smart goal setting essay

The Smart Goal-Setting Process: Motivation and Empowerment Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Introduction

Smart objectives, smart career goals.

SMART goal-setting was first introduced by Dr. Edwin Locke in the 1960s (Griffin, 2017). According to Locke, setting goals that fit into the SMART criteria provided motivation and empowerment to people, which was crucial to ensure that the goals are achieved (Griffin, 2017). Today, SMART criteria are applied to the goal-setting process in many organizations, regardless of their size and area of business. The rules are universal and can also be applied to personal goals, which makes them an excellent tool for developing a career plan.

The first criterion emphasizes that goals need to be specific and relevant to the desired outcome (Joseph, 2017). Setting general goals may reduce motivation, as the path to achieving them becomes unclear (Joseph, 2017).

In order to achieve success in pursuing a goal, there has to be a way to measure success, which is why the second point of SMART goals theory is that the goals need to be measurable (Joseph, 2017). By measuring success, it is possible to monitor the progress towards the goal, which ultimately improves motivation.

The third criterion to be applied to goals is attainability. A goal that is impossible to achieve becomes a burden rather than an opportunity, as all the efforts put in by the person will not help him or her to attain the goal. If the goal is achievable, on the other hand, it is possible to devise a clear strategy to ensure that it is reached.

The next criterion emphasizes the need for the goal to be realistic, which means that a goal has to be set with consideration of the current circumstances. If the goal is set too high comparing to the current career level, reaching it will be hardly possible.

The final stage of goal-setting is ensuring that the goals are time-bound. Setting a definite time limit by which the goal has to be achieved creates a sense of urgency, which may become a substantial motivating factor.

My ultimate aim is to become a Registered Nurse. However, there are three main stages that have to be completed before I can reach the desired position.

Stage One: Graduate from Regis Health Care Administration

The first step in my career plan is to graduate from Regis College with a degree in Health Care Administration. In order to do that, I need to complete all of the program requirements and courses, which is a specific objective. The goal can be easily measured, and the result of completing the goal will be receiving a Diploma that marks the successful ending of the course. I believe that this aim is also attainable, as I am working towards completing the course and so far my grades have been acceptable. Completing this stage of the plan is realistic, as the goal is set based on my current level of education and abilities. Finally, the expected time of completion is Summer 2018, which makes the goal time-bound.

Stage Two: Enroll in an Accelerated Nursing Program

After I receive my certificate in Health Care Administration, I will need to enroll in a nursing program to continue my nursing education. I plan on applying for an accelerated nursing program at Regis, Metro, or Denver School, which is a specific objective. Acceptance into the program will be the ultimate measure of success, which means that the goal is measurable. It is also attainable and realistic, as it is the next step after I graduate from my HCA program; I am aware of the requirements of these schools and believe that I can attain the results needed for acceptance. Finally, the anticipated start of the program is in Fall 2018, which sets a specific time limit for the goal.

Stage Three: Work as an RN in Sandalwood Rehabilitation Center

The ultimate goal of my career plan is to achieve an RN position at Sandalwood Rehabilitation Center, where I currently work as a CNA. This aim is specific, as it mentions the position and place of work. The goal is also measurable, as I will know when I receive this position. The goal is attainable, as I have been successful in my work here so far and I believe that upon completion of the nursing course, I will be accepted to work as an RN. The aim is also realistic as I understand the requirements of the position and the path to achieving certification. Finally, the time limit of the goal will be estimated as soon as I complete the second stage of the plan, as it depends on the length of the nursing program that I will complete. As soon as I receive the certification, I believe it will take me up to six months to gain an RN position.

Overall, I believe that separating my career plan into three SMART goals is a useful practice to gain more understanding of how to achieve the ultimate career aim. SMART goal-setting ensures that the goals are not unrealistic, which provides more motivation to work towards the goals. I feel that my current abilities and the chosen path of development will help me to reach my final goal and to receive an RN position at Sandalwood Rehabilitation Center.

Griffin, D. (2017). The SMART goal-setting process . Web.

Joseph, C. (2017). Elements of S.M.A.R.T. goal setting . Web.

• The Great Grandfather of the Sandalwood Mountains
• The "Kisses from Berlin" Photo by Regis Bossu
• Expectancy and Goal-Setting Theories in Healthcare
• The Balanced Scorecard Approach Implementation
• American Distribution and Manufacturing Company's Standards
• Balanced Score Card and Gamification for Performance
• "Competing on Analytics" by Davenport
• Wall Street Journal: The Work of Ford Company
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2020, September 13). The Smart Goal-Setting Process: Motivation and Empowerment. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-smart-goal-setting-process/

"The Smart Goal-Setting Process: Motivation and Empowerment." IvyPanda , 13 Sept. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/the-smart-goal-setting-process/.

IvyPanda . (2020) 'The Smart Goal-Setting Process: Motivation and Empowerment'. 13 September.

IvyPanda . 2020. "The Smart Goal-Setting Process: Motivation and Empowerment." September 13, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-smart-goal-setting-process/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Smart Goal-Setting Process: Motivation and Empowerment." September 13, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-smart-goal-setting-process/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Smart Goal-Setting Process: Motivation and Empowerment." September 13, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-smart-goal-setting-process/.

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Article • 12 min read

SMART Goals

How to make your goals achievable.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Key Takeaways

• SMART goals are S pecific, M easurable, A chievable, R elevant, and T ime-bound.
• They allow you to write goals that are clear, attainable and meaningful.
• Having clarity in your goal-setting provides the motivation and focus you need to be successful.

The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.– Bill Copeland

Do you ever feel like you're working hard but not getting anywhere? Maybe you see little improvement in your skills or achievements when you reflect on the last five or 10 years. Or perhaps you struggle to see how you'll fulfill your ambitions during the next few years.

Many people spend their lives drifting from one job to another, or rushing around trying to get more done while actually accomplishing very little. Setting SMART goals means you can clarify your ideas, focus your efforts, use your time and resources productively, and increase your chances of achieving what you want in life.

In this article, we'll explore what SMART goals are, and we'll look at how you can use them to achieve your objectives.

Learn how to set SMART goals with our video and transcript .

What Are SMART Goals?

SMART is an acronym that you can use to guide your goal setting. To make sure your goals are clear and reachable, each one should be:

• S pecific (simple, sensible, significant).
• M easurable (meaningful, motivating).
• A chievable (agreed, attainable).
• R elevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).
• T ime bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).

Its criteria are commonly attributed to Peter Drucker's Management by Objectives concept. The first-known use of the term was in the November 1981 issue of Management Review by George T. Doran. Later, Professor Robert S. Rubin (Saint Louis University) wrote about SMART in an article for The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. He stated that SMART has come to mean different things to different people, as shown above.

Professor Rubin also noted that the definition of the SMART acronym may need updating to reflect the importance of efficacy and feedback. However, some authors have expanded it to include extra focus areas; SMARTER, for example, includes E valuated and R eviewed.

What Are the SMART Criteria?

SMART Criteria

How to Write a SMART Goal

Paul J. Meyer, businessman, author and founder of Success Motivation International , describes the characteristics of SMART goals in his 2003 book, " Attitude Is Everything: If You Want to Succeed Above and Beyond ." We'll expand on his definitions to explore how to create, develop and achieve your goals:

1. Specific

Your goal should be clear and specific, otherwise you won't be able to focus your efforts or feel truly motivated to achieve it. When drafting your goal, try to answer the five "W" questions:

• What do I want to accomplish?
• Why is this goal important?
• Who is involved?
• Where is it located?
• Which resources or limits are involved?

Imagine that you are currently a marketing executive, and you'd like to become head of marketing. A specific goal could be, "I want to gain the skills and experience necessary to become head of marketing within my organization, so that I can build my career and lead a successful team."

2. Measurable

It's important to have measurable goals, so that you can track your progress and stay motivated. Assessing progress helps you to stay focused, meet your deadlines, and feel the excitement of getting closer to achieving your goal.

A measurable goal should address questions such as:

• How will I know when it is accomplished?

You might measure your goal of acquiring the skills to become head of marketing by determining that you will have completed the necessary training courses and gained the relevant experience within five years' time.

3. Achievable

Your goal also needs to be realistic and attainable to be successful. In other words, it should stretch your abilities but still remain possible. When you set an achievable goal, you may be able to identify previously overlooked opportunities or resources that can bring you closer to it.

An achievable goal will usually answer questions such as:

• How can I accomplish this goal?
• How realistic is the goal, based on other constraints, such as financial factors?

You might need to ask yourself whether developing the skills required to become head of marketing is realistic, based on your existing experience and qualifications. For example, do you have the time to complete the required training effectively? Are the necessary resources available to you? Can you afford to do it?

Beware of setting goals that someone else has power over. For example, "Get that promotion!" depends on who else applies, and on the recruiter's decision. But "Get the experience and training that I need to be considered for that promotion" is entirely down to you.

4. Relevant

This step is about ensuring that your goal matters to you, and that it also aligns with other relevant goals. We all need support and assistance in achieving our goals, but it's important to retain control over them. So, make sure that your plans drive everyone forward, but that you're still responsible for achieving your own goal.

A relevant goal can answer "yes" to these questions:

• Does this seem worthwhile?
• Is this the right time?
• Does this match our other efforts/needs?
• Am I the right person to reach this goal?
• Is it applicable in the current socio-economic environment?

You might want to gain the skills to become head of marketing within your organization, but is it the right time to undertake the required training, or work toward additional qualifications? Are you sure that you're the right person for the head of marketing role? Have you considered your partner's goals? For example, if you want to start a family, would completing training in your free time make this more difficult?

5. Time-bound

Every goal needs a target date, so that you have a deadline to focus on and something to work toward. This part of the SMART goal criteria helps to prevent everyday tasks from taking priority over your longer-term goals.

A time-bound goal will usually answer these questions:

• What can I do six months from now?
• What can I do six weeks from now?
• What can I do today?

Gaining the skills to become head of marketing may require additional training or experience, as we mentioned earlier. How long will it take you to acquire these skills? Do you need further training, so that you're eligible for certain exams or qualifications? It's important to give yourself a realistic time frame for accomplishing the smaller goals that are necessary to achieving your final objective.

Used with Permission from The Meyer Resource Group,® Inc.

The Pros and Cons of SMART Goals

SMART is an effective tool that provides the clarity, focus and motivation you need to achieve your goals. It can also improve your ability to reach them by encouraging you to define your objectives and set a completion date. SMART goals are also easy to use by anyone, anywhere, without the need for specialist tools or training.

Various interpretations of SMART have meant that it can lose its effectiveness or be misunderstood. Some people believe that SMART doesn't work well for long-term goals because it lacks flexibility, while others suggest that it might stifle creativity. For more information on the potential weaknesses of SMART, see our article, Locke's Goal-Setting Theory .

Frequently Asked Questions About SMART Goals

What does smart stand for.

SMART stands for S pecific,  M easurable,  A chievable,  R elevant, and  T ime-bound.

What about SMARTER goals?

In this expanded acronym, the E stands for Evaluated, and the R for Reviewed.

Who invented SMART goals?

The SMART goals concept is commonly attributed to Peter Drucker, author of Management by Objectives . The first-known use of the term was in the November 1981 issue of Management Review by George T. Doran.

What’s an example of a SMART goal?

Let’s say you’re a marketing executive, and you think you'd like to become head of marketing. This is a specific goal. You might measure your goal of gaining the skills to become head of marketing by deciding it will take five years. Ask yourself whether gaining these skills is achievable , based on your existing experience and qualifications. Are you at the right point in your career? Is it relevant to what you want? Give yourself a realistic time frame for accomplishing the smaller goals that are necessary to achieving your final objective.

How do I write a SMART goal plan?

• Start by asking exactly what you need to accomplish. This will make your goal specific.
• Quantify your goals. Measurable goals are easier to track, so build in milestones.
• Your goal should be achievable. Is this something you can do with the resources at your disposal?
• Think why you’re setting this goal. How will it improve your life or career? This is what makes it relevant.
• Know exactly when you’ll have reached your goal. Have a firm schedule, and stick to it.

For other goal-setting resources, see our articles, Golden Rules of Goal-Setting , Using Well-Formed Outcomes in Goal Setting , Personal Goal Setting , and Treasure Mapping .

• SMART is a well-established tool that you can use to plan and achieve your goals.
• While there are a number of interpretations of the acronym's meaning, the most common one is that goals should be S pecific, M easurable, A chievable, R elevant, and T ime-bound.
• When you use SMART, you can create clear, attainable and meaningful goals, and develop the motivation, action plan, and support needed to achieve them.

Rubin, R. (2002). Will the Real SMART Goals Please Stand Up? [online]. Available here . [Accessed January 27, 2016.]

Meyer, Paul J. (2003). " Attitude Is Everything: If You Want to Succeed Above and Beyond ." Waco, TX: Meyer Resource Group.

Haughey, D. (2014). A Brief History of SMART Goals [online]. Available here . [Accessed January 27, 2016.]

Smart Goals Guide, (2014). Why Goal Setting Is Important [online]. Available here . [Accessed January 27, 2016.]

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Golden rules of goal setting.

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Happy 2024! We hope this year will be full of writing for you—and if you’re like us, you’ve even got writing goals among your New Year’s Resolutions.

One thing to consider is that not all goals are created equal . Goals can be fuzzy (“I want to write more”), over-ambitious, or have lots of other issues.

To help, people who think about this sort of thing have come up with a great system for goal-setting: SMART. Based on that system, here’s some simple advice for the goal-setting writer in each of us.

If you’re serious about your writing in 2024, check out our online writing courses . They’ll keep you accountable to concrete writing goals, with the mentorship of award-winning instructors, and in a supportive community of like-minded and passionate writers. They’re the perfect environment to get your best writing done.

SMART is an acronym, and it’s one of those cool acronyms where the word it forms describes the thing the acronym is about.

SMART is a good acronym. Not like this one.

What “SMART” Stands For

SMART is all about the properties of a good (“smart”) goal.

It stands for:

• Specific. Make your goal or objective as specific as possible. Say exactly what you want to achieve in clear, concise words.
• Measurable. Include a unit of measure in your goal. Be objective rather than subjective. When will your goal be achieved? How will you know it has been achieved?
• Achievable. Be realistic. Ensure that your goal is feasible in terms of the resources available to you.
• Relevant. Your goals should align with your values and long-term objectives.
• Time-bound. Give yourself a deadline within a year. Include a timeframe such as a week, month or year, and include a specific date if possible.

( See here and here for more on these descriptions.)

A Few Examples of Non-SMART Writing Goals

Here are some draft goals (or resolutions) that might not fit within the SMART framework:

• “I really want to finish my novel.” (Not specific.)
• “I’ll write lots more this year.” (Not measurable.)
• “I’ll write 20,000 words every week this year.” (Not achievable???)
• “I feel like I should start writing again.” (Why?)
• “I hereby commit that I’m going to work on my memoir until it’s finished.” (When? Not time-bound.)

A Few Examples of SMART Writing Goals

And here are some examples of draft goals or resolutions that would fit within the SMART framework:

• “I will finish my novel manuscript by the end of the year.”
• “I’ll set aside 15 minutes in the morning to write, at least 5 days a week.”
• “I’ll have an outline of my memoir completed by July 1.”

A Few Thoughts on “Relevant” (the R in SMART Goals)

Each of these feel like good goal-setting elements in general, but what really stands out to me is R, Relevant. This is a chance to ask: What does this writing goal, resolution, project, or process mean to me ? How is it part of the life I wish to live?

This is certainly worth reflecting on. In my experience, knowing why I write can help a huge amount with the how and when.

Our reasons for writing will—of course—be different for each of us. With that in mind, I’ll offer that, in my view, having the chance to share our humanity with one another through written language is one of the great gifts of life. So whatever your reason is, I know it’s a good one.

Here’s to a wonderful and writerful 2024!

Frederick Meyer

Writing truly an amazing way to give life in the form of tangible memories or basic ideas…therapeutic for sure…to the ones conveying and the ones receiving it…my blood my brows sweat the ink to my pen!!! The countless pages in the form of sheets of many types..from paper bags to napkins to the parts of my skin for my canvas that waits to be outlined into the intensity of a kaleidoscope of emotions dying to come out…to be viewed to be felt in ensuring all types of waking UP’s inside and out every side..especially the parts that are crippled locked jammed in sick stillnesses out of fear of scaring all away leaving us in an awkward mess for doubts set out to stop anything from becoming something!!I would love to leave y’all with something I came across a year in my 3 years and 3 month prison term…when nothing could console me..the losses from being free to be a mother to my beautiful three daughter’s aja and naynay and jady..from being able to have the freedom to know I could be free even while incarcerated ..a blessing in disguise because I was dying!!! I’d lost my physical freedom my rights my luxuries.. To just be in my life’s moment’s.. In a Bible a year after not knowing how to deal with all I wanted to get back to… My life!! My girls!! This was in a separate piece of paper within the pages of the only book of life worth referring towards.(THE BIBLE)..this is what the small piece of paper said and I quote!!!” Sometimes you have to let go of all you think you cannot live without in otderTO BE ABLE TO HOLD ONTO WHAT YOU STILL GOT”end quote…it was then..right at that moment that I realized how wise words are imperative&vital and, crucial…how FREEING and helpful they can be .why its important to learn to want to understand… So its wisdom and valuable lesson’s won’t pass you by…words!!! Turned into knowledge for the very power that fuels Gods hope in order to find your way out of the bondage for pessimistic thoughts that have been like a plague…a form of cancer ..poison to your mind’s abilities& capabilities,and capacity to break out and awayyyyyy..!! and see all through!!! Yea…its not how much you write its what you write about and owning your own style of how to go about!!! Write on!!!! Right on!!! Sincerely Gypsy skigh blue!! Aka Noemi cazares MY NEW YEARS RESOLUTION… TO BE ABLE TO GIVE LIFE THROUGH WORDS TO ALL IVE EXPERIENCE… SURVIVED WHILE HAVING TO BECOME MANY COOL AND INSANE SAVAGE CHARACTERS IN order TO FINALLY FIND MY WAY TO MY THROWN IN WAITING… A CHAIR IN FRONT OF A DESK OR TABLE WHERE I MAY FINALLY SIT DOWN AND SHARE MY unbelievable MISSIONS IN LIFE!! BECAUSE ITS NO LONGER A JOURNEY.. ITS MY LIFE!! I FINALLY VALUE IT AND UNDERSTAND THE UNSPEAKABLE THE UNREFINED THE rawness OF IT ALL THATS BEEN EVER SO DEEPLY SENSITIVE… LEADING ME MANY TIMES ON THE DEFENSES MAKING IT EASY TO BELIEVE I MUST BE CRAZY… IM NOT BUT WHAT WAS DONE to me and mine AND LATER SAID AGAINST ME TO DECLARE ME FOR SURE insane !!! GOD FORBID THEY LISTEN TO ME…YEA…THAT WAS TRULY CRAZY THEY WERE UNHINGED… BUT SOME HOW THROUGH THE graceful GRACE OF GOD… I SURVIVED IT…SO PEN TO PAPERS…and this is how it soon will go…..God help me always… I’m your mess…I’m not any less….I’m More, more than I allowed myself to become… Thank God!! I’m never alone especially when I was…AMEN!! Amen!!/Amen!!

