How to Set Smart Goals

How to Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals

(And Accomplish What You Want in Life)

Chance are, you have dreams, a to-do list, and maybe even a rough list of goals. Or maybe you're a bit more organized and you have your goals divided up into days, weeks, months, and years. Even better, you've managed to cross off some of these goals because you've already accomplished them and you're heading on towards the next task at hand. If so, that's great.

But, have you ever had goals and dreams that you have written down but never ended up crossing off, even to this day? If you have problems achieving what you want to accomplish in life, learning about how to set S.M.A.R.T. goals can help you finally make your dreams and goals come true. 

What are S.M.A.R.T Goals?

Significant

Manageable

Advantageous

Rewarding

Timely

What does this mean in terms of accomplishing goals?

• Your goals should be Significant in that they will solve a problem, add substance to your life, or otherwise aid you positively in some way. 

Ask yourself questions like:

"Will this goal help me in the future?" 

"Is this goal relevant to attaining my long-term goals?"

"Is this goal something I really want or need to accomplish?"

"Will this goal be a big help to me if I complete it?"
"Is this goal going to serve a purpose that will benefit me?"

If the answers to these questions are all "yes," you have a significant goal that you should pursue. 

• Making your goals Manageable is important; Setting unrealistic, unattainable, or unhelpful goals will only serve to discourage you, waste time better spent, and distract you from what really matters.

When thinking of how to make your goals manageable, ask yourself these questions:

"Do I have the time, resources, and abilities/skills to complete this goal?"

"Is this goal realistic in regards to what I wish/need to accomplish?"

"Can I pursue this goal in addition to the rest of my tasks and responsibilities, without causing undo stress and over-burdening myself?"

If your answers are all "yes," you have a manageable goal. 

• Advantageous goals are those that will advance you, your career, your health, or anything else you with to improve in your life. These are the goals you set in order to reap results and move forward in your objectives.

To figure out if a goal you're setting is advantageous, ask yourself questions like:

"Will this help me boost my finances, sales, skills, relationships, etc.?"

"Will this have a positive impact on my life when I complete it?"

"Will this goal help to improve me and my life situation upon completion?"

If your answers are "yes," your goal with be of advantage to you.

• Rewarding goals can be like your advantageous goals, but rewarding goals are more applicable to your well-being than advantageous to your status in your career, family, and life. Rewarding goals are meant to be goals that motivate you to succeed and add essential meaning to your life. These can be goals that relate to self-improvement, relationships, health(mental, physical, and emotional), spirituality, and the like.

If you want to know if the goals you are setting are rewarding, ask questions like:

"Will completing this goal make me happier or healthier?"

"Will fulfilling this goal boost my self-esteem/confidence?"

"Will working on this goal improve my relationships with others?"

"Can this goal improve my spirituality or outlook on life?"

If you said "yes," your goals are rewarding 

• Timely goals are those that you will finish given a set deadline or self-imposed completion date. 

Ask yourself these questions if you want to know if your goals are achievable in a given time-frame:

"Can I complete this goal by [set date] or in a certain [time frame]?"

"When broken down into smaller goals to be completed in a (example: week-by-week) basis, will my larger goal be finished by the deadline?"

"Do I have enough time in my schedule to pursue this goal?"

If the answers are all "yes," then you have enough time to go after your goal(s). 

Once you set S.M.A.R.T. goals, you are on track to completing the most important objectives in your life and you will be well on your way to a better life. 

When pursuing your goals you will want to review the questions asked here and plan your schedule accordingly. Take time and your other responsibilities into consideration while you do this and you will discover that once-impossible goals are quite achievable. 

How to Procrastinate on Procrastination

How to Procrastinate on Procrastination: Reasons we Procrastinate & How to Avoid it

We all have lists of things we need or want to do and deadlines we should or would like to complete them in. How often is it that you fold that laundry after it's done instead of waiting until the dryer empties itself piece-by-piece by becoming a temporary dresser? It's a rare thing and we all know how much our lives would improve if we could just learn how to stop procrastinating.

Instead of checking off tasks from our to-do list and completing goals when we're supposed to do them, we talk ourselves out of our goals and do things we'd much rather be doing, like watching Netflix or browsing social media. But, how do we expect things to get accomplished if we're self-sabotaging ourselves before we even start? 

• The first thing we need to do is take a step back and think about why we're procrastinating in the first place. 

We know what need to do and in what time frame it would be best to complete these tasks in. Time is a huge problem because we all seem to think that we have never-ending tomorrows in which to accomplish our tasks in. I've continuously put off assignments until "tomorrow" up until the deadline and then stress out because I wasted so much time (that I could've spent creating a decent report) on activities of little to no importance to me. 

We waste so much time on tomorrows when we could just put our foot down and start today. After three weeks of adding "write in my blog" in my weekly goals, I'm finally here writing in my blog. If I had done what I wanted to every week for the past three weeks, I'd have three blog posts and no guilt over wasted time. 

