Goals Review

Last week I set some 10 goals for myself. I did pretty well in meeting those goals. However, it became clear to me that my goals weren't well written. They lacked detail and clarity. Saying I will eat healthy snacks isn't a well written goal.

Now I don't want to be overly zealous about all this, but I do need to consider some parameters. There is a common acronym for goal setting that says your goals need to be S.M.A.R.T. I like Michael Hyatt's definitions, so let's take a look at how he makes goals smart.

Specific—your goals must identify exactly what you want to accomplish in as much specificity as you can muster.

Measurable—as the old adage says, “you can’t manage what you can’t measure.” If possible, try to quantify the result. You want to know absolutely, positively whether or not you hit the goal.

Actionable—every goal should start with an action verb (e.g., “quit,” “run,” “finish,” “eliminate,” etc.) rather than a to-be verb (e.g., “am,” “be,” “have,” etc.)

Realistic—you have to be careful here. A good goal should stretch you, but you have to add a dose of common sense. I go right up to the edge of my comfort zone and then step over it. (If I am not out of my comfort zone, I’m not thinking big enough.)

Time-bound—every goal needs a date associated with it. When do you plan to deliver on that goal? It could be by year-end (December 31) or it could be more near-term (September 30). A goal without a date is just a dream. Make sure that every goal ends with a by when date.

Another (simpler way) to look at goals is to answer the question ... what do I want to do? After answering that question, the next step is to plan a strategy to do that. For example - What do I want to do? Eat low calorie foods or fruit for my snacks every day this week. The plan for doing that then becomes a recurring task on my to-do list. It may look something like this Every night after dinner I will prepare 2 healthy snacks for the next day. This may include checking the store-bought stash of snacks, peeling or slicing fruit, or measuring out and packaging items in portion controlled containers.

Either approach takes time and planning. I like to think it's worth it because I'm aligning my actions with my values and the living the life I want to live, which is pretty darn nice. Time to go plan some goals.

I Think I'll Try This Goal Setting Stuff

I'm going to set a few goals for myself. There are tons of awesome books and internet articles on the topic. There are so many approaches to goal setting that sometimes finding the best fit can be overwhelming. But for this attempt I'm going to use Evernote to help remind me of my goals. According to Evernote Scott in his terrific Youtube video, looking at your goals every day helps improve your success rate. 

Scott's approach is very thorough and maybe just a tad bit too involved, so I culled several of his ideas that I think will be helpful to me right now. (I have finally gotten to a place in life where I feel free to take what I need from a resource without following every single suggestion.) The Daily Morning Ritual page is a must have. This check-list type page is a great step-by-step guide for the morning. I hope that the items on the list become habits so that I can someday remove the page. I liked that page so much I made an Daily Afternoon Ritual page for when I get home from work.  I kept the Journal page and the Vision Board page (although there isn't much there yet). His pages titled My Why's and My Motto are similar to a page I have called My Mission Statement and Core Values. I turned Daily Reminders into Weekly Goals. I added a Prayer page and a Quarterly Goal page. 

While I'm not going to share my specific goals here, I am going to say that I've broken my goals down into 5 main categories - spiritual, family, physical health, home, personal and social. These are areas that I've previously identified as important to me. I have a total of 10 goals for the next week. When it comes to writing goals I don't get super formal about the structure. I can easily spend so much time concocting goals following a specific formula that I don't have time to work on the actions required to achieve them. I'll check in next Monday and give an update on my success.