Alright friends, Today we’re going to talk about goal setting and SMART goals.
As my kids are learning to adult and struggling to fit everything in, I thought it would be a good idea to start an accountability group for them/us.
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Apparently, the idea of SMART goals isn’t taught in school. So when I shared the concept they thought I was brilliant. Spoiler alert, it’s not my idea. However I’ve been using it for years and the following is a bit of what I shared with them.
Before we finish our goals for the New Year; before we set them in stone and offer them up to the Gods of the Future….Lets take a moment to review, revise and edit.
By the way, It doesn’t matter when you set the goals. Most people start at the beginning of the year; as a spin off to the New Year’s Resolutions tradition. However, you can start in the Spring, on your birthday, at the beginning of the school year or as many witches do, Halloween (it’s considered the Witch’s New Year).
Goal Setting and SMART Goals
The most efficient goals are written in S.M.A.R.T format.
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Timely
S is for Specific
Specific refers to the goal itself. Don’t just say “Get Healthy” or “Improve Finances”. Be more specific and make it an I statement; “I will get healthy by losing weight” or “I will improve my finances by eliminating debt.” The ‘I’ part declares ownership. You’re stating to your subconscious, the Universe and any ancestors who may be listening what it is you intend to change. It’s also incredibly powerful. Sometimes that’s scary. Do it anyway.
The specific part narrows down what exactly you’re going to do and is going to make the M part easier.
M is for Measureable
My get healthy goal is going to be measurable by saying “I want to get healthy by losing x amount of weight.” or “I’m going to pay off $xxx on abc credit card” or “I’m going to increase my monthly savings by $xxx”. Giving yourself a precise measurement lets you know when you’ve reached your goal. It also lets you break down the goal into smaller more manageable pieces (We’ll talk about that later.)
A is for Attainable
Attainable is the ability to reach your goal in the time frame you decide. Ask yourself seriously and be real, “Is it possible for me reach this goal, in the manner I intend to reach it?”
For an example, One of my goals is get healthier by losing 50 lbs. I feel like it’s absolutely possible (and to be honest, even if I don’t quite make it, I’m still going to feel better). However, if I set a goal to get back into a size 6, I probably wouldn’t succeed. That’s what I wore in high school and again right after my divorce (Gotta love that divorce diet).
R is for Relevent or Realistic.
Now you need to ask yourself if your goal will support the desired outcome. When you came up with your goals, before you started tweaking them, you had an idea of what your life would look like when you achieved your goal. For example, I have a goal of getting healthy. The picture in my head shows me, I feel stronger, move easier and look better in my clothes. So, yes, losing 50 lbs will achieve all that. In contrast, shrinking to a size 6 will not. I would have to starve myself in order to do that. I would feel weaker, ache more and look like a bobble-head. Besides, I like food. A lot.
Another version of SMART Goals requires you to ask yourself if your goal is realistic. Using my example, Is it realistic for me to lose 50 pounds. Yes, it’ll be challenging but doable. Would it be realistic for my daughter to lose 50 lbs in a year. Probably not. That would take her way below a healthy weight.
Sometimes using “realistic” helps you clarify your goal but I’m not a fan of it. I believe anything is possible and being ‘realistic’ isn’t necessarily a virtue when creating a magical life. I’ve seen magic bypass expectations and deliver better and almost unrealistic results. I say almost because the end results were very real. If I had used ‘realistic’ in my clarification process I don’t think I would have been as happy with the results. Being Realistic would have lowered my expectations.
T is for Time
The final step in setting goals is putting a time frame on it. A deadline gives you a sense of urgency, an end point and the opportunity to break it into manageable steps.
For my yearly goals,I set a 12 month time frame. I set 30 day time frame for monthly goals and reasonable task related time frames for task oriented goals, sometimes a couple hours to a couple days. The point is I give myself a specific amount of time to achieve my goal. Not going to lie, sometimes I wave at those deadlines as they fly by but having the time frame means I can adjust it if I need to.
