Setting SMART Goals – Worksheet

People often set very high goals for themselves and this is the reason they often fail to achieve them. While a person’s career path is one of the most structured graphs one can have in his life, it depends on how we plan things to make a smooth transition from one job responsibility to another.

In other words, a person needs to have a good goal to be able to achieve it. A good goal is the one that has five distinct features. They need to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely. These features make a goal a SMART goal.

• Specific − Your goal must be clearly definable, and explained.

• Measurable − Your goal can be expressed in empirical terms, as in days, hours, money invested, etc.

• Achievable − It is okay if your goal pushes you past your comfort zone but it must still be achievable.

• Relevant − Your goals must directly or indirectly address a need in your life. A goal that doesn’t solve a problem is not worth pursuing.

• Timely − The goal must be time-bound; there is no point in pushing a goal into the future as that decreases the drive and need to achieve it.

Is Your Goal SMART?

• Specific − What exactly do you want to achieve?

• Measurable − How will you know that you have achieved this goal?

• Achievable − Can you put in the effort, resources and money into achieving this goal? If no, then how are you planning to get them?

• Relevant − What issues in your life will be addressed when you achieve this goal?

• Timely − When will you achieve this goal?

What are the problems in your path?

Specific Action Steps

What steps need to be taken to get you to your goal?