Setting goals is a difficult undertaking. While goals should be attainable, they should also challenge you, stretch your skills and get you out of your comfort zone. New Year’s resolutions are commonly made at this time of year.
The five most popular resolutions are:
- Exercise more and lose weight
- Learn a new skill or acquire a new hobby
- Save more and spend less money
- Spend more time with family and friends
- Travel
Setting professional goals is a slightly different and more in-depth process than a simple New Year’s resolution. As we look forward to the year ahead, we need to focus on setting goals that are S.M.A.R.T. — specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
Let’s start with the “S” in S.M.A.R.T. Setting a “specific” goal is important because a broad or general goal is easy to feel like you’ve achieved—even if you didn’t. Conversely, it makes the triumph that much more satisfying when you do achieve a specific goal.
Make yourself a list of questions as you look to identify your specific goals. What needs to happen to achieve your goal? Are there any courses or trainings you need to acquire new skills to achieve it? What, if any, responsibilities lie with other parties that may be contingent on you accomplishing this goal?
Asking these questions in advance can help keep you on track and ensure your goals are tailored to your specific situation and environment.
Next is “measurable.” This is one that many people get stuck on. How do you measure productivity or success? Some activities, such as playing a game or completing a project, have an obvious and easily measured goal. Winning the game or finishing a difficult project at work is successful in their own right.
But how can you know if you reach some of your more subjective goals if you don’t quantify them? This makes it that much easier to track progress and know when you’ve reached a milestone in the project and, ultimately, completed it.
Ask what metrics or milestones are available to track your progress and use those to keep you on track until you reach the finish line.
“A” is for “achievable.” A good goal needs to be something attainable. There isn’t anything wrong with shooting for the stars or dreaming big—but for this to be a S.M.A.R.T. goal, it has to be feasible.
A great way to test if something is achievable is to take an inventory. By this, we mean checking-in on the level of collaboration certain tasks will take instead of working completely autonomously in a silo. Comparing this goal to what you were able to accomplish in a similar role—even taking into account what variables outside of work could interfere with completing the goal.
Ultimately, achievability requires honest introspection and transparency with yourself. You have to be fully committed and honestly believe you can accomplish this task—otherwise, you are spinning your wheels.
Now on to the “R,” which stands for “relevant.” This is especially important if you are a contributor to a large team. What’s your motivation? Intrinsically, it could be simply wanting to learn something new—but that takes a lot of discipline without an extrinsic driving factor.
A more persuasive reason is to fill a knowledge gap on your team, which would position you as the expert in that area. That would be a great benefit to the entire team. It can be crucial as you work toward a promotion or an excellent talking point during your annual review.
Finally, “T,” for “time-bound.” Without a time constraint or set end-date, a perfectly fine goal will keep getting pushed back further and further until it is completely forgotten or irrelevant.
This piggybacks off of the “M” for “measurement,” as time could be used as measurement or progress report. This isn’t to say there should not be flexibility with goals as it relates to time; life happens, and we need to adjust. However, you are much more likely to not see your goal through to the end without an initial timeframe.
So, as you embark on 2021, make sure your goals are S.M.A.R.T. and pursue them with gusto!