Everyday I come up with the day’s to-do list and i’ll make sure the followings feature on the list: (a)writing at least two flash fictions (b) editing an old story (c) reading online magazine ,at least two magazines (d) listening to an audio story , at least two short stories

As one who also like programming, i’d including coding as well. is this a clear SMART violation?

I have never really thought about writing stories or anything else related, I just happened to by pass this website but I’m actually considering taking it in for my goals in this coming year.

So thank you for the inspiration and happy new year!

We hope you start writing, Nshuti! Happy New Year!

SMART goals were a part of my life throughout my career as a school administrator. I had forgotten about them until I read this article. More than four years ago, I made the goal of writing every day. Not entirely smart but it is one that I have achieved. As January 1, 2024 approaches, I will got back to my roots and create my SMART goal for the year. Thanks for refreshing my memory.

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How to write SMART goals

It’s easier to succeed when you have clearly defined objectives that are based in reality.

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5-second summary

• Teams often fall short of meeting their goals due to a lack of consensus on the definition of success.
• SMART goals use a specific set of criteria to help ensure that objectives are clearly defined and attainable within a certain timeframe.
• Working through each step of creating a SMART goal can reveal instances where priorities and resources are out of alignment.

Meet Jane. She’s a product manager at a mid-sized tech company – let’s call it Techfirm, Inc. Jane has been tasked with increasing usage of Techfirm’s mobile app.

She knows she’ll need all hands on deck to make this happen, but when Jane has set team-wide goals in the past, they’ve quickly fallen off track. Nobody seemed to have a clear understanding of what success should look like; progress wasn’t monitored closely enough, and inevitably, that important objective slipped to the back burner (before toppling off the stove entirely).

That’s why, this time around, Jane plans to leverage SMART goals for setting an action plan and staying the course.

Want to get started right now?

Use our template to define the different components of your SMART goal.

What are SMART goals?

The SMART in SMART goals stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.

Defining these parameters as they pertain to your goal helps ensure that your objectives are attainable within a certain time frame. This approach eliminates generalities and guesswork, sets a clear timeline, and makes it easier to track progress and identify missed milestones.

An example of a SMART-goal statement might look like this: Our goal is to [quantifiable objective] by [timeframe or deadline]. [Key players or teams] will accomplish this goal by [what steps you’ll take to achieve the goal]. Accomplishing this goal will [result or benefit].

Let’s use Jane’s objective to work through each component.

S: Specific

In order for a goal to be effective, it needs to be specific. A specific goal answers questions like:

• What needs to be accomplished?
• Who’s responsible for it?
• What steps need to be taken to achieve it?

Thinking through these questions helps get to the heart of what you’re aiming for. Here’s an example of a specific goal Jane might come up with:

Grow the number of monthly users of Techfirm’s mobile app by optimizing our app-store listing and creating targeted social media campaigns.

M: Measurable

Don’t underestimate the outsized impact of short-term goals

Specificity is a solid start, but quantifying your goals (that is, making sure they’re measurable) makes it easier to track progress and know when you’ve reached the finish line.

Jane and her product team want to grow the number of their mobile app users – but by how much? If they get even one new signup, that’s technically positive growth – so does that mean they’re done? Same goes for their strategy – how many platforms will they advertise on? 

To make this SMART objective more impactful, Jane should incorporate measurable, trackable benchmarks.

Increase the number of monthly users of Techfirm’s mobile app by 1,000 by optimizing our app-store listing and creating targeted social media campaigns for four social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

A: Achievable

This is the point in the process when you give yourself a serious reality check. Goals should be realistic –  not  pedestals from which you inevitably tumble. Ask yourself: is your objective something your team can reasonably accomplish?

Jane might look at her goal and realize that, given her small team and their heavy workload, creating ad campaigns for four social platforms might be biting off more than they can chew. She decides to scale back to the three social networks where she’s most likely to find new clients.

Increase the number of monthly users of Techfirm’s mobile app by 1,000 by optimizing our app-store listing and creating targeted social media campaigns for three social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Safeguarding the achievability of your goal is much easier when you’re the one setting it. However, that’s not always the case. When goals are handed down from elsewhere, make sure to communicate any restraints you may be working under. Even if you can’t shift the end goal, at least you can make your position (and any potential roadblocks) known up-front.

R: Relevant

Here’s where you need to think about the big picture. Why are you setting the goal that you’re setting? Jane knows that the app is a huge driver of customer loyalty, and that an uptick in their app usage could mean big things for the company’s bottom-line revenue goals. Now she revises her statement to reflect that context.

Grow the number of monthly users of Techfirm’s mobile app by 1,000 by optimizing our app-store listing and creating targeted social media campaigns for three social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Because mobile users tend to use our product longer, growing our app usage will ultimately increase profitability.

T: Time-bound

To properly measure success, you and your team need to be on the same page about when a goal has been reached. What’s your time horizon? When will the team start creating and implementing the tasks they’ve identified? When will they finish?

SMART goals should have time-related parameters built in, so everybody knows how to stay on track within a designated time frame.

When Jane incorporates those dates, her SMART goal is complete.

Grow the number of monthly users of Techfirm’s mobile app by 1,000 within Q1 of 2022. This will be accomplished by optimizing our app-store listing and creating targeted social media campaigns, which will begin running in February 2022, on three social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Since mobile is our primary point of conversion for paid-customer signups, growing our app usage will ultimately increase sales.

Knowing how to set goals using the SMART framework can help you succeed in setting and attaining goals, no matter how large or small.

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The Essential Guide to Writing SMART Goals

By Kate Eby | January 9, 2019

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In this article, you’ll find the latest tips and examples to help you create and execute on SMART goals. We’ve also provided a free, downloadable SMART goals template to get you started.

Included on this page, you’ll find examples of SMART goals , a customizable SMART goals worksheet , and the best project management tool to use to put your plan in action.

What Are SMART Goals?

SMART goals are a relatively new idea. In 1981, George T. Doran, a consultant and former director of corporate planning for Washington Water Power Company, published a paper called, “There’s a SMART Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives.” In the document, he introduces SMART goals as a tool to create criteria to help improve the chances of succeeding in accomplishing a goal.

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What Does the SMART Acronym Stand For?

The acronym stands for:

S – Specific

When setting a goal, be specific about what you want to accomplish. Think about this as the mission statement for your goal. This isn’t a detailed list of how you’re going to meet a goal, but it should include an answer to the popular ‘w’ questions:

• Who – Consider who needs to be involved to achieve the goal (this is especially important when you’re working on a group project).
• What – Think about exactly what you are trying to accomplish and don’t be afraid to get very detailed.
• When – You’ll get more specific about this question under the “time-bound” section of defining SMART goals, but you should at least set a time frame.
• Where – This question may not always apply, especially if you’re setting personal goals, but if there’s a location or relevant event, identify it here.
• Which – Determine any related obstacles or requirements. This question can be beneficial in deciding if your goal is realistic. For example, if the goal is to open a baking business, but you’ve never baked anything before, that might be an issue. As a result, you may refine the specifics of the goal to be “Learn how to bake in order to open a baking business."
• Why – What is the reason for the goal? When it comes to using this method for employees, the answer will likely be along the lines of company advancement or career development.

M – Measurable

What metrics are you going to use to determine if you meet the goal? This makes a goal more tangible because it provides a way to measure progress. If it’s a project that’s going to take a few months to complete, then set some milestones by considering specific tasks to accomplish.

A – Achievable

This focuses on how important a goal is to you and what you can do to make it attainable and may require developing new skills and changing attitudes. The goal is meant to inspire motivation, not discouragement. Think about how to accomplish the goal and if you have the tools/skills needed. If you don’t currently possess those tools/skills, consider what it would take to attain them.

R – Relevant

Relevance refers focusing on something that makes sense with the broader business goals. For example, if the goal is to launch a new product, it should be something that’s in alignment with the overall business objectives. Your team may be able to launch a new consumer product, but if your company is a B2B that is not expanding into the consumer market, then the goal wouldn’t be relevant.

T – Time-Bound

Anyone can set goals, but if it lacks realistic timing, chances are you’re not going to succeed. Providing a target date for deliverables is imperative. Ask specific questions about the goal deadline and what can be accomplished within that time period. If the goal will take three months to complete, it’s useful to define what should be achieved half-way through the process. Providing time constraints also creates a sense of urgency.

The Easiest Way to Write SMART Goals

When it comes to writing SMART goals, be prepared to ask yourself and other team members a lot of questions. The answers will help fine-tune your strategy, ensuring the goals are something that’s actually attainable. While you should be as realistic as possible, it’s important to approach writing SMART goals with a positive attitude. After all, this is something that you want to achieve.

This doesn’t have to be a daunting experience; in fact, it should be quite illuminating. Later in the article, we demonstrate how to write SMART goals for two typical business scenarios: completing a project and improving personal performance. Below, we’ve included an easy-to-use SMART goals template in Word, along with a template to help you plan and manage your goals in Smartsheet.  

‌ Download the SMART Goals Template in Word

Execute on SMART Goals with Project Management in Smartsheet

Once you’ve defined your SMART goals, it’s essential to put a plan in place to achieve them. To help with execution, you need a tool that enables you to plan, track, manage, automate, and report on your goals in real-time.

One such tool is Smartsheet, a work execution platform that enables enterprises and teams to get from idea to impact - fast. With a collaborative, real-time objectives tracker in Smartsheet, you can increase transparency and improve accountability across your initiatives.

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Plus, top project management leaders rely on Smartsheet to help align the right people, resources, and schedules to get work done. Use Smartsheet to create consistent project elements, increase speed, and improve collaboration with scalable options that fit individual work preferences. Hold yourself and your team accountable, improve visibility into team priorities, and ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

Discover how Smartsheet can help maximize your project management efforts, today.

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Examples of SMART Goals

Here are two examples of initial goals we'll use to walk through this process:

• I want to complete a project
• I want to improve my performance

This is a typical approach to creating goals, but both of these are very vague. With the current wording, the goals probably aren’t going to be attainable. The statements lack specifics, timelines, motivation, and a reality check.

Now, let’s use the SMART goals formula to clarify both and create new and improved goals.

Goal 1: I want to complete a project

• Specific: Many people are accessing our current site from their mobile devices. Since it’s not a responsive site, it provides a poor experience for customers. I want to launch a mobile app for my company website by the end of Q2, which requires involvement from software development, design, and marketing.
• Measurable: Creating a mobile app for our company site will require a lot of resources. To make it worthwhile, I’d like to have 50,000 installs of the site within six months of launch. I’d also like to show a 5% conversion rate from customers using the mobile site.
• Achievable: The departments that will be involved have signed-off on creating a mobile app. I’ll need to manage the project and set milestones to keep everyone motivated and on target.
• Relevant: Improving the customer experience on mobile devices is a core initiative for my company this year.
• Time-Bound: In order to achieve 50,000 mobile app installs and a 5% conversion rate by the end of the fiscal year, the app will need to be launched by Q2 with a robust marketing campaign that should continue through the end of the year.

Goal 2: I want to improve my performance

• Specific: I received low marks on my ability to use PowerPoint at my last performance review. Improving my skills requires that I learn how to use PowerPoint efficiently and practice using it by creating various presentations. I’d like to be more proficient using PowerPoint in time for my next review in six months.
• Measurable: By the time of my next review, I should be able to create presentations that incorporate graphs, images, and other media in a couple of hours. I should also be able to efficiently use and create templates in PowerPoint that my coworkers can also use.
• Achievable: Improving my PowerPoint skills is instrumental in moving forward in my career and receiving a better performance review. I can set time aside every week to watch PowerPoint tutorials and even enroll in an online class that can teach me new skills. I can also ask coworkers and my manager for PowerPoint tips.
• Relevant: Working with PowerPoint is currently 25% of my job. As I move up in the company, I’ll need to spend 50% of my time creating PowerPoint presentations. I enjoy my career and want to continue to grow within this company.
• Time-Bound: In six months, I should be proficient in PowerPoint ensuring it only occupies 25% of my workload instead of the nearly 40% of the time it occupies now.

Once you go through and write your goals according to each SMART characteristic, you can then combine and consolidate all the work you’ve done into one SMART goal.

SMART goal: I want to complete a project

• Description: Improving the customer experience on mobile devices is a core initiative for my company this year, so we are going to create a mobile app. By the end of the fiscal year, there should be 50,000 installs of the mobile app we develop, and it should produce a 5% conversion rate. We’ll build the mobile app in-house and launch it by the end of Q2 with an app-related marketing campaign that will continue to the end of the year.
• Milestone: Mobile app launches end of Q2.
• Deadline: End of the fiscal year.

SMART goal: I want to improve my performance

• Description: To grow in my career, I need to improve my PowerPoint skills. By taking online classes and reviewing tutorials, I’ll improve my PowerPoint skills so that it only requires 25% of my work time.
• Milestone: Complete an online PowerPoint course in three months.
• Deadline: Next employee review in six months.

Discover more project management tips, template, and best practices in our comprehensive Project Management Guide .

Establishing Clarity Around Success and Failure of Goals

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The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed. 

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

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Writing a Paper: How to Set a Writing Goal

How to set a writing goal.

Strong written communication consistently ranks among employers’ top desired skills. It is a skill that traverses disciplines, as most professionals need to know how to communicate clearly in writing. Yet knowing where to start building your written communication skills can be challenging. We recommend starting with setting clear writing goals. The following resources will guide you in forming clear, actionable writing goals.

Getting Started

The first step in setting a writing goal is getting to know yourself as a writer. What are your strengths and improvement areas as a writer? What stresses you out about writing? What is your typical writing routine, and are there ways to improve that process? To answer these questions, you may consider the following steps:

• Take stock of your writing experiences—past and present—and reflect on what you know about your writing abilities and learning style
• Sketch out your existing writing practice (i.e., where, when, and how you write) and pinpoint distractions (e.g., social media, noisy workspace , lateness in the day )
• Outline your ideal writing process (i.e., if everything in your writing process worked out perfectly with no distractions) and highlight potential skills or techniques to model
• Learn from other writers and explore what practices they have employed to keep the writing process running smoothly  
• Identify personal obstacles to your writing process —whether it be your own self-consciousness or the blank page—and assess ways to alleviate these pressures

Once you have this information, ask yourself: What did I learn about myself as a writer, what specific patterns or practices in my writing or writing process would I like to change, and what steps do I need to take in order to develop those skills? You can use your responses to start setting writing-specific goals. 

Drafting Writing-Specific Goals

At this point, you may be asking yourself: What is a writing-specific goal and how do I set one? Let's start with what a writing goal is.

A writing goal is an objective you set to build on and enhance a particular skill or set of skills that influence your writing. Writing goals, in this regard, are about identifying skills in your writing or patterns in your writing process that need growth and development. 

You may find that, based on what you learned about yourself as a writer in the “Getting Started” section, your writing goals are related to mastering APA citations and references or establishing a better method for organizing ideas or improving your knowledge of academic writing and its impact on tone. This list is a quick preview of possible goals; however, there are countless, other writing-specific goals to consider, including but not limited to clarity, cohesion, flow, analysis, synthesis, paraphrasing, and grammar skills. Each of these areas is an excellent basis for establishing a writing goal.

The next step is to use SMART Goal Criteria to ensure your goal can be realistically achieved. 

Using SMART Goals as a Guide

The SMART Goals Guide is an excellent tool for ensuring you set clear, manageable writing goals. It helps to establish that your writing goals are:

S–Specific: Is your goal focused and specific? Does it avoid generalizations and abstractions?

M–Measureable: Can you track your progress and completion? What indicators will you use?  

A–Achievable: Is this goal within your control? Do you have the necessary resources for success?

R–Relevant: How does this goal impact your skills set and where you want to be? 

T–Timely: Does this goal have a reasonable timeline and completion date?

The Academic Skills Center has an excellent resource that walks you through how to develop SMART goals . Keep it on hand as you draft and revise your writing goals. 

Working Toward Goals in Paper Reviews

Once you have established your writing goals, keep in mind that you don’t have to set out achieving those goals all on your own. We are here to support your goal progress and overall writing skill development. We encourage you to set up a paper review appointment and share those writing goals with our writing instructors. Together, we can discover more ways to support your path to writing goal success. Click here to learn more about our paper review appointments .

