Monday, April 04, 2005

Spring Forward: Let's Look Back at Your Goals

Hopefully, you remembered to turn your clocks FORWARD over the weekend.

Well, along with daylight savings time comes the second quarter -- a good time to revisit your new year's goals and resolutions. Were your goals SMART?
  • Specific -- can you articulate the goal in a clear, concise phrase or sentence?
  • Measurable -- does your goal include metrics (numbers) to measure your success?
  • Achievable -- given your available resources, will it be possible to achieve the goal?
  • Realistic -- given your other responsibilities, is it realistic that you will achieve the goal?
  • Timebound -- have you set a due date or deadline?

Setting SMART goals allows you to be clear about what you're trying to accomplish. It also allows you to "chunk" your long-term goals (e.g., getting a degree, moving into a new industry) into achievable milestones, by documenting the interim steps that you'll need to accomplish along the way.

I find it helpful to write down my goals. I even use Microsoft Tasks to document the short-term tasks I'll need to tackle along the way. That way, I can set reminders to help keep me on track.

Remember, you can adjust your goals based on changes in your situation. But, if you don't write them down you won't know where to begin!

No comments: