What is S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting?
What is a goal?
A goal is a desired outcome that will make a difference in your life as a result of achieving it. There are many types of goals, including academic, extracurricular, community, education, career, and learning skills goals. A goal requires effort and focus to achieve it. To help keep track of your progression towards a goal, you need to set a timeframe and an action plan. An action plan consists of specific tasks or steps that you will follow to achieve your end goal.
How can I set S.M.A.R.T. goals?
Goal setting helps you focus on what you want to achieve, and also helps you gain self-confidence. S.M.A.R.T. goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time framed.
Specific
Your goals should be specific rather than general. This means the goal is clear and you understand your objective. A specific goal will answer the five “Wh” questions:
• What. What do I want to accomplish?
• Why. Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal
• Who. Who is involved?
• Where. Identify a location (e.g., school)
• Which. Identify requirements and constraints
Measurable
You should be able to measure your progress toward reaching your goals. A measurable goal will answer questions such as:
• How much?
• How many?
• How will I know when my goal is accomplished?
Attainable
Your goals should be realistic and attainable. When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. An attainable goal will answer the question:
• How can the goal be accomplished?
Relevant
You should choose goals that matter. A bank manager’s goal to ‘Make 50 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by 2:00 pm’ may be specific, measurable, attainable, and time-bound, but isn’t very relevant. A relevant goal can answer yes to the question:
• Does this seem worthwhile?
Time framed
Your goals should have a time frame or target date. A time-framed goal will usually answer questions such as:
• When do I plan on working towards accomplishing this goal?
• What can I do this year?
• What can I do before I graduate?
• What can I do this semester?
One way to answer these questions is to select a timeframe for your goal:
• Short-term (this school year)
• Medium-term (before graduation)
• Long-term (after graduation)
What is an example of a S.M.A.R.T. goal?
Goal: I will raise my grade from 62% to a 70% in English/ Education 101
Timeframe: Short-term (this school year)
Action Plan:
1. Spend two hours each week preparing for English/ Education 101
quizzes and tests
2. Spend an extra hour each week to complete your English/ Education 101 homework
3. Attend writing center workshops offered by the center
4. Participate in class and ask questions
How can I learn from my goals?
Don’t forget, an essential part of goal setting is to self-assess and reflect on your goals.
As you work towards your goal, ask yourself the following questions:
• How could I modify this goal to make it more attainable?
• How could I modify this goal to make it more measurable?
• How is this goal important to me?
• Who can support me and help me achieve this goal?
• How could I use my skills and strengths to help me accomplish this goal?
• Do I need to add more steps to my action plan?
Once you have accomplished your goal, ask yourself the following questions:
• What did I do well?
• What am I most proud of?
• What barriers did I run into and how did I overcome them?
• What have I learned?
*Adapted from Attitude is Everything, by Paul J. Meyer.
What type of goal would you like to add to your list?
1. Buy a new smartphone/laptop/any other device before the end of the school year
• Decide on a budget
• Research available phones in your budget range
• Save $[AMOUNT] each month for 6 months
• Go online or to the mall and buy the phone
2. Improve your overall average to [%] this semester
• Find your learning style and some study tips
• Make a weekly schedule to complete my homework and study for tests/exams
• Find out where you’re falling short and find ways to overcome these short comings
3. Join a sports team this school year
• Decide which sport you enjoy the most
• Find out who the coach is for the team or if there is an intramural team
• Find out when tryouts are or who manages the intramural team
4. Volunteer for a cause that you support before graduation
• Google local volunteer
• opportunities
• Decide on one that I can contribute time towards
• Contact organization to learn more and sign up
5. Get a job as [a/an OCCUPATION] after graduation
• Determine occupations you may like
• Explore Work/ Occupations and favourite occupations that interest you
• Research the occupation requirements and potential post-secondary programs
• Plan your college courses so you are taking the right courses you need
• Talk to your counsellor, family or community members about your occupations of interest
6. Learn to speak [LANGUAGE] in the next 2 years
• Choose a language that you want to learn
• Research available resources, phone apps and courses
• Go to the library, download or signup for language lessons
• Find someone who already knows the language to speak with
7. Do yoga/go to a gym on a weekly basis to support my well-being
• Research nearby yoga studios/fitness club that have student rates
• Buy a yoga mat and yoga workout/gym clothes
• Sign up for a weekly yoga class
• Write in a journal about how the classes are impacting your mood
8. Record and reflect on your learning in a digital portfolio
• Decide if you wanted to use audio, video or written journals to record my learning
• Describe in detail 3 new things you learned each week
• Add a journal entry explaining two things you want to learn next week
• Include a reflection about how you can apply these skills to my future job
• Add this goal to your digital portfolio
9. Critically think and evaluate a website’s credibility when researching my topic for a class project
• Find the name of the author or organization who is responsible for the information and learn more about them
• Take note of the date that the information was published and check if it is from the last 2 years
• Check the information against 2-3 other sources to see if it matches
• Reflect on why it is important to use credible websites to research information