T - Time-based

Howdy everyone! Today we are reaching the last letter in SMART; yay, we've made it! I'd like to review the letters we've covered so far and what they stand for. So far we have covered S for specific, M for measurable, A for attainable, and R for relevant/realistic. All of these elements should be present when you are creating a SMART goal.

Today we will look at the letter T which stands for time-based. This element of SMART goal making answers the question "when." Remember, this needs to be specific. The time frame must be aggressive while also being realistic. (See how all of the elements overlap?) So what does it mean to have a time-based goal? Well, here's a pretty cool video to demonstrate a time-based goal.

So what was his goal that he stated? Right, he said that he would paint a painting in a minute and a half or less. Now, this was not necessarily a smart goal in other aspects, but where time is concerned it was rather specific. And it seemed somewhat unattainable, but for this man it certainly wasn't! I thought that video was pretty awesome.

It's important to make your goal time-based because this goes along with attainability. If your goal isn't time-bound you may have trouble completing the goal. Why would it impede the completion of my goal, you may ask? Well, if a goal isn't time bound, you may not feel the need to do it or you may lose interest or procrastinate. Being time-bound is important because it gives you a deadline and therefore some degree of urgency. Remember, within every aspect of SMART goal is specificity so be very specific about when your goal is to be completed by. If the overall goal will take a rather long time (as can occur with businesses or scholastics) then make some smaller goals within the overall goal so that you are still making progress the entire time and not procrastinating.

I hope this has helped your understanding of making your goals time-based!

Happy goal making!!

R - Realistic

Hello again! Today we'll be talking about the fourth aspect of SMART goals: R for realistic or relevant. When making SMART goals, you should ask yourself whether or not this goal is realistic. Is this goal feasible? Is it attainable? A realistic goal should be challenging yet attainable within the given time frame. 

Today I'll give multiple examples and hopefully they help make more sense of our topic today. The first video is Abbott and Costello's "Crazy House" sketch. I love Abbott and Costello, so I'm excited to use them as an example! In this sketch, Costello is suffering from insomnia so Abbott decides to take him to a rest house. Little do they know that this "rest house" is more like an insane asylum run by the patients.  This is an example of an unrealistic goal. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed that sketch! Now let's talk about how this goal was unrealistic. First of all, the goal I am referring to is Costello attempting to sleep in this "hospital." Now, Abbott and Costello didn't know this was unrealistic, but it works anyway. As Costello attempts to sleep he has two men busting into the room and shooting a gun, he has a woman pour water on him as she "waters a bed of roses," a woman comes in picking apples from an invisible apple tree, and other ridiculous interruptions. Now ask yourself, is it feasible to sleep in that kind of an environment? Probably not. Is it challenging? Well, yes. But is it challenging while still being attainable? No, it's not. All in all, this goal of sleeping in the "nut house" is not realistic.

Okay, I tried and tried to find a video for a fun example of a realistic goal, unfortunately my search was in vain. Most that I could find were unrealistic, and any fun shows I could think of that did have realistic goals are not available on Youtube. So I'll just describe an episode of That's So Raven. The episode I'm describing is from season 3, episode one. It's called Psychic Eye for the Sloppy Guy. In this episode Raven makes it her goal to give the nerdy, sloppy guy in her class a make over. Since she's a fashionista, her goal isn't unrealistic while still being a challege. She uses her skills and voila! The sloppy guy becomes the best looking guy in school! Obviously, this is an example of a fun show but technically that's what the show What Not to Wear was all about, and those were actual people living their lives. (Yes, I know reality TV isn't real, but I love What Not to Wear so it's real to me.)

Here's the example we were given in class about a realistic/relevant goal: "I want to become proficient with sketching subjects at gymnastics in my sketchbook by drawing from direct observation and practicing different techniques for 30 minutes after school 3 days a week and evaluating my work with a rubric  to help me chart my progress." Whoo. Now that is a mouthful. This goal is extremely specific, but it is also relevant and realistic. The goal is challenging since the individual is not an artist (yet!) but it's also realistic since they will be practicing and tracking their progress within a time frame.

Well, that's all I have for you today; go out there and make some goals!

