The Importance of Setting SMART Goals

It’s that time again – time to carve out New Year’s resolutions and decide what we want to focus on for this year. However, it’s important to be intentional when you’re developing goals for the New Year. Nobody wants to be another cliché with a resolution or goal that they’ve forgotten by February. This is why setting attainable goals is crucial to maintaining the motivation to achieve them throughout the year. 

What makes a goal attainable?

An attainable goal is a goal that has realistic expectations and a practical approach – in other words, it’s a goal that you can realistically see yourself achieving by following an intentional and clear plan. 

For example, if you want to set financial goals for school, it may not be realistic to have “pay my $5,000 semesterly bill upfront” as a goal. However, a more attainable goal may be, “pay $50 towards my tuition bill every paycheck”. While the first goal would be nice, the second goal is much more attainable.  

How do I set an attainable goal?

The first step in setting attainable goals is to identify what areas you want to grow in. Do you want to set goals for your finances, for your grades, or maybe even for spending time with your family? Narrowing down the categories of life you want to prioritize is an important first step. 

Once you’ve identified the broad categories for your goals, you can try using the SMART goals method. With this method, you will set goals that are: 

1. Specific – don’t leave yourself any wiggle room! Instead of saying “I want to do better in Math”, maybe say “I want to improve my math grade by 10 points”.
2. Measurable – make sure you have a way to measure your progress as you work towards your goal. If your goal is to improve your math grade by 10 points, you can measure your progress by checking your overall grade after each assignment.
3. Attainable – it’s important that the goal feels reasonable and within reach. If it feels a little far-fetched, it may be a good idea to reassess.
4. Relevant – here’s where defining your categories becomes useful. Your goals need to be relevant to the priorities that you’ve set. If one of your priorities is having good grades in school, then setting a goal to beat your high score on your gaming console wouldn’t be very relevant.
5. Timely – set a realistic deadline for achieving your goal. This creates a sense of urgency that can motivate you and keep you on track. 

The Bottom Line 

Being intentional with attainable goals could make a big difference in having a productive year. Implementing SMART goals can help you stay focused, organized, and motivated. Attainable goals can help you with scholarships, application deadlines, school assignments, exams, and anything else you want to improve in life. They completely transform the goal-setting game from a game of chance into a strategy for success.