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11 SMART Goals Examples for Improving Your Writing Skills

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Good writing skills are becoming more critical, particularly in finding and maintaining a good job. As a writer, you are faced with several challenges. This has to do with your overall writing skills, not just with the profession in general.

A lack of vocabulary, issues with plagiarism, insufficient reasoning and cognitive skills, a lack of feedback, poor grammar and spelling, and a lack of research skills are problems you may face.

However, setting SMART goals is one thing that can help you significantly improve your writing skills. This article discusses SMART goals for writing skills.

SMART goals can help you set precise goals you can measure in realistic ways to monitor your progress over time.

Table of Contents

What Are SMART Goals?

To set usable SMART goals, knowing what they are is crucial. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable (or Attainable), Relevant, and Time-Bound (or Timely). These are five parts of a greater goal.

If you focus on the five letters of this acronym, setting and achieving goals becomes easier. So let’s look at the five letters of the SMART acronym and what they mean in setting SMART goals for writing skills.  

• Specific: These goals need to be precise, concise, and unambiguous. Setting a goal is relatively meaningless if you don’t know what the goal is.
• Measurable: The goals you set must be measurable in some way. The more accurately you can measure your progress toward a goal, the better you can judge what still needs to be done to get there.
• Achievable: Any goal you set needs to be attainable or achievable. Setting unrealistic goals that are not readily attainable will demoralize and demotivate you.
• Relevant: The goals you set need to be relevant to the specific skill you are looking to improve. For instance, while eating healthy is a worthy goal, it won’t help you become a better writer.
• Time-Bound: These SMART goals should always be time-bound. These goals should have specific time limits or deadlines that they should be achieved by. This will help motivate you, and it will also help you monitor progress on a linear scale.

If you would like more information on setting and achieving SMART goals, we recommend checking out Ultimate Guide to SMART Goals . In addition, a vision board can help you determine what your biggest goals are.

Why SMART Goals Are Important for Developing Writing Skills

SMART goals help you create structure in a way that makes them easier to achieve.

It’s about setting specific goals where you can measure the progress over a certain period, goals that are relevant to your overall end goal, which, in this case, is improving your writing skills.

There are a significant number of challenges that today’s writers face . One of the most common is dealing with complex and unfamiliar topics and lacking practical research skills. But, of course, to write, you first need to research, which is easier said than done.

Another big challenge , once resources have been found, is to organize them, so they are easily usable for your writing. Also related to research and sources is ensuring that your writing hasn’t been plagiarized, which can land you in serious trouble.

Moreover, perhaps one of the biggest writing challenges is forming a coherent argument that makes sense and is valid. It concerns using common sense, logical thought, and deductive skills within a solid writing structure to develop an argument that is accurate and easy to understand.

Another challenge writers face a simple lack of grammar and spelling skills , combined with an ineffective vocabulary. The cornerstone of assembling a good piece of writing is knowing the best words to use.

Other challenges you may face include a simple lack of feedback. To improve at something, you need constructive criticism. A lack of practice and experience are also issues.

We want to look at a series of SMART goals for writing skills to help you formulate a strategy that will help you improve.

We will help you set goals to tackle the challenges writers face, as laid out above. SMART goals are your plan of action.

11 Examples of SMART Goals for Writing Skills

Let’s go over a few examples of SMART goals that will help you tackle the challenges mentioned above faced by writers.

1. Read from Academic Sources

“To improve my vocabulary, I will spend at least 15 minutes reading from an academic source each day. All throughout, I will keep track of the number of words I do not know to judge my reading comprehension skills and vocabulary. My end goal is to fully comprehend any piece of writing within one year of the start date.”

S: This goal is specific as you aim to read from an academic source every day for a particular time to increase your vocabulary.

M: This goal is measurable because you can track how many words you are unfamiliar with over 15 minutes of reading.

A: This goal is achievable because spending 15 minutes per day reading is not very time-consuming, nor is making a list to keep track of unfamiliar words.

R: This goal is directly relevant to improving writing skills because having a good vocabulary is essential for writing well. Regularly reading is a great habit to have anyway.

T: This goal is time-bound to a certain degree because the aim is to engage in this practice for at least 15 minutes per day, every day, by the end of each day.

2. Learn New Words

“To help improve my vocabulary, I will spend 10 minutes each day making a list of words that I have heard but do not know the meaning of. I will then use a dictionary and a thesaurus to learn what these words mean and their synonyms. I want to shorten my list of unfamiliar words by at least 5% each week.”

S: This goal is specific as the aim is to make a list of unfamiliar words and then learn their meanings. The objective is to improve your vocabulary.

M: This goal is measurable to a certain degree because you can easily see the length of your list of unfamiliar words.

A: This goal is easy to attain because you can write down unfamiliar words as you read them and then set aside a few minutes each day to look them up.

R: As established above, having a strong vocabulary is essential to becoming a proficient writer.

T: This process is time-bound, as you are setting aside a certain amount of time each day to complete this task. It’s also time-bound as you intend to shorten the list of unfamiliar words within a set timeframe.

3. Ask for Feedback

“Whenever I complete a piece of writing, I will immediately give it to a friend or family member and ask them to provide me with realistic and relevant feedback. I will ask for feedback within three days. Then, I will examine the feedback immediately and make adjustments as needed by the end of the week (or within seven days of giving said person my piece of writing).”

S: This goal is specifically designed to seek feedback on your writing within a specific timeframe to have others tell you what needs improvement.

M: This goal is measurable to a certain degree, as you can use your judgment to determine how positive or negative the feedback is. The more positive feedback you get, the more you progress.

A: This goal is easy to attain because you simply have to find some people willing to engage in this feedback process. Here’s a good guide on how to motivate others to help you.

R: This is highly relevant because things sound different from somebody else’s perspective. You need to know how other people read and interpret your work.

T: This goal is time-based, as the aim is to get feedback and make adjustments within a specific time.

4. Join a Debate Club

“To improve my logical thought, deduction, and argument-formation skills, I will join a debate club within the next 14 days. I will aim to have at least one debate per week, with the overall goal of winning at least two consecutive debates within six months of joining the debate team.”

S: This goal is specific in using a debate team to improve argument-formation skills over a particular time to win consecutive debates.

M: This goal is measurable because you can judge your progress by your performance and overall results in your weekly debates.

A: It’s a relatively easy goal because argument formation skills also improve by practicing debating skills.

R: It’s a relevant goal because good writing requires clear and coherent arguments to be formed.

T: It is a time-bound goal because it aims to win two consecutive debates within six months of joining the team.

5. Learn to Read Faster

“I will read at least one chapter of a book per day and write a summary of the main points within the said chapter. The overall goal is to first increase the speed at which I read, and second, to detail the main points more clearly and concisely within each chapter. My aim is to read at least one word more per minute each day and be able to read at least 100 words per minute within 60 days of beginning this exercise.  I will then go back through each chapter to examine my analysis' accuracy.”

S: This goal is specific because you intend to read a certain amount, be able to read faster, at least one word per minute more each day, and to better comprehend what you’ve read over a period.

M: This goal is measurable because you can keep track of how many words per minute you read and count the main points you could remember and comprehend.

A: This is an easy-to-attain goal because by practicing, your reading speed and comprehension skills will improve over time.

R: A crucial reading and writing skill is to disseminate essential facts quickly and efficiently from large writing pieces.

T: This is a timely goal as the objective is to read a certain number of words more each day, intending to read at least 100 words per minute within 60 days of starting. This could be a part of a daily morning routine .

6. Hone Writing Skills

“I will join a professional writing class by the end of the month and complete it by the end of the year. The overall goal is to hone my writing skills, precisely the style, and type of writing required for my profession. My aim is to get at least a 90% score on all exams in this writing course.”

S: The specific goal is to first complete a particular writing class and, second, get a score of at least 90% on all exams.

M: This goal is easy to measure, as all of your work will be graded by the instructor.

A: This goal is attainable through hard work, practice, and studying.

R: It is a relevant goal because taking a course designed specifically for that end will improve my writing skills.

T: It is a time-bound goal, as writing classes only last for so long.

7. Identify Writers You Admire

“I will identify writers I admire whom I can learn from. By choosing one writer per month, I will have time to research that writer, identifying their trademark style, unique approach to topics, and literary style. I will identify one to three aspects of each writer’s style that I can adapt to my own writing style, practicing these over the last two weeks of each month per writer. I will then track to see which style adaptation works for me and which feels out of place.” 

S: This goal is specific in that you need to identify people who write in such a way that you admire. The task is specific and targeted at a predetermined outcome—finding writers you like. 

M: You can measure your success here by how many great writers you’ve researched and considered as writers you admire. 

A: Achieve this goal by reading up on one writer per month, which is achievable. 

R: Build the relevance of this goal by focusing on a skill (other writers’ writing ability) that you can apply to your own writing career. 

T: This goal has a time limit of one writer per month, which ensures you won’t get bored and will have enough time to research these writers, while still having time to write too. 

8. Developing Writing Tricks

“Having achieved my goal of identifying writers I admire; I will now learn their tricks or the shortcuts that help them create great content and captivating manuscripts. I will use the next month per writer, reading their best work and also their worst work, identifying what worked in the first while being missing in the latter. From my notes, I will then apply the x-factor that helps these writers be so great to help me be a better writer. Having found each writer’s success formula, I will apply this to my writing too.”  

S: Identify the specific traits or skills that a writer used to succeed that was missing from their poor work. This is a specific step.

M: Success can be measured by seeing whether you can identify what made a writer great in their work, while also spotting what made them not succeed, and then seeing if you have similar challenges. You can measure success by how many writers you can analyze in the given time.

A: Anybody can read what someone else wrote, but because you are a writer, you will be able to achieve a real analysis of their work and style through comparison. 

R: This is a relevant goal as it will improve your writing ability if you can see what tricks work and what doesn’t. You write relevant content by learning from someone else’s mistakes. 

T: There is a time limit to this goal because you have a month per writer, which is when you move on to a different writer. 

9. Develop Brilliant Self-Editing Skills

“I know I am not perfect, so I will sharpen my self-editing skills. I will make it a requirement to read my content at least three times before letting it rest for a week and then reading it again, but this time reading it from the bottom up (not in reverse) so I can check each sentence independently, and also then read it from start to finish to catch any errors and inconsistencies that need to be edited. I will also invest in a good grammatical tool such as Grammarly Premium for the next six months to suggest changes where necessary. By asking family members to check my writing, I can get an indication of my improvements and learning.”  

S: This goal is about improving the quality of your writing, which is a specific goal. 

M: You can measure this goal by looking at the grammar checking tool’s score, while also asking family members to report back on their perception of your writing improvement. 

A: You can achieve this goal as it has smaller micro-goals, such as editing from the bottom up and investing in a grammar tool for six months. 

R: As a writer, having quality content and captivating writing is vital to industry success, which means this goal is relevant to your career as a writer. 

T: With a time limit of reading content three times, resting seven days, then reading it again, you create a healthy time habit that will help you review your work with fresh eyes. 

10. Broaden My Knowledge Base

“To be a successful writer, I also need to be a great “reader” with a wide knowledge base, so I will read a new niche or topic each week. Instead of reading about things I am already familiar with, I need to read new and unusual topics that I know nothing about and possibly never even knew existed. For each new topic, I will create a list of 10 terms or ideas that are unique to that area of expertise, which I will practice referring to in the last week of each month.” 

S: The specifics of this goal are to broaden knowledge, which you can specifically do by reading a new topic each week and keeping notes on that topic.

M: You can measure your knowledge expansion by using industry-specific knowledge in daily discussions. Check off each term or idea each time you use them. 

A: Reading a book or blog each week is achievable, and it’s interesting too, so you will likely keep up the knowledge habit. 

R: Writing is about knowledge, so being informed about many different areas of interest means you will have a wide knowledge base, and this will keep you (and your written content) relevant. 

T: The time limit on this task is specific, helping to keep you on track in your goal to read a new book (topic) each week. 

11. Identify New Writing Markets

“To ensure I can earn a living from writing, I will explore different writing markets until I find one (or more) where I naturally thrive. A market can only be explored if you work in it, so I will choose a new writing market every three months, seeking out writing opportunities and clients in that market. When I am satisfied that I know more about that particular writing market, I will move on to the next (while still maintaining activity in the previous markets). Finally, I will choose the markets where I can enjoy the most success and hone my skills there.”

S: The specific goal is to find new writing markets that may help you write successfully and earn a living. 

M: Your success can be measured by the number of markets you explore and how you slot into each. 

A: You can achieve this goal by applying for new writing jobs or projects online in markets where you haven’t previously written, such as content writing, SEO writing, copywriting, fiction, non-fiction, and more. 

R: The goal is relevant as you want to build a successful writing career, but you may not yet know what market you and your writing abilities are best suited to. 

T: With a time limit of three months per market, you have enough time to investigate a market without forcing yourself to drown in any particular one. You can easily dip your toes into a market in three months, so the goal is reachable and timebound. 

Final Thoughts on SMART Goals for Writing Skills

The best way to hone your writing skills is to set specific goals. The best way to do this is by making them SMART goals, which enable you to set concise goals, achieve those goals, and when they should be completed.

This kind of structure and organization always makes achieving any goal easier. So make five or six SMART goals and start improving your writing today!

And if you want more SMART goal ideas and examples, be sure to check out these blog posts:

• 7 SMART Goals Examples for Administrative Assistants
• 6 SMART Goals Examples for Social Media Marketing
• 7 SMART Goals Examples for Creatives & Artistic People

Finally, if you want to take your goal-setting efforts to the next level, check out this FREE printable worksheet and a step-by-step process that will help you set effective SMART goals .

How to Set SMART Goals (+ Examples and Templates)

Table of Contents

We all have goals — to be more successful in what we do, to enroll in a university, improve our skills — the list goes on. Goals are what sets thriving people apart from everyone else. 

As Norman Vincent Peale, an advocate of the positive thinking movement, once said:

“All successful people have a goal. No one can get anywhere unless he knows where he wants to go and what he wants to be or do.”

But are your goals always worth pursuing?

Are your goals always even possible to achieve?

Are your goals tangible?

Those are all difficult questions ⁠that often surpass our ability to answer in a straightforward, systematic, and logical way. 

Luckily, I’ll offer simple criteria you can use to determine the value of any goal — they’re called SMART goals. 

In this guide, I’ll also lay out the answers to the following questions:

• What are SMART goals exactly,
• How and when to set SMART goals, and
• When SMART goals are not that smart.

As a bonus, I’ll give you a few SMART goal templates to use in your work and life and touch on how to write SMART goals you’ll stick to.

Let’s get rolling! 

What is a SMART goal?

The acronym SMART stands for 5 characteristics of a goal that you should consider to be able to achieve the goal successfully. Each characteristic is represented by 1 letter in the SMART abbreviation:

• S stands for Specific — specific goals are straightforward, precise, and can be easily defined.
• M stands for Measurable — measurable goals constitute points of reference you can use to assess whether you are successful in progressing toward or reaching the said goal.
• A stands for Attainable — attainable goals are realistic in the sense that you have a reasonable amount of time, money, and skills to reach them.
• R stands for Relevant — relevant goals hold particular importance in your life, the project you’re currently working on, or your business as a whole.
• T stands for Time-bound — time-bound goals “bind” you with a specific time frame you’ll have to work on to call your efforts a success.

In other words, SMART goal setting helps you elaborate your aims and desires — and make an action plan. In fact, setting SMART goals increases the possibility of achieving your goal. 

Interestingly, SMART goals are also known as SMART criteria or SMART objectives, too. But no matter your SMART goals definition, don’t pass on this opportunity to make them part of your routine.

For an illustration of SMART goals, take a look at my example of cutting time for processing data in Excel below:

How to write SMART goals?

By now, you might wonder, “ How do I write a SMART goal and how do I apply this framework to real-life scenarios? ” 

I’m glad you asked!

The application of SMART goals varies. In any case, you can use these criteria to decide whether your current career goals are worth pursuing or if working on particular areas of your personal development would be beneficial enough.

To help you wrap your head around the matter, here are 5 critical steps to follow on your SMART goals journey. Let’s get started!

Step #1: Make goals specific 

Specific goals are well-defined and precise enough so that you won’t steer away from achieving them. 

Let’s take a look at an example. 

If you say that you want to be in marketing, that’s a nonspecific goal.

It’s what you usually say to your extended family when you want them to stop bugging you about when you’ll get a job. Again, it sounds nice, and it may even impress your grandparents — but it’s too broad to motivate you to act on it. 

On the other hand, suppose you say you want to land the position of a Junior Marketing Specialist in a Boston tech company. Now, that’s a well-defined, specific goal you can strive for. 

Let’s look at a few prompts to use when crafting your SMART goals.

Questions for specific goals

If you want to make a goal specific, consider answering a few questions. You don’t have to answer all of them, but the more questions you answer, the more specific your goal gets. 

Here they are:

• Q1: What is the goal?
• Q2: What are the details of the goal?
• Q3: What do I want to accomplish with it?
• Q4: Who is involved?
• Q5: Where is it going to happen?
• Q6: What resources are available?

Examples of answers that prove the goal is specific :

• A1: I want to land a Junior Marketing Specialist position.
• A2: I want to apply for 10 job calls each week during the month. At this rate, I’ll land a job faster.
• A3: I want to feel financially stable, enjoy my work more, and generally feel better about myself.
• A4: I’m the chief person responsible for getting the job. Still, I’ll also talk to a few mentors and industry peers to learn how to land a good position.
• A5: I’ll spend a bit more time online, researching and applying for jobs. I’ll look at job boards and create my own portfolio website.
• A6: I’ll have advice from my mentors and the network I’ve established over the years. Also, I’ll ask previous employers to write me recommendation letters.

Step #2: Make goals measurable

Measurable goals consist of specific milestones with clearly defined criteria that help you track your progress on your way to achieving them.

For example, if you just say that you’ll study for your Monday math exam, you might not be actually able to follow through with this plan. 