The Action Plan
Once you have your SMART goals the next step is to develop a plan. In the business world they call it an Individual Development Plan (IDP) in a school setting they call it an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) but we’re going to call it our Action Plan *cue superhero music*
If Getting Healthy is your ultimate goal- How do you plan on doing that – Losing weight, eating better, spending more time outdoors, taking vitamins, seeing a doctor…
These are all part of your Action Plan. Some thing will be done daily or weekly and some thing will be set once a month or once a year.
We break down our yearly goals into monthly steps and every month we break it down again for weekly (or daily) steps. This is where day planners and time management come in handy, But that’s a totally different blog post!
A Happy Life
While we’re considering our SMART Goals and Action Plans – keep in mind that a happy life is a balanced life and please make goals to improve all area’s of your life.
I keep 6 areas in mind when I’m setting my goals.
Home
As you all know, I’m a homebody, so home is always my top goal. This is my world so keeping it in good order is important to my ultimate goal of Living a Happy Life. This is where I keep track of task oriented goals, organizing goals and home improvement projects. I tack on my gardening goals because its part of the home.
Finance
Finance is how we earn money and also how we spend the money we earn. This is where we include our budgeting and savings goals. You can also include investments, whether its money invested in your portfolio or just yourself.
The less money you have the more important it is to manage it wisely. If I wish anything for you guys its that you figure out how to manage your money early in life. We didn’t and we suffered too long because of it.
Family/ friends (Social life)
Once again, I’m a homebody. I don’t keep to many social engagements but spending time with family is important so I make sure to include family time into my plans. The princess, however is a social butterfly. There are a lot more people to include in her social goals. You know how you run into friends and you talk a little and then swear you’re going to get together soon? This is where you make that a reality. If spending more time with friends is one of your goals, you can plan to have one friend lunch every month. Schedule and enjoy!
Work
Work can be how you earn your income, build your career or it could be a pet project, something that makes your heart sing. This could include working toward a promotion, taking a class or attending a seminar in your field. Another option is to set your work goals to support your charity work or your side hustle.
Self
I probably should have put this one first because ultimately its the most important. Taking care of your self includes both doing nice things and also doing necessary thing. It include setting boundaries and learning to say no. Learning new skills and expanding your knowledge. Don’t just write in spa days and luncheons, include time to do some soul searching and journaling. For me I include health goals, mental goals (or learning new things and improving my skills), and fun goals. Things I consider to be fun or do only for myself.
Spiritual
My final section which may not be part of everyone’s plan is Spiritual. For me that means connecting with the goddess through meditation and gardening, working with energies of the season and working spells to support my goals. For someone less weird, it could mean going to church or volunteering time,or practicing yoga.
If you’re curious about how to I use the Astrological energy of the month to boost my goals click here.
A lot of time your self and spiritual steps will intercede with your other goals. That’s okay, put them where you feel they should be and acknowledge that your getting a 2 for 1!
One last Thing
The last thing I advise for your Goal Setting and SMART Goal success is to have an accountability group. This is a group of goal oriented people who are willing to offer emotional support. These groups can make the difference between success and failure since it’s like having your own personal cheer squad. They support your goals, empathize with your failures and encourage you to keep trying.
You can find a group that’s goal specific, I.e. weight loss, business building, gardening, learning new skills, etc. Or find a general goal setting group.
I run one on Facebook with my girls. Get your Sh!t together, is a general goal setting group that I set up for my girls as they were learning to adult and showed an interest in life planning.
We post our monthly goals and then check in once a week with progress report. Sometimes, we get into goal specific conversations if someone needs more support in that area.
Your welcome to check us out. We’re still very small. And that’s fine with me because if you need any help or feel stuck on something, I’ll happily talk you through it!
If you have some experience with goal setting, SMART Goals or personal action plans, what’s your best advice to someone new at this? Leave it in a comment!
