”

The goal has an endpoint.

The value continues afterward.

If learning matters, possible goals could include:

• Take a class
• Read a book
• Practice a language
• Learn a new skill

If one goal stops fitting, the value does not disappear.

A large goal can still be meaningful.

But you may need smaller goals within it.

For example:

Large goal: Complete my degree.

Current SMART goal:

“By Friday at 5:00 PM, I will submit my application for next semester's courses.”

You can keep the larger goal as your direction.

Then ask:

“What goal is close enough that I can act on it now?”

Example:

“Submit my résumé to three employers by Friday.”

That tells you what you are trying to accomplish.

You may still need to:

1. Find three openings
2. Update the résumé
3. Complete each application
4. Review them
5. Submit them

SMART Goals and Break Tasks Into Smaller Steps work well together.

You may have a perfectly clear goal:

“Study for 30 minutes tonight.”

and still not want to begin.

That does not necessarily mean the SMART framework failed.

Try:

• One Small Step
• Five-Minute Rule
• Behavioral Activation
• Values-Based Action

You may create a reasonable goal and later discover that:

• It takes longer than expected
• You need more information
• Your schedule changes
• Your energy changes
• The goal is no longer important

Update the goal when new information makes that appropriate.

Suppose you planned:

“Exercise five days per week.”

After trying it, you discover three days fits your schedule much better.

Changing the goal may make the plan more sustainable.

A goal may no longer be:

• Relevant
• Possible
• Worth the cost
• Compatible with your priorities

Goals are tools.

You do not need to continue pursuing one simply because you once wrote it down.

Instead of:

“I failed.”

ask:

• What got in the way?
• Was the goal realistic?
• Was the action specific enough?
• Did I remember when to do it?
• Did something unexpected happen?
• Does the goal still matter?

Use the answers to decide what happens next.

Suppose the goal was:

“Walk three times this week.”

You walked twice.

The accurate conclusion is:

“I completed two of the three planned walks.”

not:

“I did nothing.”

You can acknowledge that the goal was not fully met without erasing what actually happened.

Ask:

• What made this workable?
• Was the size right?
• Did scheduling help?
• Did someone support me?
• What should I repeat?

Success can provide information for future goals.

You might:

• Continue the same goal
• Increase it gradually
• Choose a new goal
• Decide the goal has served its purpose

There is no requirement to immediately make every goal harder.

It is possible to create SMART goals for:

• Exercise
• Sleep
• Cleaning
• Work
• School
• Relationships
• Hobbies

and then create a schedule that is impossible to maintain.

Prioritize.

You do not have to work on every area of your life at the same time.

Ask:

“Which one or two goals deserve my attention first?”

If your goal is:

“Walk Monday, Wednesday, and Friday,”

missing Wednesday does not necessarily mean the entire week's plan must be abandoned.

You might reschedule the walk if that still serves the goal.

A clear plan can still contain flexibility.

For example:

“I will walk three times this week, choosing days that fit my schedule.”

may be more useful than prescribing exact days when exact days are unnecessary.

Completing a goal does not make you a better person.

Missing one does not make you a worse person.

Goals organize behavior.

They are not a score of your value as a person.

Broad:

“Get out more.”

SMART:

“For the next two weeks, I will leave the house for one planned activity at least twice each week.”

Broad:

“Stay in touch with people.”

SMART:

“Every Sunday this month, I will contact one person I want to stay connected with.”

Broad:

“Stop falling behind.”

SMART:

“Monday through Thursday this week, I will spend 30 minutes after dinner working on the overdue project.”

Broad:

“Get organized.”

SMART:

“By Saturday afternoon, I will sort the papers on my desk into keep, file, and discard.”

Write one goal.

Then answer:

Specific: What exactly will I do?

Measurable: How will I know what happened?

Achievable: Is this realistic with my current resources?

Relevant: Why does this matter?

Time-Bound: When will I do or review it?

Start with:

“I want to ______.”

Then rewrite it so another person could understand exactly what you plan to do.

Write the outcome you want.

Then ask:

“What behavior under my control increases the chance of that outcome?”

Turn that behavior into a SMART goal.

After writing your goal, ask:

“Given my current circumstances, how confident am I that I can realistically attempt this?”

If your confidence is very low, ask whether the goal needs:

• A smaller target
• More time
• More support
• Fewer steps

Write:

Value: What matters?

SMART Goal: What specific outcome or behavior will express it?

Next Step: What do I do first?

Example:

Value: Connection

Goal: “For the next month, I will make plans with a friend at least once each week.”

Next step: Text one friend today.

At the review date, ask:

1. What did I actually do?
2. What helped?
3. What got in the way?
4. Does this goal still matter?
5. Should I continue, revise, increase, reduce, or stop it?

If a SMART goal repeatedly does not happen, rewrite it at a smaller scale.

Example:

Original: “Exercise for 45 minutes five days a week.”

Smaller: “For the next two weeks, take a 15-minute walk three days per week.”

You can build from there.

It may contain several goals.

Break it down.

Instead of:

“Get my finances completely organized this month,”

start with:

“By Friday, gather my bank and credit-card statements.”

SMART Goals clarify the target.

They do not eliminate:

• Anxiety
• Boredom
• Low motivation
• Perfectionism
• Uncertainty

Identify the barrier.

One Small Step, Five-Minute Rule, or Coping Ahead may help.

Look for a pattern before simply trying harder.

Ask:

• Are the goals too large?
• Am I setting too many?
• Do I know when to do them?
• Do I need reminders?
• Is the goal actually important to me?
• Is there an emotional barrier?

Change the system based on what you learn.

Progress does not automatically require increasing the difficulty.

If a goal is working well, maintaining it may be the right choice.

More is not always better.

Separate:

the outcome you want

from:

the behavior you control.

Example:

Instead of:

“Get my partner to understand me,”

try:

“Tonight, I will explain what I need clearly and listen to their response.”

Ask whether the deadline is:

• Externally required
• A useful planning target
• An arbitrary source of pressure

If it is flexible, consider using a review date rather than a rigid pass/fail deadline.

Measurement is supposed to provide useful feedback.

You do not need to record every detail.

Use the simplest measure that answers:

“Am I doing what I intended?”

If tracking itself becomes unhelpful, simplify it.

SMART might give you:

“Submit the application by Friday at 5:00 PM.”

You then identify:

1. Read requirements
2. Gather documents
3. Complete application
4. Review
5. Submit

One defines:

where you are going.

The other defines:

how you will get there.

Example:

“For the next month, I will cook dinner at home three nights each week.”

The immediate step might be:

“Choose what I'm making tonight.”

SMART provides the target.

One Small Step helps initiate the next action.

SMART asks whether a goal is clearly defined and workable.

Values-Based Action asks:

“Does this move toward the way I want to live?”

A goal can technically meet every SMART criterion without being personally meaningful.

Using both can help create goals that are clear and connected to what matters.