A - Attainable

Well, we are half way through the breakdown of SMART goals! Yay! So today we’re discussing the need for your goal to be attainable. The definition of the verb attain is, 1) to reach, achieve, accomplish, gain, or obtain; and 2) to come to or arrive at, especially after some labor or tedium. So for something to be attained, it also needs to be attainable. Attainable could also be described as feasible, obtainable, reachable, or possible. (On a side note, when using thesaurus.com, it also gives cherry pie and duck soup as synonyms of attainable. I’m not really sure why though...) 

Today I chose a much more enjoyable video, but also longer. It’s totally worth it though because it is an episode of Kim Possible! So take the time now to watch the episode of Kim Possible: A Very Possible Christmas and pay particular attention to Ron’s goal in the show and Dr. Drakken’s goal as well. (I also thought it fun considering the holidays are quickly approaching!)

Did you watch it? Great! So we’ll start with Ron’s goal in the show. He wants to give Kim the gift of family time by going to save the world from Dr. Drakken. Now, if you aren’t familiar with the show, Ron is basically the one who wreaks havoc, albeit innocently. He is basically Kim Possible’s sidekick. Funny enough about their names, if you don’t know the characters, Ron’s last name is Stoppable and the name suits him. The same goes for Kim Possible, who can do anything in the show. Great, so we have some basics. Well, considering Ron’s track record of getting in the way and causing more problems than were already present, would his goal of saving the world really be that attainable? No. Even though he’s in a TV show, Ron’s goal of doing Kim’s job is not an attainable goal. He does not have the skills to complete this job and ends up needing to be saved by Kim and her whole family. 

Let’s look at the second example. Dr. Drakken also has a goal in this show, and his goal is equally unattainable. Dr. D is attempting to take over the world. Now, this is a TV show where technically anything is possible, however Dr. D’s plans rarely work out because Kim usually finds a way to thwart his plan of world domination. So why does he keep attempting these unattainable goals? Looks like he needs some SMART goal training!

Now, all cheesiness aside, making your goal attainable is important. If your goal isn’t attainable you’re never going to reach it and therefore will only get discouraged. Making your goal to become president of the United States is pretty hefty when you’re a 20 year old still in college. Or making your goal to lose 30 pounds in a week; unhealthy and also unattainable. Choose goals that you can achieve, and maybe a long term goal could be president, but there are many many goals in between that should be focused on, like entering into the world of politics at a lower level. Having attainable goals will help your confidence and will help you to get things done, both of which will help you in other aspects of life. 

Happy goal-making! 

M - Measurable

So far we have discussed what Smart goals are in general and what the “S” stands for. Today we will talk about the next letter, “M.” As you may or may not remember, the “M” stands for MEASURABLE. It is very important that your goal is measurable, and remember that it needs to be specific as the “S” carries through the entire process. 

So what is measurable; what does that even mean? Well the dictionary defines measurable as something that can be measured. Well, that seems pretty obvious, so to measure something is defined as “the extent, dimensions, quantity, etc., of something, ascertained especially by comparison with a standard: to take the measure of a thing.” So measuring something will allow you to compare the progress of something against whatever the standard is. 

Whenever you are making your goal measurable you need to use a clear and concise “measuring stick.” You don’t literally need to use a ruler or meter stick, the point is that what is to be measured needs to be concise. For example, say you want to raise the percentage of sales in your store. Don’t just say, “I want to raise sales.” That is not clear and you won’t know when you’ve reached your goal. Instead say something like, “I want to increase sales by 18%” This is a clear goal and is measurable. One can look at this aspect of the goal and know how much sales will be raised and can work to attain that goal. As I’ve stated a few times already, the measurement needs to be the criteria used to know what success looks like and when you’ve gotten there.  How will you know when you’ve reached your goal? With the original, “I want to raise sales” you would never know what is too much or too little and you’ll never know when you have reached your goal because that goal isn’t measurable. According to Nikitina, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it” and I think that is so accurate. How will you overlook something that is not clear and concise? It will only cause frustration and confusion in the workplace, something that will be discussed in a later post. 

Another aspect of having measurable goals is that you can usually build in short term successes that will help you stay on track and will also keep up your stamina. It’s important that the goal is not forsaken, so working in little wins will help you and your people “stick with it.”

So what have we learned? Measurable goals need to have criteria so you know what to do and when to know you’ve reached the goal. The goal needs to be specific, even in this stage so that others will be clear on what the goal is and how to measure it. 

Until next time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hea8D64RpGI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKMrWsjUOZQ