Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals

With the year’s end around the corner, it’s time to take stock of everything you accomplished in 2010 and set new goals for 2011. At the beginning of each year, I write out at least three ‘big’ goals (professionally and personally) – something that has been proven to be a huge help when focusing my priorities.

The S.M.A.R.T. method is an effective way to help you set inspiring and achievable goals for the next year.

Specific: If you don’t know whether your goal has been completed or not, it’s not specific enough. The goal must be concise, tangible and simple. It should explain what you want to achieve in simple language – so that anyone else would be able to see your goal and immediately understand it. For example, “Find happiness” is not a very specific goal – but “find a boyfriend/life partner” is.

Measurable: Your goal should be measurable, so determine the numbers that are important to you! For example, “Exercise a lot” is not a goal. “Go to the gym 3x per week” or “Average 30 sales per month” are measurable targets you can benchmark and compare your results against throughout the year.

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