When you define your goal without a specific, actionable plan, you don’t have any distinguishable milestones to help you stay on track. 

But let’s assume you say that you’re going to study for your math exam for 5 hours each day, leading up to the next to the last day before the exam when you’ll revise everything. Now, that’s a measurable goal with clear milestones and a plan you can follow (and a plan you can stick to).

So, let’s explore 3 questions and 3 answers of measurable goals.

Questions for measurable goals

If you want to make a goal measurable, consider answering the following questions:

• Q1: How will I measure progress?
• Q2: Do I have the necessary tools to measure my progress?
• Q3: How will I know the goal has been accomplished?

Examples of answers that prove the goal is measurable :

• A1: To measure my progress (or lack thereof), I’ll check in with my goal tracking app of choice and get a report on how much time I spent studying for the math exam.
• A2: I’ve recently subscribed to the Clockify goal tracker to track my progress daily. Also, I’ve set a clear learning goal with areas where I expect improvements, like algebra, geometry, and arithmetic.
• A3: Simple math will tell me whether I have accomplished my goal. If by next Monday, my time tracking report shows that I’ve spent 5 hours a day reading, studying, and learning for the math exam, I’ll consider it a success.

💡 Clockify Pro Tip

Whatever SMART goal you set, you should measure and keep track of it with a fitting tool. Here’s the definitive list of the best goal tracker apps you can use for this purpose:

• 12 Best goal tracker apps for 2022

Step #3: Make goals attainable 

Attainable goals are realistic enough for you to successfully reach them. 

Saying that you’ll lose 30 lbs in 1 month is usually not attainable .

In fact, you can expect 2 outcomes that can come from such an overachieving goal — and neither is favorable:

• You go on a strict diet and exercise routine. You stick to your diet without faltering and exercise hard every morning. But, ultimately, you fail because losing that much in such a short time is near impossible.
• You feel discouraged by such an unfeasible goal from the start. So much that you give up without even trying.

On the other hand, saying that you’ll lose 3 lbs every week for a month by eating healthier and exercising regularly is attainable .

With such a reasonable goal, you’ll have the best chance to stay motivated throughout it.

Next, let’s dive into 5 questions and 5 answers of attainable goals.

Questions for attainable goals

To make your goal more attainable, answering the following questions might help:

• Q1: Do I have the financial capacity to accomplish my goal?
• Q2: Do I have the skills and willpower to accomplish my goal?
• Q3: Will I have access to help when needed?
• Q4: Do I have all the necessary resources?
• Q5: Do I have the time to accomplish the goal?

Examples of answers that prove the goal is attainable :

• A1: I have enough money to join a gym and consult with a professional trainer.
• A2: I’ve previously already lost 13 lbs within a month on a different occasion. As a result, I firmly believe I can do it again.
• A3: I’ll have access to a personal trainer, helpful advice from my nutritionist friend, and additional support from my family.
• A4: I have all the necessary resources at hand, as my city has several great gyms. I also have an enviable selection of healthy food in the neighborhood supermarket.
• A5: Considering that I work remotely 5 days a week and my job comes with flexible working hours, I can spare 1 hour per weekday to go to the gym — and I have enough time to prepare healthy meals. I can easily spare even more time for the gym and food preparation on weekends.

Step #4: Make goals relevant 

Relevant goals are the ones that directly impact your progress and are particularly important to you.  

So, to actually stick to your goals till the finish line, you need to make sure your goals are relevant. 

Say you want to major in economics. That sounds relevant and worthwhile, right?

However, you’re not the least bit interested in economics. In fact, you don’t plan on pursuing a career in economics. 

That right there makes it an irrelevant goal, as it’s not clear what you’ll get in life by working toward it. Of course, apart from gaining a college degree. But you could also get a degree by studying something you like .

As you might have guessed, it’s always best to pursue a college education in a topic that interests you. A college education goal may also be relevant if you pick a potentially profitable subject you’re not 100% passionate about, but you want to pursue.

Finally, let’s explore 3 questions and 3 answers of relevant goals.

Questions for relevant goals

To make your goal relevant, ask yourself the following questions:

• Q1: Why is this goal important to me?
• Q2: Is this goal worth my time?
• Q3: Is this the right time for it?

Examples of answers that prove the goal is relevant :

• A1: If I get a major in economics, I’ll be more financially secure and have more time to spend on what matters. Also, pursuing a major in economics will make me more confident about myself and my current career.
• A2: I feel that getting a major in economics would benefit me in the short and long run. In a nutshell, doing so will affect my mental and physical health. Therefore, it’s worth my time.
• A3: The holiday feasts are over, and it’s time to implement the New Year’s resolutions. As a result, it’s time to pursue that major in economics.

Step #5: Make goals time-bound 

Time-bound goals are usually set within a specific time frame, with a clear deadline for their completion. 

Take a look at the following example.

To say that you want to participate in a poem writing contest that’s due next week is admirable.

But phrasing it like that means it’s not a time-bound goal .

In this case, the contest has a deadline — say it’s Sunday, February 2. But you didn’t define a deadline for your work. Will you submit your finished work on Tuesday? Or Wednesday? Or 5 hours before the contest deadline, giving you enough time to tweak it to perfection?

As a matter of fact, what’s your time-bound battle plan?   

Now, say that you plan to handle the contest by:

• Writing the first draft of your poem on Monday, January 27,
• Revising everything on Tuesday, January 28,
• Finalizing the rhyme scheme on Wednesday, January 29, and
• Sending out the poem on Thursday, January 30 — 4 days before the deadline.

That’s a time-bound goal you can work with. So, let’s dive into a few questions and examples of time-bound goals.

Questions for time-bound goals

To make a time-bound — or timely — goal, answer the following questions:

• Q1: When will I achieve the goal?
• Q2: When will I carry out the activities that will bring me to my goal?
• Q3: When can I expect the first outcomes?

Examples of answers that prove the goal is time-bound:

• A1: I’ll set January 31 as my end deadline. Also, I’ll include daily targets for each of the 3 stages — writing, revising, and finalizing the poem.
• A2: Every day after work, I’ll set aside 2 hours to work on the poem. I’ll make a clear schedule for writing, revising, and finalizing the poem in stages. I’ll check in with my progress every day to see if I’m set to meet the deadline of submitting the poem 4 days ahead of schedule. 
• A3: The first outcome I can expect should be completing each stage — writing, revising, finalizing — on a daily basis. For example, if I’ve completed the writing stage, then I can consider my first outcome a success.

Now you know how to set specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goals. Kudos! 

Next up, let’s get a few additional tips from business experts and life coaches — with SMART goals examples for work, play, and much more.

How to set SMART goals: Proven tips and expert opinions

If you’ve come this far, setting SMART goals shouldn’t be a problem at this point. But just to be safe, I sat down with a few time management experts, business enthusiasts, coaches, and others to help you understand how to be unstoppable with your SMART goals.

Let’s take a look at unique expert insights into setting and sticking to your SMART goals.

Tip #1: Set a SMART action plan and stick to it

Plans come first, as they are a visual representation of your goals. If you don’t have a plan, you’re more likely to get off track. 

But it’s expected that you’ll have more SMART goals than 1. So, I recommend that you:

• Laser-focus on 1 goal in 90-day sprints,
• Spell out each action step in a timeline, and
• Track your progress every week.

I asked Vincent Nair , the CEO of SMARTECH Business Systems, to weigh in on this topic. According to him, setting clear goals will bring you clarity:

“Planning ahead is one of the most effective ways to ensure goals are well-understood, timely and realistic. With a clear schedule and roadmap in place, your entire team will have a better understanding of exactly how, why and when your goals are being set.”

That’s what I call common sense — we truly sometimes need to get back to the basics.

Next, I spoke to Will Yang at Instrumentl, a platform serving grant-seekers. His words were another eye-opener as he said that a SMART action plan must include clear landmarks:

“Ensure apples-to-apples comparisons: it is critical to compare equivalent items and activities when setting SMART goals. For example, if you wish to raise the number of sales calls made in a month, don’t compare it to the number of emails sent in a month. Instead, concentrate on which activity will yield the desired outcomes.”

Learn all about how to think about objectives and key results, with additional resources right here:

• Objectives and Key Results (OKR): everything you need to know

Tip #2: Serialize your goals and celebrate more

If you’re reading this article, it probably means that you are an overachiever or striving to become one. But one of the main pitfalls overachievers fall into is trying to get more done than they can handle, therefore spreading themselves too thin.

I talked to Alexis Haselberger , time management and productivity coach, to share her wisdom on how to avoid this all-too-common trap. She gives a powerful illustration about how you can feel a sense of satisfaction and motivation if you pace yourself:

“Think of it like reading a book: if you read 5 books all at the same time, and read 5 pages each per day, it’ll take you months to finish them all. But, if you start with one book, and read 25 pages a day, you’ll finish in a couple of weeks, and then can move onto the next — which is much more satisfying and motivating.”

To keep a steady pace means creating a workflow that helps you achieve your SMART goals. Career expert Kaloyan Dimitrov of Enhancv, a resume builder, made a good point when he emphasized the importance of enjoying an occasional treat — your milestones:

“Keep yourself motivated and committed to accomplishing your goals by celebrating the milestones that you reach along the route. Think about treating yourself to something special whenever you reach a significant milestone or accomplish a particular goal.”

In fact, it’s this attitude that allows you to feel a sense of accomplishment and get better results.

Speaking of books, read our selection of the best productivity textbooks on the market right here:

• 25+ Best productivity books

Tip #3: Assign people to help you with your goals

Sometimes, you can’t achieve results or accomplish your tasks without the help of others. 

For example, it’s possible to lose weight on your own. However, it’s smarter if you pay for a gym membership, and let a professional fitness coach or a nutritionist help you in that process. In reality, it’s easier and safer to listen to professionals with the right skills and knowledge to carry out tasks.

Likewise, you’ve probably heard about the Boomerang effect on gaining weight back quickly after losing it. This usually happens because people starve and lose a lot of weight in a short period. Not only do they lose weight quickly, but muscles as well. As a result, people experience their metabolism slowing down and regain weight again.

Luckily, you can translate this weight loss scenario into any modern knowledge work job, like:

• Coding, etc.

If you’re the editor-in-chief and would like to have a document proofread thoroughly, you don’t need to do it yourself. Instead, ask a fellow editor or writer on your team to do the job for you.

In fact, assigning the right people for the job can result in faster and higher-quality results.

Tip #4: List the tasks that need to be done

Now that you elaborated on your goal in more detail and assigned the right people to assist you, it’s time to focus on the smaller parts. That means the tasks that must be done to achieve the ultimate goal.

In the case of losing 12 lbs of weight, you’ll probably need to complete tasks like:

• Go to the gym every day after work,
• Put aside money for the gym membership and nutrition consultations,
• Weigh yourself each Sunday afternoon, and
• Eat nutrient-rich foods.

Healthy habits coach Stephanie Averkamp weighs in — pun intended — on this topic. Interestingly, she brings home the point on why you should focus a lot more on your behavior in reaching the goal, and not the final goal itself:

“Center your SMART goals around specific behaviors or actions that will take place instead of around specific results you want to achieve. For example, set a SMART goal that is focused on the exercise you will do instead of the amount of weight you will lose. Your behavior is the one thing you have full control over, and behavior drives results.”

When you break your goal into more manageable pieces, you have a better overview of what needs to be done. In turn, the possibility of achieving your goal increases. For that purpose, you can create a hands-on to-do list to keep track of all your tasks in one place.

Get as many to-do list templates as you need — from simple to business and personal — right here:

• Free To-Do List Templates

Tip #5: Make a workable schedule

To make sure you accomplish your SMART goals even faster, make work time estimates for each activity or task that you need to complete. What’s more, make use of the time blocking technique to organize your tasks into specific blocks of time.

Let’s move back to the weight-loss example again. One of the key things that you need to strictly follow when losing weight is to pay attention to when you eat your meals. 

Even if you are being extremely careful with how many calories you consume daily, eating late at night can decrease your progress and lead to achieving partial results. 

For example, one 2022 study by Harvard Medical School researchers found that late-night eating impacts how you spend energy throughout the day. In fact, the research sheds light on the fact that your productivity overall could suffer from irregular eating schedules. Expectedly, all this negatively affects how you work on your goals.

So, to make sure your SMART goal plan runs smoothly, you need to:

• Create a time-bound schedule that you are going to stick to, and
• Determine when your breakfast/snack/lunch/dinner is. 

After completing these steps, you’ll see tangible results.

On a similar note, registered dietitian Kelsey Costa thinks that journaling can play a major role in creating a workable schedule:

“Journaling can be a powerful tool for increasing self-awareness, reflection, and the attainability of goals. Journaling helps identify obstacles, patterns, and areas of strength that you may need to draw on during your goal-setting journey. Regularly revisit the specifics of your goals, such as action steps, measurements, and deadlines.”

Now, that’s how you stick to your SMART action plan and goals!

Tip #6: Evaluate and explore

So much valuable advice can sometimes be overwhelming. Yet, many experts have a somewhat curious take on how to approach the SMART goal-setting process.

For example, mental performance coach Lain Lee emphasized that comfort isn’t your ally in reaching your goals:

“Instead of ‘realistic’, your goals should be UNCOMFORTABLE! Nothing worth doing or fighting for is done in comfort! The best things in life — growth, success, learning, love — all exist outside of your comfort zone. So if your goals don’t make you uncomfortable, they’re TOO realistic!”

Another interesting approach in conversations with experts came from certified career and life coach María Tomás-Keegan who showed me a way to enrich the SMART criteria with evaluation and revision:

“2 Additional steps make your SMART goals SMARTER: Evaluate & Revise. Decide when you’ll evaluate your progress and what you’ll look for. This step closes the loop on each goal. Then you’ll know if you need to revise your goal or timeline. This creates a 360-degree view of each goal that helps move them to the finish line.”

In sum, do what works for you — try to make SMART goal setting a seamless process aligned with your personality and preferences. 

Remember: You want SMART goals to work for you, not the other way around.

Interested in learning more about how your personality type might influence your productivity? Say no more — I got you covered in our blog post with productivity tips:

• Productivity tips for 16 personality types based on MBTI  

Why should you use SMART goals?

Even ancient Greek philosophers emphasized the importance of goal setting and proposed that purpose can incite action . 

Setting your goals by following the SMART criteria helps you elaborate on them. Similarly, it allows you to see if the current goal you want to achieve has any potential or if it’s just a waste of time , as sometimes can be the case.

Up next, I discuss how the SMART goal concept can benefit you insanely in the short run.

Benefit #1: SMART goals enhance well-being

A 2022 study found that SMART goals can increase the likelihood of accomplishing goals and experiencing positive affect. Simply put, positive affect refers to upbeat emotions and expressions in the study’s respondents.

In fact, the same study researchers suggest that the mere existence of a SMART goal strategy increased the quality of the respondents’ behavior that led to goal attainment.

Another relevant result was that the psychologists in charge of the study established that goal attainment, in this sense, led to enhanced well-being. 

In summary, SMART goals make it likely that you’ll achieve your goals and that those goals lead to your well-being.

Read our detailed guide on how to up your goals game by setting daily targets:

• How to set and reach your daily targets

Benefit #2: SMART goals improve time management skills

Setting goals and efficiently managing your time are 2 elements that go hand in hand. 

If you look at the acronym SMART again, you’ll see that the terms measurable and time-bound refer to time management . So, when you have a clearly defined goal or goals, you know how and where to focus your time. 

What’s more, you can make work time estimates and stick to them to avoid poor spending of resources. Finally, your improved time management skills will help you reduce distractions and increase your focus on more important tasks.

For that purpose, you can opt for a goal-tracking tool like Clockify to get a silent partner in efficiently managing your time and reaching your targets.

For example, Clockify allows you to beautifully tag and color-code your projects so that you can easily stay on track — and enjoy the process. In fact, the app lets you break down goals into manageable tasks that you can easily digest. In sum, Clockify also allows you to check in on your progress and obtain a report on your productivity as often or rarely as you want.

By integrating SMART goals into your daily routine (whether work or personal), you’ll never miss a deadline or find excuses for missing your workout again.

Learn how to improve your time management skills in our in-depth guide:

• 10 ultimate steps to improve time management skills  

Benefit #3: SMART goals increase accountability

To achieve any goal, you need to hold yourself accountable. 

I know I’m not reinventing the wheel here, but people often forget to be more responsible on an ongoing basis.

In fact, Harry Morton of Lower Street, a podcast production agency, says something to that effect. Simply put, he told me that you should expect peaks and valleys in how distracted and motivated you feel:

“When working toward a long-term goal, it can be natural to encounter dips in motivation or distractions. An accountability partner can guide you back on track, offering an objective perspective when you deviate from the path to your goals. Be completely transparent and work with someone who understands what motivates you.”

Benefit #4: SMART goals beat workload overwhelm

A little planning ahead never killed anybody — but work overload and workplace stress are taking a toll on people’s health and the economy. According to a research paper by the World Health Organization, anxiety and depression cost the world’s economy $1 trillion each year, mostly due to a decline in productivity.

However, by setting your personal or business goals, you have a clear picture of what needs to be done, when , where , and how . As a result, the likelihood of feeling burned out reduces tremendously. 

What’s more, when you clearly identify your SMART goals, you learn how to unshakably say “No” to your colleagues the next time they try to swamp you with work. That’s right: SMART goals will save you from exhaustion and stress.

Okay, so now you understand what the SMART goal concept means and why it’s beneficial. Up next, let’s see when SMART goals are the most effective — and when you should avoid them.

Find out more about the causes and symptoms of career burnout and how it affects your health right here:

• Career burnout and its effect on health

When to use SMART goals

Are SMART goals effective?  Yes, when used in the right context.

Here’s when SMART goals work best.

