Want to change something in your life but don't know how to go about it? The good old SMART model can be helpful.

SMART is an acronym consisting of the words: specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and timed. Each of them represents an important tip for planning: a goal should be detailed, described in a way that allows to measure progress, also by describing actions that will be underaken, set up with realistic expectations and also time-bound.

The SMART model itself might seem old, worn-out, or cliché; for some, in the era of KPIs and other interesting metrics, it may even seem unfashionable. We’ve all heard of it, so why bother reminding ourselves... and yet, it possesses the same quality as all other trendy acronyms and concepts—it answers the questions: what exactly do we want to do, how, by when, and is it realistic? These are key issues if we want to achieve our goals.

The SMART model can be useful in planning both professional and personal goals. Thanks to it, it will be easier for you to pay attention to things that are important in planning and define them in such a way that setting and achieving goals is pleasant (as much as possible) and ends in success.

So, how should you plan to increase the chances of success? What should you pay attention to? What should the goal be like?

Specific

Let's start with the fact that a goal should be specific. The first word of the SMART model - specific - is responsible for a detailed description of the behavior you want to introduce or the action that is meant to bring you closer to your goal. The more precisely you describe the desired behavior, the easier it will be for you to monitor your progress.

At the same time, it is worth emphasizing that the goal is not to be detailed to a fault (e.g., I will learn Python on Mondays between 9:03 PM and 9:37 PM), but rather to be detailed enough so that we can easily determine whether we have completed the next steps toward the goal or not.

Defining the goal

If you define your goal in a general way, e.g., "I want to lose weight," you roughly know what you want to achieve at the end of the road, but you still don't know what steps you want to take. If you tell yourself that you want to lose 15 kg, it will be easier for you to choose the tools for action, e.g.:

• weighing yourself once a week (as part of monitoring progress)
• getting basic tests done that might be useful for a consultation with a dietitian
• making an appointment with a dietitian
• keeping a food diary (writing down what and at what time you eat)

A well-defined goal will state how much you want to lose and at what pace (e.g., 15 kg at an average of 1 kg per week).

Other examples of defining a goal:

• Goal: improving my time management.
• Specific goal definition: every morning I will spend 15 minutes planning the day's duties, and in the evening - 10 minutes summarizing the day.

Or:

• Goal: changing jobs.
• Specific goal definition: I will update my CV, think about which position I want to apply for, write down 2-3 positions that interest me, and then for two weeks, I will spend 40 minutes every day browsing job offers and sending CVs / tailoring my CV to the requirements of the offer.

Know your capabilities

We often make quite optimistic assumptions when it comes to achieving goals. Sometimes reality (the awareness that time isn't elastic) is obscured by emotions (we want to achieve the goal so much). Other times - it's just a common human difficulty in predicting how long something might take.

Therefore, it's worth taking this into account when setting goals. Above all - learn from goals we haven't achieved (instead of getting discouraged), and then - make current goals more realistic in light of the knowledge gained.

If, for example, you are unable to find time every day to send CVs, you can agree with yourself to do it 3-4 times a week, e.g., on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and possibly Saturdays. In the case of exercise, you can decide that for a month you will exercise twice a week (Mondays, Wednesdays) for 30 minutes, starting between 6:00 PM and 6:30 PM. Such an action will take less of your time during the week, while simultaneously bringing you closer to your goal.

Not to mention that once you overcome the initial resistance, gain experience, and your brain realizes that you like what you're doing or it gives you satisfaction—it will be more inclined toward fruitful cooperation.

Measurable

If, while formulating your SMART goal, you made sure it was specific, you have likely also defined the criteria that make it measurable.

When losing weight, you will measure your progress by weighing yourself, recording the results, and comparing them to your assumptions. In the case of exercise, it will be another 30 minutes of exercise performed on a specific day, or - in case of job search - spending the previously set 40 minutes browsing offers and sending CVs.

By defining how often and how much time you devote to a given action, you can determine whether something has been done or not. The effect we would like to achieve at the very end is important, but it is not crucial. You probably won't have a miracle physique after two weeks, just as you probably won't find a new job quickly. However, taking action itself and building good habits is what's important.

