Setting SMART goals

According to a University of Scranton study on New Year’s resolutions, only eight percent of people actually achieve their goals. So, what can we do to make sure that our goals are achievable? How can we set ourselves up for success? MindTools.com has revealed their Five Golden Rules for Setting Great New Year Career Goals. If you’re interested in finding out how people put this into practice, Kristy Davis, interim associate director in ASR IT, shared some of her own experience with setting SMART goals.

ASR personal perspective:
Kristy Davis, Interim Associate Director, ASR IT

“I set SMART goals all the time. One of my strengths, from a Strengths Finder assessment, was Achiever or a constant need to achieve something. So as an example, I can't go into my weekend without a plan. I set SMART goals for things I need to achieve while still enjoying some downtime. It might look something like this:

Specific: Get four things crossed off of my to do list, i.e. groceries, clean the bathrooms, walk the dog, go to gym, etc.

Measurable: Did I get food and supplies for the week? Did my bathroom get cleaned? Did I get the dogs out at least once when it wasn't snowing, freezing, or raining for exercise? Did I work out at least one day?

Attainable: I look at my commitments for the weekend and figure out the optimal time to achieve everything. Do I have too much on my plate that it won't get done?

For example, I get groceries first thing in the morning when the grocery store is least busy. Then I can come home and take the dogs for a walk because it has warmed up and/or before it gets too hot. If there is something that I know will take several hours I try to limit how many tasks I plan in my day so I don't feel guilty for not achieving all of my goals.

Relevant: These are all important things and if I don't do them over the weekend it adds stress to my already busy work week. So it is important I plan them accordingly.

Time-bound: I don't want to just go, go, go all weekend so I make sure there is time to relax and enjoy myself and allow for spontaneous things to occur.”