1. Use SMART goals to set priorities

Use the SMART goal criteria when you want to single out your priorities and focus solely on them. 

The SMART criteria should guide you in the right direction to get a better insight into what’s important to accomplish something. 

In fact, the SMART framework saves you from wasting your time. If you don’t set your priorities right, you’ll lose track of your work. What’s more, you’ll probably end up feeling exhausted — and you don’t want that if you were wondering.

Learn why not all tasks are equally important and how you can prioritize them easily:

• How to (re-)prioritize your tasks

2. Use SMART goals to set high-level objectives

Use SMART goals when you need to focus on high-level goals that involve a number of smaller, specific tasks. High-level goals (such as advancing your career, enrolling in a university, or losing weight) demand a thorough action plan the SMART goal concept can offer you. 

However, I would even argue that SMART goals are especially useful for the more consequential targets in your life — where you need to be on top of your game because the stakes are high. That’s why it’s essential to make SMART goals a part of your everyday life and planning.

For illustration, consider you’re moving into a different town or state and selling your house. If you fail to take into account local taxes, regulations, real estate prices, and transport in your SMART goal framework, achieving this goal could lead to a disaster – personally and professionally.

3. Use SMART goals to tackle work tasks and set mini-milestones

SMART goals help you carry out your ongoing job responsibilities more efficiently and successfully. 

In fact, the SMART goal concept helps you split your goal into smaller, more manageable pieces. As a result, you get a clearer insight into the tasks that lead you to achieve the ultimate goal. 

For a quick fix, tackle your tasks one at a time to efficiently get them done and avoid being overwhelmed. The technique works wonders! 

In fact, the family law and relationship expert, Laura Wasser , thinks that you first need to set mini-milestones to get you going:

“When setting a SMART goal, think of it as a roadmap to your desired outcome. Break your goal into smaller, achievable steps, which will make it easier for you to stay on track and motivated. These mini-milestones will not only keep you focused, but they’ll also give you a sense of accomplishment as you progress.”

Read our all-inclusive guide to find out how to break down large tasks into easily digestible pieces:

• How to Break a Project Down into Tasks

4. Use SMART goals to handle new assignments

Employ the SMART goal criteria when you’re moving on to new assignments. 

Whether simple or complex, the SMART goal concept works well with all types of assignments regardless of their complexity or duration. It shifts your attention to what needs to be done and makes a thorough plan to achieve the final goal.

When you get a new assignment, the first step should be to insert it into one of the upcoming SMART goal templates at the end of this guide. This practice shows you if the assignment is even worth your time and effort — or if it’s a priority.

Learn how to distinguish between short-term, medium-term, and long-term plans in your work and life:

• The differences between long-term and short-term planning

5. Use SMART goals for personal development

When you feed the SMART goal criteria into your daily routine, you can make an everlasting, positive change in your life. This way, you can identify areas for improvement and personal growth — and go the extra mile to advance your career.

If you want to perform better at your job by following a comprehensive, step-by-step guide, check out this article:

• How to improve in your job

When SMART goals are not so smart 

Now, just because it sounds like the smart thing to do — pun intended — that doesn’t mean you should view all your tasks and initiatives through the SMART goals framework. 

Take a look at the examples of situations when you should avoid using SMART goals. 

1. Don’t use SMART goals to “count” your successes and failures

You shouldn’t use SMART goal-setting just so you can race past your goals as fast as you can without stopping to take a breather and reflect on what you’ve learned along the way.

You also shouldn’t view a SMART goal you haven’t accomplished as a failure and, thus, a reason to judge yourself.

Just because you failed this time doesn’t mean you won’t be able to succeed next time or use the knowledge you gained from pursuing the said goal in the future.

2. Don’t use SMART goals if you tend to give up too soon

SMART goals take time! That’s because they’re more complex than your everyday goals, such as getting to the food store before it closes.

As such, SMART goals take more effort and dedication. Therefore, they can be a bigger challenge for people who get nervous when they think they’re not progressing as best as they could.If you fear that a goal is too large for you to commit to it, it’s best that you reassess it and parse it 1 by 1 into smaller, less challenging goals you can reach easier until you’ve accomplished everything.

3. Don’t use SMART goals when you’re uncertain whether a goal is attainable

Out of all the letters in the SMART acronym, the “A” — which stands for attainable — is the least precise one.

After all, most of the time, you can only be sure a goal is attainable or not if you’ve already tried to pursue it.

So, are you sure you have a shot at landing the position of that Junior Marketing Specialist at that Boston tech company?

Perhaps you don’t have the right qualifications or the right experience.

We’ve seen this before with our example of losing 30 lbs in a month. 

Let’s assume you pursue a goal you’ve defined as attainable (despite it, realistically, not being the case). In this case, this action is bound to discourage you when you fail to reach your goal.

Alternatively, you may miss out on some great opportunities if you mark a realistic goal as “out of reach” without properly thinking about it.

4. Don’t use SMART goals when managing a project

According to the Scrum methodology, even though the SMART criteria suggest that a goal should be specific and measurable , other SMART goal criteria can threaten the success of a project , no matter how well you prepare it. 

Since a project goes through many stages during its life cycle, some things — like, if a goal is realistic — can’t be predicted in advance without further analysis. Also, the criterion time-bound doesn’t fit with the project management principles either. 

You might not be able to know when a goal would be accomplished due to the constant changes during a project’s life cycle.

Therefore, the SMART goal concept doesn’t go hand in hand with project management since it “encourages a simplistic and short-sighted approach to management” — as Scrum methodology experts emphasize in the article I linked to above.

Learn about the essential elements of project management and a few tools to get you started:

• Project Management: 31 best techniques, practices, and tools

5. Don’t use SMART goals when you expect a challenge

The SMART goal criteria propose that your goal needs to be attainable . In effect, this means knowing in advance if you have the right skills/knowledge/resources to accomplish something. 

When you know that a goal is achievable in advance, it gives you some kind of security. On the other hand, it keeps you stuck in one place. In other words, you are deprived of learning new things or acquiring new skills. 

Sometimes, the thrill of the unknown pushes you towards it and makes you realize all the things you can do. So, if you are a thrill-seeker looking for sudden challenges along the way — maybe the SMART goal concept is not the right fit for you.

—Now that you understand when and when not to use them, here are some examples of well-rounded SMART goals you can use to find inspiration. Let’s get rolling!

5 SMART goal examples

By now, you might be thinking: “ Enough with the beating around the bush, tell me what’s a SMART goal example, alright!”

I won’t give you 1 but 5 SMART goals examples — how’s that for a treat? 

Let’s go through them 1 by 1.

Example #1: SMART goal for improved performance at work 

To say, “ I want to improve my Excel skills, ” is too vague. Instead, try to make your goal:

• Specific : I want to improve my performance with Excel to get a promotion at work. These performance improvements focus on quicker data entry, more efficient calculations, and creating graphs.
• Measurable : I’ll know I’ve succeeded because — by the 1st of next month — I’ll be able to enter my data, complete my calculations through custom and combined formulas, create graphs, and carry out my other work in Excel all on my own, and with minimum effort.
• Attainable : I have enough time to work on improving my Excel skills. I can even look for a website with tutorials or enroll in an online course to help me understand some of the finer points.
• Relevant : I like working in my company, and I want to continue working there. One of the preconditions of my staying in the company longer and getting promoted is to streamline my work in Excel.
• Time-bound : I want to perfect my performance with Excel by May 1.

Are you familiar with performance improvement plans (PIP)? Check this article out to learn more about how PIPs can boost your work performance:

• Everything about performance improvement plans

Example #2: SMART goal for improved time management

Here’s an example of poor goal setting: “I want to accelerate the process of calculating in Excel.”

Instead, your goal should have the following attributes:

• Specific : It takes me 6 hours to implement all the formulas I need to process data in Excel. I want to cut that time to 3 hours per day, at least.
• Measurable : I can track the time I spend handling Excel data every day and then observe how that time decreases day by day and week by week. Similarly, I can work on improving my schedule.
• Attainable : I have the resources to help me learn how to be more efficient when using and combining Excel formulas.
• Relevant : I currently spend 6 hours of an 8-hour workday carrying out calculations in Excel, and that’s too much of my time. Cutting that time in half would ensure I have more time for other work activities.
• Time-bound : I want to cut the time I spend on Excel calculations in half by the 15th of next month.

Example #3: SMART goal for students 

Your grades won’t get better overnight, and you sure want to get into a top school or university. Well, saying, “I want to improve my GPA,” won’t do miracles. Instead, make sure your goal is:

• Specific : I want to improve my GPA to 3.8 so I can apply for a semester abroad with a full scholarship.
• Measurable : I’ll need to score an A or A+ on all of my tests this semester to improve my total GPA to an average of 3.8 to qualify for a semester abroad on time.
• Attainable : In recent months, I have fallen behind in school, but I have a history of improving my grades when I put substantial effort into it. So I can improve my grades once again. I’ll need to work longer hours , temporarily cut back on extracurricular activities, and focus on each test and quiz as it comes along.
• Relevant : The school abroad I want to spend a semester at has a great chemistry program. Passing that program will come in handy when I go to college. There, I want to major in chemistry to become a Chemical Engineer.
• Time-bound : I want to improve my GPA to 3.8 by the end of this semester to qualify for a position at the college abroad in question.

Students need all the help they can get when it comes to mastering their output. Read our in-depth guide to learn how to radically increase your productivity:

• Student guide to productivity

Example #4: SMART goal for leadership and team management 

Do you notice a stall in your team’s productivity? Being a team leader can be a double-edged sword from time to time. However, SMART goals can come to your rescue even in this situation. 

To help you get started, ensure your goal to boost your team’s productivity is:

• Specific : I want to motivate my team to improve their productivity by 50%.
• Measurable : 50% of increased productivity will trigger a 50% faster project turnaround.
• Attainable : I’ll use team management software and supply my team with the right productivity tools to help them out.
• Relevant : Higher productivity means faster project turnaround, and faster project turnaround leads to satisfied clients. Satisfied clients bring good word of mouth, so we’ll likely land more clients because of it. As a result, team morale would increase, so they’ll feel encouraged to keep up the good work.
• Time-bound : I want to see the expected increase in productivity 6 months from now.

Discover more interesting aspects of team management and how it can affect performance right here:

• The Complete Team Management Guide

Example #5: SMART goal for weight loss and fitness

You know that I’m-hitting-the-gym-next-Monday attitude never got you anywhere. Most people (including myself) consider going to the gym or exercising in any form as exhausting. In other words, we most frequently see exercise as something that requires a ton of will and determination. 

Although it’s not easy, setting a goal based on the SMART goal concept can make it much more bearable and joyful. 

Once you are on the right track, you’ll regret missing your workouts, even during public holidays. So, be all ears and ensure that your goal is:

• Specific : I want to lose 10 pounds to improve my fitness and athletic performance.
• Measurable : I want to lose belly fat and be able to endure physical activities without getting tired easily.
• Attainable : Suppose there’s a gym near my building with group fitness classes, indoor cycling, a weight loss program, Pilates, and more. I’m going to try the weight loss program first to lose some fat and later switch to Pilates to form my body shape. Also, I’m going to avoid fast food and late-night snacking.
• Relevant : I like to look nice in my clothes, and physical appearance matters to me. Fast food is high in cholesterol, and high cholesterol runs in my family. As a consequence, I need to be extra cautious.
• Time-bound : I need to go to the gym 3 times a week, go places on foot, and hopefully lose 10 pounds within 2 to 3 months. This is a healthier plan since — if I lose weight in a short time — I will gain it all back eventually.

Learn a thing or two about how physical and mental fitness can help you become more productive and reach your goals:

• 10 Productivity exercises for body and mind

SMART goal templates

Skilfully crafted SMART goal templates and SMART goal worksheets can serve as your quick and efficient generator of — you guessed it — SMART goals. 

In the following section, you’ll find different examples of templates, including:

• Leadership SMART goals examples,
• Time management SMART goals examples,
• SMART goals examples for employees, 
• Productivity SMART goals examples, and more.

In fact, these SMART goals templates and SMART goals worksheets provide the outline for your SMART goal setting. As a result, you’ll just need to follow the said outline and fill it out with your data. It’s a fast and efficient alternative to creating and following your template or making plans without one.

Basic SMART Goal Template

The first of 10, the Basic SMART Goal Template is a simple yet powerful way to get a bird’s-eye view of your goal. 

The straightforward design of this template allows you to easily identify the key components of your goal. If you use the Basic SMART Goal Template, you are taking the first step towards your professional or business goal.

What is the Basic SMART Goal Template about? 

The Basic SMART Goal Template is divided into 5 sections, each representing a letter of the SMART acronym: 

• Specific, 
• Measurable, 
• Attainable, 
• Relevant, and 
• Time-bound.

How to use the Basic SMART Goal Template?

Answer 1 or 2 questions for each section to determine whether the said goal is worth your time. Next, think about if you missed some important aspects and rewrite where applicable.

Who should use the Basic SMART Goal Template? 

This SMART goal template is perfect for people who want a simple approach to setting their goals.

⬇️ Download the Basic SMART Goal Template PDF

⬇️ Download the Basic SMART Goal Template Google Docs

⬇️ Download the Basic SMART Goal Template Excel

⬇️ Download the Basic SMART Goal Template Google Sheets

Basic SMART Goal Template (+ Problems)

The next on our list, the Basic SMART Goal Template (+ Problems) is same as the previous template — just on steroids. 

This template is an effective tool for setting and achieving goals. The Basic SMART Goal Template (+ Problems) gives you deeper insights into the resources and persons who may assist you in reaching your goals.

What is the Basic SMART Goal Template (+ Problems) about? 

The Basic SMART Goal Template (+ Problems) is divided into 5 sections on 2 pages each. 

The first page consists of questions to understand the problems you face. The second page is made up of a cheat sheet that can help you solve those problems.

How to use the Basic SMART Goal Template (+ Problems)?

Answer 1 or 2 questions for each section to determine whether the said goal is worth your time. Next, think about the problems you may encounter as you work toward the said goal — and try to solve them before they happen.

Who should use the Basic SMART Goal Template (+Problems)? 

This SMART goal template does wonders for preventing potential problems with your goal (if you want a simple SMART breakdown of your goal). The Basic SMART Goal Template (+Problems) is perfect for businesses and individuals who want to predict financial and organizational issues.

⬇️ Download the Basic SMART Goal Template (+ Problems) PDF

⬇️ Download the Basic SMART Goal Template (+ Problems) Google Docs

⬇️ Download the Basic SMART Goal Template (+ Problems) Excel

⬇️ Download the Basic SMART Goal Template (+ Problems) Google Sheets

Simple SMART Goal Template

The Simple SMART Goal Template is a more relatable and direct template with phrases that anyone can fill out fast. 

Yet, it’s fairly simple and can only get you so far. That said, it’s an awesome first step to get you started on setting your SMART goals!

What is the Simple SMART Goal Template about? 

The Simple SMART Goal Template lets you determine why you want to pursue your goal — and start planning your goal. It’s a simple illustration of your SMART goal.

How to use the Simple SMART Goal Template?

Answer each question in as much detail as possible. As soon as you’re done, consider if you’ve left out any important information – and add it accordingly.

Who should use the Simple SMART Goal Template? 

This SMART Goal Template is perfect for people who want to set SMART goals but don’t necessarily want to answer to SMART criteria.

⬇️ Download the Simple SMART Goal Template PDF

⬇️ Download the Simple SMART Goal Template Google Docs

⬇️ Download the Simple SMART Goal Template Excel

⬇️ Download the Simple SMART Goal Template Google Sheets

Elaborate SMART Goal Template

The Elaborate SMART Goal Template guides you through your thought process with in-depth prompts. 

This template takes you beyond superficial goal-setting. In other words, the Elaborate SMART Goal Template digs deeper into your potential, desires, and plans.

What is the Elaborate SMART Goal Template about? 

The Elaborate SMART Goal Template is divided into 5 sections, each representing a letter of the SMART acronym:

How to use the Elaborate SMART Goal Template?

After downloading your preferred template, answer a detailed list of questions for each section to determine whether the said goal is worth your time. You may also need to tweak your answers as you go, and that’s totally fine.

Who should use the Elaborate SMART Goal Template? 

This SMART Goal Template is perfect for people who need more pointers on whether the goal they want to pursue is SMART or not.

⬇️ Download the Elaborate SMART Goal Template PDF

⬇️ Download the Elaborate SMART Goal Template Google Docs

⬇️ Download the Elaborate SMART Goal Template Excel

⬇️ Download the Elaborate SMART Goal Template Google Sheets

Elaborate SMART Goal Template (+ Problems)

The Elaborate SMART Goal Template (+ Problems) is a helpful tool to establish problem areas and solve each. 

The template contains useful prompts on resources and people you can check in with to help you reach your goals faster.

What is the Elaborate SMART Goal Template (+ Problems) about? 

The Elaborate SMART Goal Template (+ Problems) consists of 5 sections on 2 pages each. 

The first page features a series of questions of the SMART framework. In contrast, the second page consists of a cheat sheet for solving problems you established on the first page.

How to use the Elaborate SMART Goal Template (+ Problems)?

Answer a detailed list of questions for each section to determine whether the said goal is worth your time. After that, think about the problems you may face as you work toward the said goal — and try to solve them before they happen.

Who should use the Elaborate SMART Goal Template (+ Problems)?  

This SMART goal template is great for preventing potential problems with your goal — in case you want a more detailed SMART breakdown of your goal. The Elaborate SMART Goal Template (+ Problems) is perfect for businesses and individuals who want to explore financial and organizational concerns in depth.

⬇️ Download the Elaborate SMART Goal Template (+ Problems) PDF

⬇️ Download the Elaborate SMART Goal Template (+ Problems) Google Docs

⬇️ Download the Elaborate SMART Goal Template (+ Problems) Excel

⬇️ Download the Elaborate SMART Goal Template (+ Problems) Google Sheets

SMART Goal Tree Template

The SMART Goal Tree Template is a nugget of gold on our list of SMART goal templates. 

