Well, Happy New Year to you all. 2021 is now done and dusted, and it’s time for you to think about this next year. You’ve probably had to adapt and revise your targets and goals frequently in the last couple of years to adapt to the ever changing external factors, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t set yourself those intentions at the start of a New Year.
I’m therefore going to use this first blog of 2022 to go back to basics, and remind you about how to set meaningful and achievable goals. Goals are a key part of a person’s business and life, and help to steer an individual’s focus and motivation to achieve more for themselves and their business. A goal needs to have certain qualities for it to be one that is likely to be achieved, and those characteristics can use an acronym, SMART. The SMART method can give you a better sense of direction, and can help you plan more easily how you can reach your goals. Each element is described as follows:
S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Assignable, Achievable
R = Realistic
T = Time related, Time bound
So, what do each of these mean:
Specific is where you target a specific thing that you need to work on or improve i.e. “To walk more”
Measurable is where you quantify how much you want to do, or at least propose some indicator of progression i.e. “To walk 10,000 steps”
Assignable, Achievable is where you specify who will do it; therefore usually when setting a goal for you or your business, this becomes an “I will..” i.e. “I want to walk 10,000 steps”
Realistic reflects on what can be achieved realistically, given the resources available to you i.e. “I want to walk 10,000 steps every day”
Time related, Time bound references by when you’d like to achieve the result of the goal set i.e. “I want to walk 10,000 steps every day in 2022”.
I would encourage you over these initial few days of 2022 to build up those personal and business goals for yourself. You should have perhaps 5-8 goals maximum, as you do not want to over burden yourself, and dilute the goal management you would like to work on. For even more focus and accountability, share them with someone else, and ask them to check in with you every so often to see how you are doing with regards to achieving what you want to. Good luck, and all the very best for 2022. I look forward to providing some more hints and tips over the next 12 months.