SMART

//SMART//
SMART is a short acronym for helping to remember steps to setting up and achieving goals. As found in Taking Control with Time Management, 5th Edition by [|M.J. Weeks] and [|Janis Fisher Chan], Chaper 3 SMART can be broken down as follows.

"1. **//Specific//**. To be useful, a goal must be highly specific. It is not enough to say that one of your goals for the year is to get in shape. You must state explicitly that you want to lose twelve pounds by a certain date, or that you want to walk four miles a day three times a week. Vague goals usually have vague results. State in action terms what you expect to achieve, what the results will look like, and the time frame for achieving the goal.

2. **//Measurable//**. Useful goals are measurable: How much? How many? What percentage? Compared to what? If your goal is to lose twelve pounds by September 1, you can weigh yourself and measure the results. If your goal is to reduce the errors in your budget figures by 50 percent, get all your performance appraisals in on time next quarter, or be promoted to vice president within two years, you can also measure the results. Remember that you can measure progress as well as results. If you lose only nine pounds by September 1, that means you have only three to go.

3. **//Attainable//**. Goals must be attainable. If you are 5’8” tall, you will never attain the height of six feet. If you’ve only worked at your company for two years and have just been promoted to manager, chances are that whatever you do, you won’t be able to become CEO within the next year or so, or perhaps ever (unless your family owns the company). There’s nothing wrong with reaching for the stars, but make sure that there is at least a possibility of achieving the goals you set.

4. **//Realistic//**. Goals should be realistic, considering all aspects of both your professional and personal situation. A very busy manager with two small children, a new house, and an elderly parent to care for might not be realistic if her goal is to win a triathlon within the next six months, especially if she is not already a strong swimmer. Even if she could attain that goal, there would be a huge cost to her job, her family, and her health. In the same way, it might not be realistic for someone who works full-time to take the coursework necessary to obtain a law degree within two years, or for a manager to double his department’s productivity when staff positions are being eliminated.

5. **//Time-related//**. Finally, goals should be time-related. Set a specific deadline for achieving your goal—“within one month,” “by March 1”—then schedule the activities necessary to meet that deadline. For example, if you want to be able to make a presentation at next year’s annual meeting, you might arrange to take a presentations class and schedule five presentations before the meeting."

Use SMART as a way to determine and track your goals for better managing your time. As you use the 5 criteria, you may find that some long term goals end up having many shorter term goals that can also be defined within the SMART system. As you determine and complete these you can track progress toward your long term goal as well.

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