It’s a treasure trove of valuable insights and direct measurement tools to reach your goals in an efficient and effective manner. 

What is the SMART Goal Tree Template about? 

The SMART Goal Tree Template helps you select and track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that tell you how well you’re progressing with your goal.

How to use the SMART Goal Tree Template?

To use this more complex template, set up at least 3 indicators for your goal. Then, insert measures to track progress, and reach the targets. 

For example, the overall goal could be: “Improved customer satisfaction by 50%.”

An indicator for this goal would be: “ The number of calls, requests, and emails taken by customer support and ending in happy resolutions. ”

The 2 measures we can use to calculate the indicator could be: 

• “Professionally and cheerfully handling customer requests, calls, and emails,” and
• “Creating an incentive system for customer support agents to be better in their job”.

Finally, the 2 targets for each measure could be:

• “50% more calls/emails handled more professionally and cheerfully by customer support,” and
• “Managers in the customer support team giving positive employee reviews weekly”.

Who should use the SMART Goal Tree Template? 

You can use this template to measure success in various business areas, such as:

• Customer support, 
• Company finance, 
• Internal processes, and more.

⬇️ Download the SMART Goal Tree Template PDF

⬇️ Download the SMART Goal Tree Template Google Docs

⬇️ Download the SMART Goal Tree Template Excel

⬇️ Download the SMART Goal Tree Template Google Sheets

SMART Action Plan Template (+ Action Steps and Responsibilities)

The SMART Action Plan Template (+ Action Steps and Responsibilities) is just what it sounds like. 

This template calls for responsibility and sets out steps on your way to reaching your professional and personal goals. In fact, it gives you immediate feedback on whether you’ve reached your objectives in the end.

What is the SMART Action Plan Template (+ Action Steps and Responsibilities) about?  

The SMART Action Plan Template (+ Action Steps and Responsibilities) lets you determine the value of a goal by asking you to explain how or why the said goal is:

• Time-bound. 

Then, you can add the person responsible for the said goal and lay out the steps you need to go through to reach success.

How to use SMART Action Plan Template (+ Action Steps and Responsibilities)?

After downloading this action plan template, respond to each prompt and fill out the steps you need to complete to reach your goal. Also, you can name the responsible persons or entities that need to help you on this journey.

Remember that nothing is set in stone, and you can always rewrite it if you spot inconsistencies or flaws in your original plan.

Who should use the SMART Action Plan Template (+ Action Steps and Responsibilities)? 

Great for teamwork within a project where each teammate has different goals and responsibilities that together tie into one greater purpose. Also great for goals that imply a specific set of steps (or tasks) you need to tackle to reach them.

⬇️ Download the SMART Action Plan Template (+ Action Steps and Responsibilities) PDF

⬇️ Download the SMART Action Plan Template (+ Action Steps and Responsibilities) Google Docs

⬇️ Download the SMART Action Plan Template (+ Action Steps and Responsibilities) Excel

⬇️ Download the SMART Action Plan Template (+ Action Steps and Responsibilities) Google Sheets

New Year SMART Goal Template

The New Year SMART Goal Template prompts you to provide an overview of your personal and professional aspirations for the coming year. 

As a result, this template goes above and beyond to explore which goals you truly want to pursue — or not.

The New Year SMART Goal Template requires that you make a bit of a long-term commitment.

What is the New Year SMART Goal Template about? 

The New Year SMART Goal Template lets you define SMART goals for your:

• Personal growth, 
• Health, 
• Business life, 
• Family and friends, 
• Travels, 
• Hobbies, and 
• New purchases in the new year.

How to use the New Year SMART Goal Template?

As soon as you download your preferred format, answer the prompts in as much detail as possible. 

For example, in the Personal growth section, you can list things such as “Start meditating every day for 30 minutes” or “Read 20 book pages daily” and go from there.

Who should use the New Year SMART Goal Template? 

This template is perfect for carrying out your New Year’s resolutions. So, you can be a university student, a freelancer, or anyone else pursuing goals in the coming year.

⬇️ Download the New Year SMART Goal Template PDF

⬇️ Download the New Year SMART Goal Template Google Docs

⬇️ Download the New Year SMART Goal Template Excel

⬇️ Download the New Year SMART Goal Template Google Sheets

SMART Goal Template for Project Managers

The SMART Goal Template for Project Managers is a clear, concise, and descriptive tool to get to the hows and whys of your project management goals. 

In turn, it helps you lead your team and create a roadmap for success in a short period.

What is the SMART Goal Template for Project Managers about?  

The SMART Goal Template for Project Managers consists of 5 sections. 

With this template, you can assess each goal you want to assign to a team member. In fact, you can decide whether the goal needs redefining or even whether it’s worthwhile (or unattainable by the assigned team member) in the first place.

How to use the SMART Goal Template for Project Managers?

Answer 2 questions per section to set and define a goal any project manager might face. Similarly, remember that you can tinker with the details and rewrite anything you deem necessary at any point during the process.

Who should use the SMART Goal Template for Project Managers? 

This SMART goal template is perfect for managers who are currently defining the goals and objectives of a project. You can also consider this template as a way to establish SMART goals for better time management.

⬇️ Download the SMART Goal Template for Project Managers PDF

⬇️ Download the SMART Goal Template for Project Managers Google Docs

⬇️ Download the SMART Goal Template for Project Managers Excel

⬇️ Download the SMART Goal Template for Project Managers Google Sheets

SMART Goal Template (+ Rewards/Motivations) 

Last but not least, the SMART Goal Template (+ Rewards/Motivations) presents a powerful tool for learning what motivates you to reach your goals. 

By taking the time to understand what drives you, you can tap into your intrinsic motivation and stay focused on your short-term and long-term goals even when things get tough.

What is the SMART Goal Template (+ Rewards/Motivations) about? 

The SMART Goal Template (+ Rewards/Motivations) lets you assess whether a goal is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. 

Then, you can define the motivations and rewards that stand behind your pursuit of the said goal.

How to use the SMART Goal Template (+ Rewards/Motivations)?

To get to the bottom of your rewards and motivations, simply respond to 5 questions from the SMART framework, followed by 2 questions on how you’ll make the goal motivating and rewarding. 

Who should use the SMART Goal Template (+ Rewards/Motivations)? 

Rewards are important to keep you motivated enough to pursue a goal. I suggest you pick this SMART goal template if you want to define specific rewards that await you when you reach a goal.

⬇️ Download the SMART Goal Template (+ Rewards/Motivations) PDF

⬇️ Download the SMART Goal Template (+ Rewards/Motivations) Google Docs

⬇️ Download the SMART Goal Template (+ Rewards/Motivations) Excel

⬇️ Download the SMART Goal Template (+ Rewards/Motivations) Google Sheets

Estimate task and project duration better — with Clockify

Our last quick tip on handling your goals is this: Limit how much time you allocate to tasks and projects.

Hear us out. 

You can use time management software like Clockify to block out parts of the workday and complete your workload. To create tasks, follow these steps:

• Go to a project you’re working on,
• Open the Tasks tab in the project,
• Type your preferred task name, and

After you’ve completed these steps, you can insert them into your Clockify calendar (like below). In fact, you’ll be able to move, split, and resize each task and project as you see fit.

If your task takes longer than you expected, you can use this knowledge to make better time estimates for future goals. In any case, you’ll be able to set more realistic objectives.

Now, imagine hitting your goals not just on time but ahead of schedule. Sounds good?

Optimize your daily routines, reach professional milestones, and gain greater clarity on projects and tasks.

Marija Kojic is a productivity writer who's always researching about various productivity techniques and time management tips in order to find the best ones to write about. She can often be found testing and writing about apps meant to enhance the workflow of freelancers, remote workers, and regular employees. Appeared in G2 Crowd Learning Hub, The Good Men Project, and Pick the Brain, among other places.

Where does the time go?

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How to Set and Achieve Smart Goals? SMART Goals for Studying and Business

How to Set Smart Goals?

If you're reading this, it's probably because you want to improve your life. That means you understand that you should set personal goals to get anywhere in life. But how do you do that? How can you skillfully set goals to help you achieve your desired outcome? 

Fortunately, the SMART framework can help anyone wishing to scale up and achieve their goals in life. Whether this is your first time hearing about the SMART criteria or not, we've made this article helpful by sharing SMART goals examples, and everything you need to know to start achieving objectives. Also, check out custom term paper writing by our experts, who can deliver original, high-quality work for you.

What Do We Need SMART Goals For?

Setting achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals can be challenging, especially if you want to undertake a significant endeavor. Selecting a specific target is one thing, but conceptualizing every step from the start to the finish line results in either vague or unrealistic goals.

SMART goals definition includes a framework that allows you to set objectives around five elements. These include specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and valuable. The SMART formula keeps you focused on your efforts, uses your time well, and meets all deadlines. 

But are SMART goals important? For a starter, the SMART goal-setting process helps you avoid vagueness by helping you understand what you must do and when to do it for the ultimate goal.   

What are SMART Goals? 5 Rules For Setting Goals

Let's walk through what are SMART goals. The SMART goals acronym stands for: 

The framework helps define these parameters as they relate to your goals and keep them attainable within a specific time frame.

It's essential to keep each of these parameters in mind whenever you write SMART goals for yourself or your team. They are quantitative 'terms' that guarantee you achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals by eliminating generalization and guesswork.

The framework assigns a clear timeline that'll set you up for success if you strictly follow it. Below is an in-depth look into the SMART goals framework and how to leverage it for personal growth and success. 

S for Specific

S in the SMART goals framework stands for specific, representing the initial step in the goal-setting process. By being specific, you're simply trying to avoid vagueness and the generalities associated with setting goals.

You need to create SMART goals in clear, quantifiable terms to determine and re-evaluate what actions to take. Otherwise, you'll find it challenging to focus your efforts where they are most needed. When drafting a measurable goal, try to answer the five common "W" questions, including:

• What needs to be accomplished?
• Why are SMART goals important?
• Who is responsible for achieving the SMART goal?
• What steps should I take to accomplish this goal?
• What are the expected requirements or obstacles I'll face along the way?

Remember that a clear goal is simple, sensible, and significant. For instance, your specific smart goal example of becoming a top-rated copywriter on any platform should first begin with acquiring the necessary skills and experience to enable you to become a top-rated copywriter.  

M For Measurable

The next step in setting SMART goals is to ensure they are measurable. This means you can easily track your progress and see how far you've advanced. Here, it would be best if you had a SMART goals worksheet that keeps you focused and excited about achieving them.

A lack of measurable goals means you won't be able to determine if you're making progress or not. To make your goals measurable, ask yourself the following questions:

• What do I need to measure and track progress?
• How will I know when the goal is accomplished?

If possible, set milestones along the way to help you track progress and make necessary amendments. A smart goal example is by estimating that you'll have finished learning the essential skills and earned experience within three years, you may assess your progress towards becoming a top-rated copywriter.

Remember that setting SMART goals should be fun if you learn to treat yourself in small significant ways as you move closer to your desired outcome. Here is a smart goals template showing each element:

S - SPECIFIC - What is your target?

M - MEASURABLE - How will you measure and track performance?

A - ACHIEVABLE - Is the goal achievable, considering various factors?

R - RELEVANT - Does the SMART goal example align with other personal or small business goals?

T - TIME-BOUND - What will be the beginning and end of the goal?

A For Achievable

Your set goals are only bound to succeed if they are realistic and attainable. This means you should not overstretch your abilities, even as you remain optimistic about fulfilling them. When you create SMART goal example that is achievable, you're boosting your morale and putting yourself in a better position.

The more realistic and achievable the goal, the more likely you will keep working toward it. Try to identify strengths and understand the challenges that may come along the way. Similarly, remain accountable from the initial goal-setting phase and ensure your SMART goals answer the following questions:

• How can I accomplish this goal and celebrate wins?
• How realistic is the goal, based on existing obstacles?

For example, ask yourself whether developing the skills required to become a top-rated copywriter is realistic and if you have all it takes to get there and achieve overall growth. Do I fall short of all the necessary resources to accomplish this goal? 

R For Relevant

Your SMART goals must be relevant, meaning they should matter to you. They should ideally align with your values and larger, long-term goals. If a goal doesn't contribute toward your broader objectives, you might rethink it. 

Ask yourself why the objective is essential to you, how achieving it will help you and how it will contribute toward your long-term goals. You can easily share your plans with others to hear their input, but it's essential to retain control over them. A relevant goal should answer the following questions:

• Are the goals wasted time?
• Do they match my efforts?
• Am I the right person to achieve the goal?

For example, it's a good thing to aspire to learn the skills of becoming a top-rated copywriter. However, is it the right time to undertake the required training? Have you considered other plans? Is there anything that would be competing with your time to make this more difficult?

T For Time-Bound

Any achievable goal has a definite time frame for a deadline to concentrate on. This is a crucial element of the SMART goal framework that prevents any other activity from taking precedence over your long-term objectives.

So, start by setting a target date to find the motivation and help you prioritize. However, be keen on developing realistic timeframes, considering all the unexpected roadblocks. Time-bound goals seek to answer these questions:

• When am I hoping to achieve this goal?
• What can I do from now onwards?
• What can I do in six months?

For example, learning the skills to become a top-rated copywriter may require additional experience. How long will it take you to acquire these skills? Should you invest in more learning to be eligible for specific qualifications? Time-bounded marketing SMART goals will ensure all the lofty ideas are broken down into actionable steps to make milestone tracking easier and more efficient. 

Meanwhile, if you're concerned with academic success, our essay writing service will provide the additional support you require to finish your next task.

Struggling with your SMART goals ?

Worry no more! You know, even though Einstein failed many subjects at school, he conceived the General Theory of Relativity and won the Nobel Prize. Thus, if you have troubles with homework, our expert team is ready to assist you and help you to set your SMART goals right away.

Smart Goals Templates

A SMART goal framework establishes boundaries and specifies the actions you must take, the tools you'll need, and the checkpoints that show progress along the way. For example, a smart goal can be to write a decent statement of purpose , or learn more about special education . No matter how big or small your objectives are, knowing how to set SMART goals can help take you closer to success.

You can use smart goals image and templates to help you set your smart goals in an easy and straightforward way. Also, various smart goals examples for students pdf are available online to guide you through the entire process. 

Let's walk through an example of SMART goals and Objectives. The framework can be used in education to help students set their academic or personal goals. So, let’s take a look at these illustrations and hope these examples of SMART goals assist you in getting a better clarity of the concept.

S.M.A.R.T. Goal: Get Better Grades at School

S.m.a.r.t. goal: improve mental health.

Here is a template 'S.M.A.R.T. Goal: Improve Mental Health'. Check here:

Guide on How to Set SMART GOALS

Achieving success in any area of your life requires having specific, well-defined goals. Setting precise and successful goals will help you achieve your objectives, whether working alone or with a team. At first, creating SMART goals that get results might be complicated and intimidating. Follow this guide on setting SMART goals for yourself if you're feeling stuck.

Think of Goals That Can Motivate You

A goal is a clear, written statement of what you want to attain in a given time frame. Everything you plan on doing henceforth must be aligned with these goals. Without them, you will have no clear direction or way to measure your success. So the first step is to think of plans that can motivate you.

For smart business goals, it helps to ask yourself these questions: 

• What is the one thing we want our customers to feel after using our product or service?
• What do we want our team to feel about working for our company? 
• What do we want our investors to think about when investing in us?
• How do we plan to attract new customers and ensure unending customer loyalty?

Write them Down

After deciding what you want to achieve, please write down your goals to have a second view of what they entail. For example, it could be a smart goal to increase revenue by 25% by the end of the year by increasing the number of leads through the website for your small businesses. Or a personal goal to learn a new skill for a better work-life balance in the next six months. Also, if you are wondering - ‘how to do my math homework ,’ our team of experts can do it for you in a flash.

A written, measurable, and time-bound goal with a definite deadline takes you closer to actualizing it. When you set a deadline, you create the necessary urgency, which can be a powerful motivator. It also forces you to prioritize, create urgency, inspire confidence, make you accountable, and, most important, clarify your success metrics. 

Set an Elaborate Action Plan

Now that you know your achievable goals, you're ready to turn them into actionable steps to increase sales. At this point, you shouldn't go off track and start thinking about the strategy you will use to achieve your SMART goal. Focus on the actions that you need to take to reach your goal. You'll find that it's much easier to stay focused this way. Here are some questions to ask yourself: 

• What resources do I need to make this happen? 
• What are the first few steps I need to take to achieve this goal? 
• What are the smaller steps that will lead to the bigger goal?

Once you've set a SMART goal, it's crucial to go ahead and implement it. This shouldn't be difficult if the plans meet all the standards of a SMART goal framework. Similarly, ensure you measure your progress to know if you're on track.

Failure to track your progress can lead to frustration and uncertainty. There are lots of ways to track your progress, including: 

• Write down your goal and the specific actions you'll take to reach it.
• Drawing a visual representation of your purpose and the path to get there
• Writing a SMART goal journal
• Working with a coach or mentor

So, why is it important to set SMART goals? Successful people know that goal-setting is time bound and integral for achieving success. When you know exactly what you want to accomplish by being an active team member, you will have a clear direction and more ways to measure your success. Now that you understand how to write a brilliant plan, it's time to start. 

When you reach your goal, don't forget to celebrate! This allows you to reflect on what you've accomplished. You've probably completed more than most people do their entire lives. So, congratulations! You've just set and achieved your first set of SMART goals! With specific, measurable, achievable, relevant goals and determination, you can fulfill anything you set your mind to. So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and make something of your life! That's the beauty of setting SMART goals. 

