Examples of SMART goals. SMART goal setting criteria

It is unlikely that a life without goals can be considered complete. Every person should have something for which they want to wake up every morning and act. But not all goals are easy to achieve. And as a rule, the most complex life attitudes bring considerable profit, income, self-satisfaction, etc. (depending on what nature they are). To achieve something, you need motivation and a competent formulation of the attitude. And all this makes me want to consider examples of SMART goals.

Definition

So, SMART is an abbreviation widely used in the field of project management and management for setting goals. This is a kind of method of competent goal setting. Each letter defines a word that is characteristic of it.

• S is Specific, which translates as "specific".
• M - Measurable, that is, "measurable."
• A is Attainable, which translates as "attainable".
• R and T - Relevant and Time-bound ("actual" and "limited in time").

That is, if you literally translate the abbreviation into Russian, you will get far from SMART, but KIDAO. But, of course, no one uses such a designation.

It is worth noting that although initially SMART concerned management and the business sphere, now it is widely applicable in everyday life. After all, goal-setting is the basis of a full-fledged, productive and knowingly existing human life. And often all his personal experiences, problems and discontents are connected with the fact that he cannot achieve what he wants. Or, in simple words, achieve your goal, because you don’t know where to start and how to act. Well, it is worth considering examples of SMART goals and the very principle of the methodology.

Specification

So, this is the first point, the main one in the SMART methodology. The goal should be as specific as possible. Suppose a person dreams of his own home. It’s not enough to think: “I want my own personal corner.” You need to decide - will it be a house or an apartment? How many square meters and rooms? Through what specific time period is the purchase planned? How much money will this require? It is necessary to literally put everything on the shelves, and even find an approximate version. And get it down on paper. For example, like this: “1-room apartment, 20 sq. m, worth 1,200,000 rubles, the estimated date of purchase is 03.10.2018.

The difference is obvious. In the second case, a person will be more specific about what he is striving for. And it will be easier for him to use his subconscious and direct it, along with his resources, to achieve the goal.

measurability

Suppose a girl wants to become more attractive. This is a very blurry representation of the goal. We need measurability by criteria! For example, this: “I want to become more attractive. The first is to sign up for a gym and lose 5 kilograms in 2 months of classes. The second is to cleanse the face. The third is to update the wardrobe with two sets of clothes. Fourth - go for a manicure. Fifth - get a haircut and dye your hair."

So the goal of becoming more attractive has become more measurable and, accordingly, easily achievable, because indicators have been identified that can be used to focus on the final result. Depending on the spheres of life, they differ, but in general the meaning is the same.

Reachability

Listing the criteria, it is necessary to pay special attention to this aspect. A lot of people have issues with accessibility. Ambition is good, but people forget to be realistic. If a woman with three children, never involved in sports, at the age of 35 decided to outdo it, to put it mildly, she is a big optimist.

More problems often lie in time. If a girl wants to lose 20 kilograms in a month, then she also has problems with realism. This year is already closer to reality. Another mistake is setting too many goals for a short period of time. To want to learn English in three months, and build muscles, and get category “C” rights, and also build a business is good, but unrealistic.

It is better to set one goal, but a little overpriced. Suppose a person knows that in the next three months he will be able to earn 150,000 rubles, but he wants more, namely, 200,000 rubles. Well, then it’s worth subconsciously striving for the mark of 220,000 rubles. And then the desired 200,000 will be achieved - this person will note with surprise upon completion of his SMART goal.

Relevance

This criterion also cannot be ignored when giving examples of SMART goals. But first, a few words about what constitutes relevance in this context. In fact, it is a synonym for such words as "adequacy" and "correspondence". Suppose a woman has set herself the goal of becoming a mother-heroine. But at the same time, she is eager to build a big business. Irrelevance is obvious - you have to choose one thing, because both one and the other activity takes literally 28 hours a day (and this is not a typo).

Or, let's say, if a person decides to get up every morning at 6:00 and run, but at the same time he wants to attend parties twice a week and have fun there until the morning, then he will also have to decide. After all, one will interfere with the other, and vice versa.

Time certainty

This is another nuance, the observance of which implies SMART. Suppose a person dreams of an expensive car. Firstly, following all the above criteria, he prescribes everything “on the shelves” (brand, model, year of manufacture, equipment, etc.). Secondly, he determines for himself the time frame for which he must save up for a car. Moreover, he must indicate the approximate date (as in the case of the apartment, as mentioned at the beginning) and the amount that he must set aside every month for the desired acquisition.

The same applies to other areas. Examples of SMART goals can be found everywhere. Let's say a person wants to write a book. "Someday I'll start!" - so he thinks. It is not right. It is necessary to designate for yourself the date of the beginning of work on the written work and set the framework in which, in theory, it is necessary to meet.

And in general, it is better to calculate each, even the smallest goal, in time. This is what many successful people do. Moreover, there is even a certain methodology that involves setting short-term goals (for 1-3 months), medium-term (90 days - 12 months) and long-term (for a year or more). Logical and convenient method. For example, you can make money on an expensive Apple phone in 3 months - this is a short-term goal. To “pull up” the knowledge of the German language to a conversational free level is a long-term one, it will take a year.

Full compliance

Well, here are some examples of SMART goals that meet all of the above criteria.

Everyone likes to relax. And if you want to spend your vacation unforgettable, you need to set yourself the following goal: “In a year, on December 25, 2018, fly to the island of Naifaru, stay in a guest house on your own beach for 10 days. Set aside 150,000 rubles from the salary for the next 12 months for vacation. Everything is here - specificity, measurability, reachability with relevance and time frame.

Here is another example, simpler: “To learn perfectly in 3 months the rules for using irregular verbs in German, studying every day for 1.5 hours, except for Saturday and Sunday.”

Or here's another one: "For February and March, write a final qualifying work, typing three pages of a literate (not draft) text every day, except for weekends (Saturdays and Sundays)."

Hierarchy principle

It is worth mentioning the concept of SMART. An example will also be given.

In essence, it is a structured list of all the installations that need to be achieved. But it has one feature. Namely, low-level goals in the “tree” serve to achieve more serious ones. This principle works simply.

Let's say the main goal leading the "tree" is 150,000 rubles accumulated in a year. The basis, the "root" will be savings. Buying more budget products, denying yourself the daily coffee you buy on the way to work in the morning, you will be able to save more money in your wallet. The next “secondary” goal is to improve your productivity. More work done means higher pay. Etc. The principle is clear: the tree must be made up of several small goals, the implementation of each of which will help to get closer to the main one.

Finally

And finally, a few words about such a nuance as the formulation of a SMART goal. There is a sample above (not even one), and looking at it, you can understand that the most important thing is concretization and brevity. You don’t need to paint all the endless number of pages (unless, of course, you want to draw up a business plan). The goal must be formulated briefly and succinctly - this is the main principle.