With the start of the New Year, it is a common practice to consider the future by crafting a few goals to help us navigate a successful and satisfying year. It is, therefore, a good time to review the characteristics of good, or SMART goals.  SMART goals are:

• Specific. Clear goals provide better guidance than vague goals. ” I will exercise for 30 minutes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings” is better than “I will get in shape.”
• Meaningful. Goals should represent important steps toward fulfilling your needs, desires and aspirations. If you are in a service industry, a goal to “devote 10 minutes every afternoon to emailing one former client I have not heard from in 6 months” may go a long way to fulfilling your desire to increase your repeat business.
• Achievable. The goal must be tied to actions directly under your control. Because you cannot control how someone feels, a goal to make someone happy or feel appreciated is not as achievable as a goal to give a colleague a warm greeting every morning, or to send a hand written thank you note to people who perform services you appreciate.
• Realistic. Your goals must be within the limits of your abilities. If you have never run a marathon before, setting a goal to win a marathon is not as realistic as setting a goal to compete in 3 marathons in 2012, with an improved time in each race.  The later goal does not rule out the possibility of winning a marathon, but it is more realistic in terms of accomplishment.
• Time-oriented.  Putting your goals on a time line creates a sense of immediacy and urgency.  “Someday I will write a book” doesn’t get it done like “By June 1, 2012 I will have completed the first draft of my book “How I Overcame Procrastination.”

About the Author – Paul G. Schempp

Dr. Schempp, president of Performance Matters, Inc., is a professional speaker, coach and consultant. Paul has more than 25 years of experience in the fields of research, teaching and professional development. Individuals and organizations in business, education and sport have elevated their expertise and achieved exceptional performance by working with Dr. Schempp.