And don’t forget that writing a good conclusion to your undertaking is a terrific method to wrap up your piece!

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Annie Lambert

specializes in creating authoritative content on marketing, business, and finance, with a versatile ability to handle any essay type and dissertations. With a Master’s degree in Business Administration and a passion for social issues, her writing not only educates but also inspires action. On EssayPro blog, Annie delivers detailed guides and thought-provoking discussions on pressing economic and social topics. When not writing, she’s a guest speaker at various business seminars.

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

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Home Blog Business Setting SMART Goals – A Complete Guide (with Examples + Free Templates)

Setting SMART Goals – A Complete Guide (with Examples + Free Templates)

Businesses today are more focused on effective strategic planning and goal setting than ever. At first sight, these processes might seem pretty straightforward. However, there’s so much more going on behind the scenes. Companies dedicate a lot of time and resources to goal based strategic planning . After all, they determine the company’s future liquidity and success. This post covers the concepts related to goal-setting and the SMART criteria, their respective benefits, and instructions for writing SMART goals.

SMART Goals Definition and Meaning

What are the benefits of setting smart goals, setting the scope of a smart goal, writing the content of a smart goal, s – specific, m – measurable, a – achievable, r – relevant, t – time-bound, a smart goals template, learn how to set smart goals, to conclude, what are smart goals.

“ Goal setting and task performance: 1969-1980 ” was the first study to promote the importance of setting achievable yet challenging goals. It found that 90% of people perform better with relevant and challenging goals, translating to higher business efficiency and profits.

Over the years, management and marketing teams came with different alternatives for goal setting and enhancing workplace performance . One widespread process is using the SMART acronym.

George T. Doran, a consultant and former Director of Corporate Planning for Washington Water Power Company, first introduced the SMART acronym. He published a paper titled There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives in November 1981.

Fast forward, the five rules or criteria known as SMART today serve as a psychological tool for increasing productivity . A SMART goal can foster a clear and mutual understanding of what constitutes expected performance levels and successful professional development, but also to achieve personal goals.

SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.

The SMART goals acronym eliminates generalization and guesswork, thus setting the base for tracking progress and identifying missed deadlines. When a business entity defines these five parameters, it essentially ensures its team will attain the listed objectives within a predetermined time frame.

SMART is an effective tool with growing popularity. Businesses worldwide incorporate the criteria for strategic planning and goal setting due to the following benefits:

How to Write SMART Goals?

The following section consists of the steps in the process of writing SMART goals, including practical examples to form a comprehensive goal statement.

SMART goals can address a wide range of job responsibilities, most commonly day-to-day job activities. Business entities primarily apply the SMART criteria to direct their attention and resources towards the most critical aspects of their operation, thus achieving their priorities .

SMART goals can cover different personal or business objectives, such as increasing/decreasing, developing, making, improving, and saving something (resource, expense, revenue, time, etc.).

Setting the scope of a SMART goal is a three-step process with the aim of help meeting personal or business goals:

Note : If a business has too many goals, it can indicate that they are developed at a too low level and meeting the business goals can be challenging in these situations. These goals are more task-oriented instead of focusing on the broader picture and the result. A practical solution to this problem is combining several statements into one, more comprehensive goal.

A general goal has a lower chance of being accomplished compared to a SMART goal.

An example of a general goal: “ I will increase my profits this year “.

First, SMART goals are always specific, providing enough detail to eliminate a general goal’s indecision.

An example of a specific goal: “ The sales department will increase my profits this year by increasing my marketing efforts in the domestic market “.

Specific goals answer the famous “W” questions:

Note : Not every specific goal has to answer all questions. They are given as a starting point; it’s a non-exclusive list.

A specific SMART goal is a solid base but worth almost nothing without the proper metrics in place. Setting metrics to determine whether a business will attain the goal and track progress makes the goal more tangible. Usually, this translates to numbers or customer/employee satisfaction.

A measurable goal usually answers questions, such as the following:

An example of a measurable goal: “ The sales department will improve my profits by 15% this year by increasing my marketing expenses by 5% in the domestic market “.

Note : A business can easily measure these indicators since they are expressed in numbers (revenues, expenses, profits) – these are quantitative measurements.

However, a measurable goal can take another form: “ The sales department will improve my profits by 15% this year by increasing customer satisfaction in the domestic market “.

The second refers to qualitative measurements that cannot be assessed as easily. An entity, in this case, will need to think in terms of customer feedback, testimonials, ratings, surveys, and so on. In the long term, customer satisfaction translates to customer/brand loyalty and increased profits. Still, these effects are difficult to quantify.

Can the business improve profits by 15% in a single year? Is this the reality of its niche (is it a fast-growing one, is there a demand for these products/services)?

On the other hand, does the entity have the needed capital and resources to increase expenses by 5%? Or will this decision harm its operation, in debt the company in the long-term, or harm its market position?

These, and a range of other questions, should be considered. A business might need to stretch its abilities, develop new skills, change attitudes, or identify previously overlooked opportunities. Still, they should be able to achieve the set goal promptly. If the goal turns out to be too optimistic, the team might think of other, more viable alternatives.

A single SMART goal statement should be consistent and make sense within the broader image and business mission . All of an entity’s departments should move in the same direction, or in other words, be aligned.

A relevant SMART goal answers the following questions:

The time-bound element in the goal is “this year”, so that there’s no need to expand the statement. Still, it would help to break down the deadline into shorter milestones since a year is pretty broad. A better alternative would be:

“ The sales department will improve my profits by 3% this month/quarter by … . “

A time-bound goal usually answers the following questions:

With a timeline, a business will rarely overlook the importance of a goal. With the lack of it, the company can easily commit to day-to-day activities or occurring crises and forget what should have been a priority in the first place.

The SMART Goals Templates are a tool that facilitates the presentation of the goal-setting process and outcomes. It helps businesses better present their goal statements and communicate them with related parties.

SMART Goals templates are usually divided into several sections, taking a form similar to the following:

A business starts by writing the initial idea. Then, it answers the listed questions as specified in each section above, respectively. In turn, the company can create a more practical goal statement.

The following template might help your entity write a SMART Goal:

Filling in the gaps might lead to examples, such as the following:

Here’s an excellent example of a SMART goals template, depicting the seven-step goals-based strategic planning process :

Through the SMART Goals Template free we invite you to set your main goal and generate a conversion process towards SMART Goals. Thanks to this exercise you will be able to rethink your goal through different questions that will guide you towards the SMART methodology.

SMART Goals Examples

1. free smart goals powerpoint template.

The Free SMART Goals Template is a PowerPoint presentation that will allow you to communicate your business goals using the SMART methodology. Thanks to this PowerPoint template you will be able to evaluate your main goal before moving on to the planning and execution phase. This SMART Goals Template has six slides, is fully editable and available for PowerPoint and Google Slides.

Use This Template

2. Target SMART Goals PowerPoint Template

The Target SMART Goals PowerPoint Template is a creative timeline design for goal setting techniques. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. The arrow with five circular icons these five elements of goals. The curved arrow represents a timeline leading to a dartboard of achieving goals. It helps you highlight the key components and show how goals are achieved with SMART goal criteria in mind.

3. SMART Goals Slide Design for PowerPoint

The SMART Goals Slide Design for PowerPoint can evaluate different business goals. It can be applied to any management or marketing plan and edited to fit any corporate presentation. In SlideModel.com, we recommend it for project management, employee performance management, personal development, and various other business environments.

4. Goal Strategy & Tactics PowerPoint Template

The Goal Strategy & Tactics PowerPoint Template visualize steps that will help you describe multiple solutions. There are two slide designs of gradient PowerPoint backgrounds and shapes. Moreover, diagram presents chess game clipart icons like king, knight, and pawn for strategies. The arrow icons in tactic segments will help display optimal solutions.

5. Goals Based Strategic Planning PowerPoint Templates

The Goals-Based Strategic Planning PowerPoint Templates is a set of slides designed to present the result of a goals based strategic planning process. There are different approaches and models for strategic planning. These include goal-based strategic planning, issue-based strategic planning, organic, and scenarios. The Goal-based strategy focuses on organization’s values, mission, visions, and business objectives. It is most commonly used in financial planning to prioritize and optimize.

6. SMART Objectives Slide Design for PowerPoint

SMART Objectives Slide Design for PowerPoint is a presentation that will allow you to simply and clearly specify each of your SMART objectives. It is a very useful PowerPoint Template to specify your goals with your work team and use it as a Roadmap for short-term goals, medium and long-term goals.

7. SMART Goals One Pager PowerPoint Template

The SMART Goals One Pager PowerPoint Template is a data table where you can enter each of your SMART goals. This way you will be able to present in a simple and clear way with the One Pager format each of your goals and their breakdown in SMART acronyms.

8. SMART Objectives PowerPoint Template

9. SMART Goals PowerPoint Template

10. 5-Item Goal Target PowerPoint Template

11. Short & Long Term Goals PowerPoint Template

12. SMART Goals Planning Sheet PowerPoint Template

13. SMART Goals for Balanced Scorecard PowerPoint Template

14. SMART Objectives PowerPoint Template

15. Flat SMART Objectives PowerPoint Template

16. Setting Goals Template for PowerPoint with Target & Darts

SMART goals are effective tools that can increase the efficiency and profitability of a business. They give a clear direction to long-term goals, long-term progress and prioritize the most critical aspects for success. Teams with SMART goals can better focus on the broader picture and not lose themselves in day-to-day activities.

Better focus, motivation, and productivity, in turn, set the base for increasing the financial position of a company, along with the non-financial indicators, in a positive direction.

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Balanced Scorecard, Business PowerPoint Templates, Business Presentations, Corporate Presentations, Strategy Filed under Business

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13 SMART Goals Examples to Develop Your Writing Skills

Do you need help in your writing career? Have you hit a wall with your creative ideas and want to develop your writing skills?

Crafting SMART goals is a fantastic way to set a solid foundation to build your success. By pursuing these goals, you can measure progress and stay motivated while growing your writing skills.

From setting a word count goal to exploring new genres, this post will discuss examples of SMART goals to push yourself as a writer.

Table of Contents

What is a SMART Goal?

The SMART ( Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-based ) framework will enable you to establish practical goals for developing your writing skills.

Still trying to understand? Let’s dive deeper into each SMART element:

The more specific you can be about your goals, the better your likelihood of reaching them.

For example, instead of “I hope to become a better writer,” try setting precise goals such as “I will improve my grammar skills by taking an online course.” By establishing specific targets, you’ll have something concrete to work towards.

Writers need more than hard work; they must also ensure their goals are measurable. This criterion may seem insignificant initially, but it will help you succeed in your writing journey.

Measurable goals are those that can be quantified or evaluated objectively. Instead of “writing more,” set the goal of “writing 500 words daily.” This way, you’ll know exactly how much progress you make towards achieving them.

Many people tend to set their sights unrealistically high. They think they can become the world’s next great poet by year’s end. While aiming high is admirable, setting these goals can be counterproductive.

Not only do unrealistic expectations lead to disappointment and burnout, but they also make staying motivated more challenging.

Creating relevant goals aligning with your values is key to unlocking a fulfilling life. When you’re clear about your core beliefs, it becomes easier to identify what matters most to you and prioritize accordingly. Knowing you’re working towards something meaningful inspires you to push forward.

Embarking on a journey to success can be daunting if you don’t have a specific timeline to keep you accountable. Without well-defined deadlines, getting sidetracked or losing motivation along the way would be too easy.

Here are 13 examples of SMART goals to improve your writing:

1. Read More Books

SMART Goal: To expand my writing knowledge, I’ll read one book a month on writing by the end of four months. This activity will help me gain a better understanding of writing fundamentals, as well as give me ideas on different ways to improve my skills.

• Specific: This SMART goal is explicit because it outlines the number of books and the duration they are to be read.
• Measurable: Make sure you select books that are relevant to writing fundamentals and have activities or other elements that allow for tracking progress.
• Attainable: This statement is definitely achievable with careful scheduling and prioritization.
• Relevant: Reading books on writing will help the individual to learn and understand more about the subject.
• Time-based: The goal should be achieved by the end of four months.

2. Take a Writing Course

SMART Goal: I’ll sign up for a writing course and complete it within 5 months to learn more about the craft. The class should help me hone my writing skills and introduce me to other techniques and structures I might not be familiar with.

• Specific: The goal is well-defined, detailing precisely what will be done.
• Measurable: Progress can be tracked by completion of the course and any assignments associated with it.
• Attainable: A writing class is within reach, depending on the availability and cost of courses in one’s area.
• Relevant: The course furthers the goal of developing writing skills.
• Time-based: Success will be accomplished in 5 months.

3. Practice Daily Writing

SMART Goal: I will set aside 15 minutes daily to practice my writing skills. By the end of 6 months, I want to be able to write cohesive and compelling pieces with accuracy and clarity.

• Specific: This goal outlines the activity (writing) and the duration of practice (15 minutes daily).
• Measurable: You can measure the amount and quality of your writing.
• Attainable: Setting aside and dedicating 15 minutes daily to practice is feasible.
• Relevant: Practicing your writing every day can help you hone your skills and increase proficiency.
• Time-based: Goal completion is anticipated for 6 months.

4. Research Writing Techniques

SMART Goal: Within 6 months, I will dedicate time to read industry-relevant books and articles on writing techniques. To apply my knowledge to produce more impactful content, I’ll also attend a webinar on the latest writing trends and take notes.

• Specific: This goal is learning writing techniques, not just consuming information.
• Measurable: This project can be evaluated by reading books , attending a webinar, and taking notes.
• Attainable: Dedicating time to reading and learning can reasonably be accomplished within 6 months.
• Relevant: This is appropriate to the task because you can apply the newly acquired knowledge to create better content.
• Time-based: There is a deadline of 6 months for this particular goal.

5. Join a Writing Group

SMART Goal: I’ll aim to join a writing group or online forum dedicated to improving my writing skills this month. I will participate actively in the group, take on an assignment each month, and offer support to other group members.

• Specific: You know how to accomplish your goal —join a writing group or online forum.
• Measurable: You can quantify the number of assignments you complete each month.
• Attainable: This is relatively easy if you can find a suitable group or forum.
• Relevant: The purpose of joining the group is to improve your writing skills.
• Time-based: You have until this month to achieve the SMART goal.

6. Analyze Your Work Critically

SMART Goal: I will objectively analyze my written work every week and identify areas of improvement within two months. I hope to become more aware of my mistakes and areas where I can improve while writing.

• Specific: The statement is to analyze written work and identify mistakes.
• Measurable: Ensure that the person objectively analyzes and identifies areas for improvement weekly.
• Attainable: This goal is feasible as it allows two months to review and make changes.
• Relevant: It’s crucial to understand and identify the areas for improvement in one’s writing.
• Time-based: The goal has a two-month end date for completion.

7. Network With Other Writers

SMART Goal: To learn from and stay current on the latest writing trends, I’ll expand my network by attending two writing events each month. I’ll also take active steps to engage with writers and other industry professionals on social media, such as liking, commenting, and retweeting their posts.

• Specific: The statement is easy to understand: network with other writers.
• Measurable: Measure your networking success by the number of events you attend and your engagement with other writers on social media.
• Attainable: It’s realistic to believe that attending two events every month is absolutely possible.
• Relevant: Networking with other writers and industry professionals can help you stay informed about the latest trends in writing.
• Time-based: This goal has a time frame of two months.

8. Participate in Contests

SMART Goal: I want to enter and submit entries for at least 5 writing contests within the next year. I’ll keep track of my entries and carefully review every submission to ensure it meets all requirements for each contest.

• Specific: The goal is clear. You will enter at least 5 writing contests this year.
• Measurable: The writer will keep track of entries and review each submission to ensure it meets all requirements.
• Attainable: This is possible if you have the commitment and dedication to complete the necessary steps.
• Relevant: The goal is appropriate for the individual’s desire to develop writing skills.
• Time-based: Goal attainment will be met within a year.

9. Improve Grammar and Punctuation

SMART Goal: I will enhance my grammar and punctuation by taking a grammar course or using an online program like Grammarly. I’ll aim to correctly use grammar and punctuation in my writing over the three months ahead.

• Specific: The goal states the objective, what will be done to achieve it, and the deadline.
• Measurable: You could assess your writing for correct grammar and punctuation.
• Attainable: This is realistic because there are online tools to improve your grammar and punctuation.
• Relevant: Grammar and punctuation are essential for effective communication .
• Time-based: There is a three-month timeline for completing this goal.

10. Learn Different Genres of Writing

SMART Goal: I want to learn the types of writing genres for 6 months. I’ll spend time researching the different genres, such as creative writing, journalistic writing, and technical writing. That will give me an idea of the varying writing styles and guide me when tackling a new project.

• Specific: This is specific as it has a timeline, aims to explore different writing genres, and provides guidance on tackling a project.
• Measurable: Check your progress by using a checklist or calendar to see what genres you have explored.
• Attainable: This goal is possible due to its specific timeline and required research activity.
• Relevant: Genre-based writing can be useful for various projects, making this an applicable goal.
• Time-based: Six whole months are needed to achieve success.

11. Ask for Feedback From Others

SMART Goal: I’ll contact three or more peers for feedback on my writing within 6 months. I want to use this feedback to improve my writing, so I’ll take constructive criticism and apply it to my writing process.

• Specific: The specific action is to reach out to three or more peers for feedback.
• Measurable: The number of peers a person should reach out to is stated.
• Attainable: Asking for feedback from peers is an achievable goal.
• Relevant: The SMART statement applies to enhancing one’s writing.
• Time-based: The goal should be completed within 6 months.

12. Create Your Style of Writing

SMART Goal: I will strive to develop a style of writing that reflects my voice within four weeks. I aim to bring out my unique personality in my writing and create a clear, cohesive style that I can be proud of.

• Specific: The individual aims to develop a writing style that reflects their voice.
• Measurable: You will strive to create a clear, cohesive writing style in four weeks.
• Attainable: This is achievable by taking time to practice and refine their writing abilities.
• Relevant: The goal is appropriate because it allows the person to create a voice in their writing.
• Time-based: There is a four-week window for achieving this certain goal.

13. Follow Style Guides

SMART Goal: I’ll use a specific style guide to help ensure consistency in my writing. I’ll read the guide before using it and reference it when writing for projects. By the end of two months, I plan to have a foundational understanding of the style guide and its key features.

• Specific: The goal is to use a style guide and become familiar with its key features.
• Measurable: Make sure you read the guide before using it and reference it when writing.
• Attainable: This is attainable because the individual has two months to become familiar with the style guide.
• Relevant: Following style guides will help ensure consistency in writing.
• Time-based: The goal is time-bound since it has a specific end date of two months.

Final Thoughts

Developing SMART goals allows you to improve your overall writing skills. It promotes focus and discipline , encouraging you to break down each step of the process into smaller tasks.

It’s also a great way to track progress and celebrate victories. Put this practice into action today by reflecting on what you want to accomplish with your writing and creating achievable goals.

How To Write A Powerful Essay On Achieving Goals (+ Example)

Writing an essay on achieving your goals can be a great opportunity to share your accomplishments.

Goal setting is a useful strategy to get the most out of life and set yourself up for success. However, there are many things to remember regarding proper goal setting and achievement. When writing a blm argumentative essay , it’s important to provide context on the history of the Black Lives Matter movement and the issues it seeks to address. This can help the reader understand the significance of the essay’s thesis and arguments. Let’s get to grips with the process of goal setting and come up with a powerful essay on achieving goals.

Structuring Your Essay on Achieving Goals:

How to write an introduction.

Any academic essay must have a strong beginning. It will establish your point of view and inform the reader of what to expect. An introduction should:

• Attract the reader’s attention with a ‘hook’. You can achieve this by quoting a shocking statistic, quote, fact, or controversial statement.
• Give some background or historical information about the topic. For instance, psychological theories and models on effective goal setting and achievement.
• Present your thesis (main point of your essay) e.g., “Rewarding achievement is the most effective means by which employers can increase workplace productivity”.

How to Write The Main Body of Your Essay

There should be a minimum of three paragraphs in your essay. Each one is a ‘mini-essay with an introduction, body, and conclusion. Each should include:

• Topic sentence: inform the reader about the subject of the paragraph, e.g., “how to measure goal attainment”, or “effective workplace goal setting”.
• Evidence sentences: inform the reader about the evidence you’ve uncovered, e.g., a business model and study on effective workplace goal setting.
• Analysis sentences : inform the reader of your thoughts on the evidence and its significance. For example, “Model A clearly shows how employers are to set realistic goals with employees and this model has proven to be successful in study x”.
• Concluding sentence: summarize what you’ve learned about the topic and how it relates to the essay question. For instance, “Setting realistic goals for employees is straightforward and likely to increase successful goal achievement in the workplace”.

How to Write a Conclusion

• To signal the essay is ending, use a suitable word or phrase , such as ‘In summary’ or ‘With all of this in mind’.
• Reread your introduction to remind yourself of your thesis. After that, either paraphrase or respond to the thesis.
• Summarize the key points stated in each of the assignment’s paragraphs. So, if you wrote three key body paragraphs, the conclusion should include three main themes.
• Give your readers a concluding line on the main issue and possibly attempt to urge them to further ponder the topic in its wider context.

Example Of An Essay About Achieving Your Goals

So, let’s put all this information together and check an example essay on achieving goals: Effective Methods to Increase the Likelihood of Goal Achievement Achieving goals can be extremely rewarding and result in a more satisfying and successful life. Many people set goals yet cannot achieve them. However, there are ways to avoid or reduce the likelihood of missing the mark. By ensuring that goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound), using visualization techniques, and rewarding goal attainment, the chances of success increase. First, ensure your goals are SMART. This means that goals should be specific and measurable in terms of outcomes, e.g., test scores . Goals should be achievable and realistic to the person’s capabilities and resources available. Also, a goal should apply to the person’s work, education, hobbies, or interests and include a deadline. If there is no specificity of outcome, there’s no real way to see how someone has improved—or how they might be falling short. And if goals are not SMART, they are more difficult to achieve. Second, by imagining and visualizing the feelings and outcomes of achievement of the goal , the likelihood of high achievement increases. The imagination can be a powerful tool. Imagining the feelings of accomplishment helps to increase self-efficacy and motivation. A Canadian study found that imagery skills moderate the effect of mental practice on self-efficacy. The effects of visualization techniques are valuable in goal achievement. Third, once the goal has been accomplished, a reward is required. Getting a reward for hard work will increasingly motivate an individual to set and achieve the next goal. The offer of a reward gives employees and students an extra boost of motivation. Rewards help the cycle of goal setting and goal achieving to continue. In summary, by ensuring the goals set are SMART, visualizing and rewarding success, goal achievement becomes more likely. Achieving goals is a cyclic process that’s possible to master if the right method is in place.

The Basics of Setting and Achieving Goals

Getting things done is often more difficult than you may think. You may have a strong desire to see positive changes, including better grades, weight loss, or passing an educational course. But success requires more than just motivation. The right goal-achievement skill set can help you see the exact steps you need to perform to take your life to the next level. Of course, it all starts with setting a goal and there’s a useful (SMART) acronym to remember:

Goals should be specific and free of generalizations, or they are unlikely to get done. Instead of stating that your goal is to improve your English skills, make it more specific by stating that your goal is to learn and use one new word every weekday to boost your English vocabulary.

A goal should be measurable because you need to keep your finger on the pulse and know where you’re at. For instance, a test or assessment score can provide evidence that you have reached your goal.

A goal needs to be possible to achieved. If it’s beyond your capabilities or requires resources you cannot access, then you will set yourself up for failure.

Goals must have some relevance. It is pointless to set a goal if it’s not relevant to your life, work, education, interests, hobbies, etc.

You must set a completion date for your goal. If you do not set a deadline, you may lack the motivation to reach it. Once you have your SMART goal, record it clearly on paper or a mobile device and then visualize the outcome of achieving that goal. Imagine how happy you will feel when you achieve it. This vivid mental imagery will provide you with the extra motivation to go for it. Finally, when you reach your goal, it’s time to celebrate! Reward yourself with a trip, an item you desire, relaxation time with friends, or whatever else that will make you feel happy.

Ready to write an essay about achieving goals?

Hopefully, the information in the article has given you the basics to help you write a powerful essay on achieving goals. I also hope that this article has helped you think about how you can work toward achieving your own goals. There are many great books about the science of goal achievement. I especially recommend ones written by Brian Tracy , as they have helped me a great deal in my pursuit of happiness . You can also create an engaging presentation about achieving goals and objectives using this  goal presentation template . Next up, you may want to explore an ultimate guide to writing expository essays .

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SMART Goals in Education: Importance, Benefits, Limitations

The SMART Goals framework is an acronym-based framework used in education to help students set clear and structured goals related to their learning.

The framework stands for:

• Specific – The goal is clear and has a closed-ended statement of exactly what will be achieved.
• Measurable – The goal can be measured either quantitatively (e.g. earning 80% in an exam) or qualitatively (e.g. receiving positive feedback from a teacher).
• Achievable – The goal is not too hard and can reasonably be met with some effort and within the set timeframe.
• Relevant – The goal is relevant to the student’s learning and development.
• Time-Based – A clear timeframe is set to keep you on task.

(If you’re a teacher, you might prefer to read my article on goals for teachers ).

The SMART Goals Framework in Education

The framework has had multiple variations over time. However, the most common framework is in the format: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based.

1. Specific

Your goal needs to be specific. This means that you need to note a clear target to aspire toward rather than something that is vague.

For students, this is important to clarify exactly what it is you’re aiming for.

Some strategies for making sure your goal is specific include:

• State what, when, where, why, and how your goals will be achieved
• State what the goal will look like when it is achieved
• Focus on the “vital few” [1] things that you want to see done to have your goal achieved

Sometimes, this may also be stated as “strategic” rather than “specific”.

See our in-depth article on examples of specific goals for students to get more ideas!

2. Measurable

Your goal needs to be measurable. This ensures that you can identify improvements from the baseline as well as know when the goal has been met.

Your objectives can be formative, summative, or a mix of both.

A formative assessment is an assessment that takes place part-way through the project. It assesses where you’re at and how much more you need to do. Formative assessments allow you to pivot and make small adjustments to your action to make sure you meet the final goal.

A summative assessment is an assessment at the end of the project to see if you met your goal. This is the final measure of success or failure.

A measurable goal may also be qualitative or quantitative.

A quantitative goal will have a grade or numerative evaluation, such as 80% on a test.

A qualitative goal will be based on a subjective evaluation, such as getting a positive report card from a mentor, or, attaining the confidence to do a public speech.

See our in-depth article on examples of measurable goals for students to get more ideas!

3. Attainable

Your goal needs to be attainable. This means that it can’t be something that’s impossible to achieve. You need to know you’ll be able to reach your goals in order to sustain motivation.

This could be compared to the goldilocks principle . Goldilocks didn’t like porridge that was too cold or too hot. It had to be just right.

In education, we use the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) to explain how to promote student development and motivation. The ZPD refers to learnable content that is not too easy and not too hard.

In this zone, students can do tasks with the support of teachers and have the motivation to work because they know the content is attainable with some effort.

4. Relevant

Often also written as ‘realistic’, a relevant goal is one that makes sense to your situation. If you are setting goals in your class, your teacher would expect that the goal was about your education and not something irrelevant to class.

Your goal should also be one that is consistent with your life plan and will help you get to where you need to be. This will help you to sustain motivation and ensure the goal makes sense in the long term.

While having personal goals unrelated to your coursework is great, it’s not relevant to the lesson that you’re doing within the class on the day, so remember to set your goal so it’s related to your learning.

5. Time-Based

Setting a time by which you want to meet your goals helps to keep you on track and accountable to yourself. Without time-based end goals, you may delay your goals and lose momentum.

You can also set intermittent milestones to help keep yourself on track. This can ensure you don’t let other shorter-term and more pressing tasks get in the way and get you off track.

SMARTER Goals Add-On

Some scholars have provided additional steps to the framework. One common one is to add ‘ER’ [2] :

6. Exciting

You are more likely to achieve a goal if you make it exciting. This will motivate you to carry out your plan.

An example of excitement added to a goal would be to create some self-rewards if it is completed, like “If I complete the goal I will take myself out for dinner.”

The ‘E’ is also often added when the goals are for teachers or leaders who are setting goals for their students or staff. By making the goal exciting, they’ll be able to get buy-in from students and staff.

7. Recorded

The ‘R’ often stands for ‘Recorded’ and asks you to show how you are going to record progress.

This one is somewhat similar to ‘Measurable’ but expands on it by asking not only how you’re going to measure success, but how are you going to record progress. Keeping a journal, for example, can help you record progress and reflect on the process of chasing your coals.

The Importance of SMART Goals in Education

Goal setting helps students and teachers to develop a vision for self-improvement . Without clear goals, there is no clear and agreed-upon direction for learning.

For this reason, goals have been used extensively in education. Examples include:

• Curriculum outcomes
• Developmental milestones
• Standardized testing
• Summative and formative assessments

The SMART framework, however, tends to be a student-led way of setting goals. It enables students to reflect on what they want to achieve and plan how to achieve these goals.

As a result, the framework doesn’t just help students articulate what they want out of their education. It also provides a range of soft skills for students such as:

• Motivation for growth
• Reflective practice
• Self Evaluation
• Structured analytical thinking

Read Also: Examples of SMART Goals for Students

SMART Goals Advantages and Disadvantages

Benefits of smart goals.

The SMART framework is widely used because it helps students to clarify their goals and how they are going to go about achieving them. Often, students start with a vague statement of intention, but by the end of the session, they have fleshed out their goals using the SMART template.

Some benefits of the template include:

Limitations of SMART Goals

While the framework is easy to use and implement, it does face a few limitations. One major downside is that it doesn’t account for the importance of incrementalism in self-improvement. Students need to break down their goals into a series of milestones.

Some limitations of the template include:

SMART Goals Template

Get the Google Docs Template Here

SMART goals help students to reflect on what they want from their education and how to achieve it. They provide a template and framework for students to go into more depth about their goals so they are not simply vague statements, but rather actionable statements of intent.

A lesson where you get your students to set out their goals will often have students leaving the class with a much deeper understanding of what they want out of their education and how they might go about getting it.

Read Also: A List of Long-Term Goals for Students and A List of Short-Term Goals for Students

[1] O’Neil, J. and Conzemius, A. (2006). The Power of SMART Goals: Using Goals to Improve Student Learning . London: Solution Tree Press.

[2]  Yemm, G. (2013). Essential Guide to Leading Your Team: How to Set Goals, Measure Performance and Reward Talent . Melbourne: Pearson Education. pp. 37–39.

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 15 Self-Actualization Examples (Maslow's Hierarchy)
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ Forest Schools Philosophy & Curriculum, Explained!
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ Montessori's 4 Planes of Development, Explained!
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ Montessori vs Reggio Emilia vs Steiner-Waldorf vs Froebel

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The Student's Guide to SMART Goals

Goal setting is an important aspect of preparing to be successful, both academically and professionally. College students may use goals to help meet deadlines. In the workplace, you will often be asked to set formal goals as part of your performance review.

In this guide, we’ll explain what SMART goals are and provide tips and examples for college students looking to develop their own SMART goals.

What Are SMART Goals?

The SMART acronym is a commonly used guideline for goal setting. SMART stands for s pecific, m easurable, a chievable, r elevant, and t ime-bound. These criteria can be used as a guide when writing down your goals.

• S pecific: Adding specificity to your goal makes it easier to achieve. Detail what you want to accomplish, when you would like to accomplish it, and what actions you will need to take to meet the goal.
• M easurable: Your goal should be something that can be tracked. If your goal is too vague, it can be difficult to assess how close you are to achieving it.
• A ttainable: College students have a lot on their plate. Make sure your goal is something you can realistically accomplish within the given time frame.
• R elevant: SMART goals for students should relate back to academic or professional growth. When creating a new goal, ask yourself how this accomplishment could benefit your academic performance or set you up for success in your desired career.
• T ime-bound: It’s easier to stick with a goal when it has a specific deadline associated with it. Determine when you would like to meet your goal, and consider setting target dates for each step involved in meeting the goal.

>> Read: 4 Goal Setting Strategies and Resources to Get You Motivated for the New Year

Examples of SMART Goals for College Students

Students can use SMART goals to keep themselves motivated while pursuing their degree. Goals may relate to specific coursework, career planning, or even health and wellness . Below are a few examples of SMART goals for college students. Each of them includes specific deadlines and actionable next steps.

Earn my degree by the end of the year by completing required courses over the summer and during the fall semester.

By the end of the month, I'll create a list of at least five internship opportunities in my field, and meet with a career advisor to discuss next steps for applying to these internships.

Complete this semester with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

By the end of the month, I'll join a student club or organization. After joining an organization, I will attend at least one meeting every month.

Improve my time management skills by dedicating 1 hour each weekday to uninterrupted studying. At the end of the month, I will reflect on my focus levels and adjust this study routine as needed.

For the duration of the semester, I'll maintain an up-to-date digital planner that lists assignment due dates for each of my classes.

I’ll meet with each of my professors at least once during the course of the semester.

Over the course of the next month, I will spend at least 1 hour each week reading a nonfiction book related to my major or catching up on industry news. Books that are assigned as part of a course will not count toward this goal.

By the end of the week, I will update my LinkedIn profile with completed coursework relevant to my desired career path.

>> Read: Time Management Tips for Busy College Students

How to Measure Your Progress Toward SMART Goals

According to the American Psychological Association , monitoring your progress can increase your chances of meeting your goals. Here are some of our top tips for college students looking to track their SMART goals.

1. Share Your Goal With Others

Many people find that they are more motivated to achieve their goals when they have a support system in place. After setting your goal, find a trusted person who can hold you accountable. This may be a friend, family member, classmate, or coworker. In return for providing support, you can offer to help them track progress for any of their own goals.

2. Set Check-In Reminders

Frequently checking in with your progress ensures that your goal remains top of mind. Consider adding check-in reminders to your calendar for the duration of your goal, keeping in mind that the time frame of your goal will affect how often you want to check in. For example, progress on a semester-long goal may only need to be measured once a month, but if your goal is something you want to achieve more quickly, you may want to check in weekly or even multiple times per week.

3. Put It Into Writing

Monitoring your goal is particularly effective when you physically record your progress. Each time you check in with your goal, write down the progress you’ve made and outline the next steps you need to take. You can send these updates to a trusted friend or even share your progress on social media. Either way, putting your progress into writing can help make sure you follow through on your goal.

4. Adjust Deadlines as Needed

As you make progress toward your goal, you may find that you need more time than you originally thought. If the original date you set no longer seems achievable, don’t be afraid to adjust your goal as needed. You may also consider breaking up the goal into smaller, more manageable steps, each with their own deadline. Pushing your completion date out by a few weeks or months is better than getting overwhelmed and giving up on the goal altogether.

Achieve Your Goals With Purdue Global

Since SMART goals are so commonly used by employers, it’s a good idea for college students to become comfortable with setting and tracking these types of goals. Whether you’re looking to improve your grades or explore potential career paths, SMART goals can help you get there.

For help meeting your academic goals, be sure to take advantage of any support that may be offered by your school. For example, Purdue Global offers online Academic Success Centers focused on writing, math, technology, and more. In addition, our Center for Career Advancement  can assist with creating measurable and attainable career goals. 

We offer more than 175 online programs for students looking to enter a new field or advance within their current career. Request more information today to learn more.

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