Setting SMART Goals for Success

Most of us have goals we’d like to achieve: save money, get healthier, exercise more, spend more time with the kids.

However, a lot of us struggle to achieve these goals or at least, struggle to feel like we were success at them without spinning our wheels. We’re often left feeling like we did something wrong and may struggle to get back on track.

One reason this cycle happens is because we’re often setting goals for a specific outcome, without thinking of the journey to get there, where we’re starting from, or barriers that may arise along the way.

SMART goals help us to breakdown these desired outcomes into smaller, more manageable tasks that we need to complete in order to move us forward, while understanding why these steps matter in the bigger picture.

What does SMART stand for?

S- Specific: What exact action are we trying to accomplish? Who do we need for support? Where will we do it? What tools do we need to assist?

M- Measurable: How are we measuring our success and effort? Quantity or quality?

A- Action (or Achievable): Is it a task that you can fits into your desired outcome? Can you see how it provides a benefit?

R- Realistic (or Relevant): Are you capable of doing this task as much, as often, or as well as you plan at this moment in time? Is there background work needed to be done to complete it? How does it differ from what you are currently doing?

T- Time: How long will you work on this action before you reevaluate it? Too short and you may not gather enough data about its success; too long and you may get bored, frustrated, busy, or forget the details.

As you can see, there are a few things to consider when setting your goals. Let’s dig a little deeper into each step:

Specific

This is the “W”’s: Who, What, When, Where, Why. You may not address all of them in your smaller SMART goals but having an idea in mind of what you’ll need in these categories can help guide you over the longer term.

Measurable

How will you determine if you’ve met the goal? Some things will be quite easy to measure while other goals might have a more subjective result.

Action

The task you are setting out to accomplish.

Realistic

Does this task make sense for you? Is the timing right? The difficulty? The frequency? Do you have the supports in place that you need already, or do we need to set aside time and effort to do that first?

Time

When it comes to nutrition and health goals with our clients, we often suggest breaking this down into much smaller check-ins along the way. For many, it’s extremely hard keeping up the motivation when results are difficult to measure frequently and often intangible for a long time. Life also has a way of throwing you curve balls, so it’s easy to fall off track when you’re busy tackling all the things that pop up unexpectedly.

So, what does a SMART goal look like?

Here are some examples:

1) Add a serving of fruit to breakfast 3 days a week for the next 2 weeks.

The background work: By adding a piece of fruit, I am increasing my fibre intake to help manage my cholesterol levels. I sometimes am running late in the morning so 3 days lets me start without as much pressure. I like fruit but I only shop once a week, so I will start with fruit that doesn’t spoil quickly or use frozen. I’ll reevaluate in 2 weeks to see if I can increase how many days I want to aim for next.

2) I will cook one new healthy recipe a week.

The background work: New recipes take a lot of mental energy so I will pick a day that is less stressful to cook. I am not good at substituting ingredients so I will pick a simple recipe with mostly things I already buy, a couple days after grocery day. I will put it on the calendar so my house knows what is for dinner ahead of time.

So, how can we make it easier?

Take a few minutes every few weeks to sit down and review your calendar. Deciding to learn how to run the week before Christmas may be setting yourself up to struggle if you tend to say yes to all social events, so be fair with yourself. Small steps consistently will often move you farther along with less pain points than a big step done infrequently through the year.

Other considerations:

• Is there anything you can plan for or supports you need to put into place for help?

• Do you need to do anything in order to meet this goal?

• What barriers may arise?

• If something happens, who can you ask for help?

• How often will you check-in with yourself or with your support systems?

Keep in mind: There is no one right way to set goals, just the way that works best for you, so don’t let it hold you back from getting started if it doesn’t fit in perfectly to this format. We also see lots of clients enjoy Habit Stacking so check it out to see if that’s a better fit.

if you need some support, just reach out! We’re always happy to help you tweak your goals to get started!