SMART GOALS
Practice Setting Short and Long Term Goals
S:
Specific: (Who, What, Where, When, Why)
Success is easier to reach when it is defined!
Simple, Sensible, Significant
M:
Measurable: (How Much?)
You must be able to track your progress precisely.
Meaningful, Motivating
A:
Achievable: (Is this possible?)
You should have to work for your goal, but it should not be a stretch.
Agreed, Attainable
R:
Realistic: (Is this what you want?)
If your goal is not important to yourself, then why are you doing it?
Reasonable, Relevant and Resourced, Results-based
T:
Timely: (When, How Long?)
Deadlines allow us to stay focused on our goals.
Time-based, Time-limited, Time-bound, Time-sensitive
SMART Goal Example
Short-Term Goals
A goal is considered to be short-term if it can be achieved in 12 months (a year) or less. Some examples of short term goals are:
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Taking a class
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Finishing a book
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Improving a specific skill
Here are examples of short-term goals in the SMART Goal form:
Career Related:
"I would like to be able to achieve a part time job in the next 3 months. I will accomplish this by locating and applying to three organizations with open positions every week for the next two months."
General:
“My goal is to complete my new book by the end of the month by reading at least 3 chapters a week until it’s complete.” (Assuming that the book has 12 chapters.)
Long-Term Goals
A goal is considered to be long-term if it can be achieved in the future and takes longer than 12 months (a year) or more.
Some examples of long-term goals are:
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Completing a College Degree
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Working towards a promotion at work
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Paying off your debt or school loans
Here are examples of long-term goals in the SMART Goal form:
Career Related:
“My goal is to successfully graduate with my college degree in *insert degree title* in 4 years by attending all my classes, completing my assignments, and maintaining a GPA of 3.0 over that 4 year period.”
General:
"I will review the Dave Ramsey financial method, enrolling in Financial Peace University or reading one of his books. I will organize my debt within the next six months and begin to pay down my debt using this process. I plan to stick to this process faithfully for two years or longer."
Download our templates to practice writing your own SMART Goals. Use the Strategic Planner worksheet to set a long-term or short-term SMART goal and create a plan of action to achieve your goals. Use the Progress Tracker worksheet as a visual representation of your pathway to achieving your goal.