SMART Goal Setting

SMART goal setting helps you achieve your goals through improving the very nature of them. By ensuring all goals follow the 5 SMART criteria, you can create better goals and have a better chance in meeting them.

The SMART criteria are:
 * Specific
 * Measurable
 * Achievable
 * Relevant
 * Time-based

Specific
Having specific goals helps make sure they're measurable and meaningful. If goals are too vague, it can be hard to know where to get started and how to track your progress.

Examples:
 * Instead of keep house clean, you could have don't leave dishes in the sink overnight.
 * Instead of get in shape, you could have go for a walk every day.
 * Instead of do well in school, you could have improve grades by 1 letter grade.

Measurable
It's hard to track progress on your goals if they aren't measurable. Having goals that can be measured in one way or another helps you see your progress and can be very motivating! It doesn't have to be a numerical or quantitative measure, either. Qualitative measures are still measures!

Examples:

Achievable
The goal has to not only be realistic, it must be realistic for ''you. ''Different people have different capabilities, and just because a goal is suitable for someone else doesn't mean it isn't too difficult or too easy for you. Don't be afraid to aim high, but it's best to start small so you don't lose motivation in the face of such a huge goal.

This can be done by breaking down big goals into smaller ones. If your goal is to run a 5k, you could divide it into small tasks, like "Research what is required to run a 5k," "Evaluate my current running ability," "Find a running program or running group," etc.

Relevant
This applies not only to the goal itself, but also in the way you measure it. Make sure the goal you're working toward is something that is tangible and important to you! "Make my bed every day" might be a good goal for many, but if you really, truly find you feel no better coming home to a made bed, skip that one. Find goals that matter to you.

Make sure the measures are appropriate. If your goal is "Get healthy," (which in itself is a little too vague), don't measure purely by weight. Try alternative measures to ensure you're getting the whole picture and not focusing on the wrong thing.

Time-based
Most goals should have some kind of time limit to keep us motivated and prevent stagnation. "Run a 5k by the end of the year" might be more motivating than "Run a 5k." Other goals can have time constraints that are recurring, such as "make my bed every day."