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

At Great Race we believe in dreaming big and thinking outside the square, how else would we be running a business where we get to be the Masters of Fun? We are not alone in wanting to keep improving our lives, business and service to others and if you’re reading this blog, you’re looking for change too.

Whether you are wanting to become more active, save to go on that holiday or increase your businesses profits- goal setting is key to creating change and achieving outcomes.

There are several techniques you can use to goal set and we highly recommend finding the right one for you. We follow the S.M.A.R.T principal in order to break down our big ideas and make them a reality.

S.M.A.R.T STANDS FOR SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ATTAINABLE, REALISTIC AND TIME-BOUND.

Specific

A specific goal has a major greater chance of being accomplished than a general one. In order to get really specific on what you are trying to achieve you can ask the five ‘W’ questions-

  • WHO is involved
  • WHAT do I want to achieve
  • WHERE does this take place
  • WHEN do I need to complete/achieve this by (or what is the schedule of actions)
  • WHY do I need to do this. For many of you the WHY is going to be your guiding motivator when facing obstacles with personal or professional change.

Measurable

In order to make your goal measurable, you need to break the goal down into steps that you track. You should ask yourself ‘how will I know if I have accomplished this goal?’

This may be more straightforward for some outcomes like exercising every day but can be applied across most of your desired outcomes.

For example if you want to double your income you can break your steps down into knowing how much you need to earn, how long you have to achieve this, how many hours it will take and what rates you need to charge.

Attainable

Attainable goals could sound like boring goals but this step really comes down to identifying what is important to you and the skills you need to acquire to achieve them. You could ask yourself what knowledge/skills/equipment do you have to achieve this goal and what do you need to acquire? You are able to make your goals attainable instead of aspiring for only what feels in reach.

Realistic

For a goal to be realistic it is about assessing the environment and premise of your goal and making sure it is within the realms of possibility. Dreaming of growing wings and flying is not physically possible with today’s science but who knows what decades in the future may hold.

You can ask ‘why is my goal meaningful?’, ‘is this the right time to pursue this goal?’, ‘is this goal aligned with my values?’ and ‘does this goal compete with other priorities in my life?’ By asking these questions you may believe growing wings is realistic, but perhaps this is not the best time to pursue this goal.

Time-Bound

Your goal becomes time-Bound when you give it a due date. Without a set timeframe, you lose your sense of urgency and don’t have a period by which to measure your actions. When we are designing new games we need to set a due date otherwise we could allow our day to day operations delay achieving our goals. You can set timeframes for when you will start working towards your goal, when you want to complete it and what you will do every day/week/month to get there.

They say ‘A goal without a plan is just a wish’ so you can use the S.M.A.R.T technique to turn your wishes into reality. You can review these goals at any time to make sure your actions are leading you to success. Contact us to see how Great Race can help you with your Corporate Strategy or celebrate your achievements.