Goal setting is, in simple terms, the art of writing down and planning out specific objectives and working towards them. It is an entire process, and every process has milestones and a specific route. 

Goal setting is no rocket science, but still, simple has potential for complexity. As an entrepreneur, student, job seeker or individual, it is essential to set goals for our business, career, personal, and anything that can be considered objective. Today, our focus is going to be on achieving SMART Goals 

Where To Begin?

Every element of business and life has goals, which give us a sense of direction, drive, and clarity about what is essential. By establishing goals, you give yourself something to target. The use of a SMART goal module aids goal-setting. 

Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely are the letters in the acronym SMART. Therefore, a SMART goal contains each element to help you focus your efforts and improve your chances of success. Remember, the plan is not just to set SMART goals but to realize them with actionable prompts.  

SMART GOALS 

Specific 

For a goal to be SMART, it has to be specific, and for a goal to be specific, you have to be able to answer questions such as;

Who do I need to achieve this goal? What do I need? Where must I go? 

It would help if you had a precise answer to the above questions and many more, depending on the particular goal you’re setting. An example of a specific goal is, “ I will lose 15 pounds in three months BY walking 10000 steps for three hours 5 times a week” 

Measurable 

It’s crucial to consider the metrics you’ll use to gauge your progress toward your goals when you create them. Measurable goals and objectives might be qualitative or quantitative, depending on the quality of the same returns or outputs you obtain or generate. In other words, you should be able to track your progress.  For example, “ I will finish 20,000 words in 3 months.”

Achievable 

When setting business objectives, it is critical to prioritize achievability. Setting achievable goals isn’t to say you shouldn’t dream big. Small steps will allow you to achieve a bigger goal. Smaller actionable items also allow but working toward a goal you can achieve will teach you more about the nature of your business, how you run it, your customers, and the goal itself. 

Setting achievable goals is more effective than working toward something beyond your capacity. By defining attainable goals, you allow yourself to experiment with what works best for achieving this goal based on your measurements.

The most important thing here is knowing your capacity. Be sure not to underestimate your abilities but more importantly, do not overestimate the potential of your business and your skills to accomplish those goals. 

Relevant

In the context of SMART business goals, relevance refers to the “essential” characteristics of your company/ business. Of course, most businesses want to reach a larger audience and increase revenue, but relevant goals help you identify what you will do specifically to grow your business.

For example, if you manage an online store, a relevant and time-bound objective would be to grow and retain monthly clients by 25% this quarter. A happy clientele is essential to the success of your company. Thus the objective fits the SMART criteria.

Time-bound 

A timetable for when you intend to reach your goal clarifies and organizes the planning and execution process. A deadline may be a tremendous incentive for your team, helping you and your team work together toward a common goal and improve time management. 

Furthermore, working toward timely objectives might provide insight into a specific time of year or the seasonality of your organization, which may guide future goals.

Why is setting SMART GOALS important?

Setting objectives as a business owner is the most efficient strategy to ensure you are improving. But how can you know if the goals you’ve established are worthwhile? How do you ensure you’re monitoring the right key performance indicators and not spending time on vanity metrics? Are you confident you’ve given yourself enough time to complete each goal?

SMART Goal planning can help you determine the tool and measure you need to use to achieve a goal in a reasonable amount of time, whether you need to re-evaluate your content marketing strategy or create strategic plans for your sales team. 

See link for smart goal worksheet

Wrapping up 

As mentioned earlier, the plan is to achieve your goal and not just write it down in vain. Going the SMART way is one step ahead to ensure you achieve your objectives. And just in case you do not know where to begin, don’t panic. Go over this article again and take it one step at a time. You’ve got this!!