Respecting ourselves and our time is a huge part of overcoming procrastination. 

Time Management is a beneficial skill to learn. Using a  calendar, planner, a spreadsheet, your phone, or sheet of paper on which you can record and keep track of your goals and tasks (with the deadlines and time periods allotted to each) is an underestimated habit and  tool for overcoming procrastination. 

If a task doesn't have a set deadline I highly recommend spacing goals out in terms of days, weeks, months, etc. Break up big goals into steps and give them deadlines too, then work your way up. Keep track of everything you want to do and work towards ticking these tasks off of the list. Make a game out of it. Reward yourself when you complete things and you'll get a lot more done. For me, just completing all of my goals for a given day is satisfaction enough, but if you need to bribe yourself then do it.

Sometimes you have to just make yourself do things. If you're like me, you're often plagued with nagging thoughts of all of the things you should or want to do, but you just don't seem to want to do it. It can always be done later, right? 
It is so easy to fall into the trap of letting tasks and goals slide until a later time, but why not just do what you need to when you think of doing it? Just think about how great you'll feel by accomplishing your tasks as you think of them, rather than spending all day musing on how great it would be to do this or that in the near future. If you get that load of laundry done or write that report now you're free to spend the rest of your day doing other tasks or pursuits that you want to do.

• Fear of Failure. Have you ever ever had a project that seemed so impossible that you didn't know where to start or how you would complete it on time? Have you been so scared you wouldn't do things right or that you will be unsuccessful in your pursuits?

If you have the mindset that your endeavors are likely to fail or that they are too difficult to complete, procrastination can be the result. Putting your projects off until a later date and telling yourself that you will figure them out then is likely to happen unless you focus and cut these big projects down into more manageable pieces. 

Would you rather write a whole essay in one evening, right before the day it's due? Or does it sound easier to spread the paper out for the two weeks you're given, working on a thesis one day, an outline the next, and then a beginning, a middle, and an ending until you have a well-written and thought out composition? Breaking down intimidating undertakings into small goals to complete over time is a lot easier than facing a monster of a goal in one undertaking. 

• As odd is it may seem, the fear of success can impede progress and cause procrastination. By accomplishing more, often more is expected and this can be a roadblock to progress for some.

Don't be afraid to succeed because you will inevitably have more expected of you. As you achieve your goals and jump hurdles in life, you build resilience and can take on even more than you ever thought possible. It is a freeing thing to encounter obstacles in life and fulfill them; you will open doors to new possibilities and discover in yourself a determination to do even more. 

• Motivation is a drive that is ever so fleeting and there are hundreds to thousands of quotes and articles out there about how to find and maintain it. Sometimes we find ourselves without the drive to complete our obligations and nothing we tell ourselves seems to kick-start our ambition. 

I've found that reflecting on why I'm doing the task at hand is a huge motivation for me. Think about how you feel when you get that essay done or finally complete that chore and you might just find your ambition to start & complete it. 

Listening to music that gets you inspired and pumped up is a great way to build up the enthusiasm to take on your to-do list. Put on music that invigorates you and start tackling your calendar. You'll find that you can have fun while you're doing things you otherwise don't feel like doing.

Recite affirmations and read quotes to lift your motivation. While it might not seem like much, just repeating a mantra to yourself can go a long way in attaining and retaining inspiration. 

• Disinterest is often a reason for procrastination; If you don't have an interest in something or if it bores you, you will most likely put it off for as long as possible. 

A way to overcome this is to get this task done first. If it is something you find especially lackluster, listen to music while you do it or think of a reward to give yourself after you tackle it. Practice a little bribery on yourself. This can turn a boring assignment into something that you want to complete in order to claim a nice little bonus. 

• Lack of knowledge, skills, or materials. If you find that the cause of your procrastination is due to lack of skills or materials to pull it off, work on building up the knowledge you need in order to set into motion what you're doing. 

Read books, listen to podcasts, watch video tutorials, or take formal classes in whatever it is you need to gain competence in and then tackle your dreams & goals. 

If you lack the materials, remember that when there is a will there is a way. See if you can borrow whatever it is that you need or buy from second-hand stores. What you need will come to you and allow you to undertake anything you desire. 

• Excuse-making hinders productivity and and gives rise to procrastination. How many times have you told yourself that you're too tired, too this, or too that?

If you want to accomplish your dreams in goals in life then there are no excuses you can make to justify procrastinating on what you need to do in order to aspire. Replace your excuses with "I cans" and "I wills" and tackle your ambitions. 

If you are a victim of procrastination and you want to live a new a productive life free of "laters" and "tomorrows", it all starts with you. Find the reason behind your procrastination and resolve to conquer it. 

"You can have results or excuses, not both."-Unknown

Procrastinate on procrastination. I believe in you: If I can do it, so can you!