Why do I claim that the effect of the action is not crucial? Because as time passes, when the initial enthusiasm fades and the expected effect hasn't occurred yet or appears - in our estimation - too slowly, thoughts of giving up on the goal may appear. Then, focusing on the fact that we are acting and rewarding ourselves for that action will be helpful.

By the way, also think about which method of measurement is closer to you (and is better for your goal). You can measure progress by the time spent performing a given activity or by measuring quantitatively, e.g., focusing on the number of CVs sent.

Action – oriented

Action is a key element of change. Your action. It is you who exercises, you who sends CVs, limits time spent in front of the computer, or changes the composition of your diet (and undertakes learning to cook healthier 🙂). Therefore, the next step in SMART is an action-oriented step.

Think about the context of your action. How much time do you have to pursue the goal during the day? What actions can you take, and which ones do you fear, feel like avoiding, or feel you don't have the resources to implement? Look at your motivation - is it your own motivation, or are you doing something that others expect of you?

Consider also how well the chosen goal fits into the situation of the people you are connected with daily. If you plan 3-hour workouts every day but have a small child at home and a full-time job, such a goal can cause a lot of trouble in family relationships or at work. Remember to make sure your goal fits into your daily obligations - so it isn't realized at the expense of other matters important to you.

It is also worth distinguishing situations where a specific goal may negatively affect, for example, your muscles or your family system, from situations where more time is needed to get used to an action (more time for recovery when just starting to train) or when the goal isn't important to your loved ones or is a goal that touches them in some way (e.g., they would like to take better care of their health, but it isn't high on their list of priorities, and seeing your actions, they start to feel, for example, guilt and look for a way to make it disappear - potentially by trying to stop you on your path to change).

Realistic

The difficulty in setting achievable goals and the difficulty in planning can stand in the way of setting a realistic goal. Sometimes we want to achieve more than we are currently capable of; other times we plan more tasks without predicting that something unexpected might drop into our schedule. Therefore, it's worth trying to "hack" reality.

The first "hack" is to plan less. If we want to do something every day, maybe it's worth starting with 2-3 times a week. If we want to exercise for an hour, it's worth starting with 30 minutes. For me, "slimming down" a goal by half already yields quite good results, allowing me to enjoy small successes and build a new habit.

The second is using those moments when we are waiting for something (riding the bus, waiting for a phone call, the moment after we've put dinner in the oven and are waiting for it to "bake") either to take steps toward the goal (e.g., searching for job offers) or to handle other matters we can take care of, which can later "free up" space for action (e.g., research regarding balcony loungers or planning the next day at work).

What can also help is reaching back to previous successes - both small and large - and seeing what we did that led to that success. What skills do we already have? What resources? What from our past experiences can help us achieve our goal? What did we do differently then? How did we overcome obstacles?

Such a mindful look will help bring out resources - and these can help in a better, more realistic - and personalized - way of defining a goal.

Timed

One of the difficulties I encountered in work before I moved into IT was the lack of deadlines. When the person commissioning a text told me they needed it "as soon as possible, but without excessive haste," I just thought I would escape somewhere until someone sets clear goal.

The situation was completely different when preparing lectures for a post-secondary school. Then I knew that if I didn't prepare slides for the next class, I wouldn't be able to fill the void during the session in any way. Therefore, I take this part of the SMART model particularly to heart - defining action in time.

Setting an end date for a given action (or a date for evaluation to see if any adjustment in the plan is needed) helps us commit to the goal and determine either the state of its implementation or the final results. It's a pretext to agree with yourself that during a given time you are focusing on this one matter, it is high on the list, and you are dedicating a large part of your energy to it.

Without a set date, you can get lost along the way, get distracted by other goals, or decide that a better time to continue the action will come someday. The end date of a challenge helps in motivating oneself to act.

In this context, it is good to remember a certain, but not excessive, flexibility. If I give myself 5 weeks for a given training cycle, I can have a few days of "slippage" within the exercises (e.g., due to injury). If they appear I can reflect on their presence in terms of what I can do in the future to avoid such a situation. On the other hand, without any date in the back of my mind, it will be easier for me to procrastinate taking action until tomorrow. After all, a one-day delay won't affect anything, right? Neither will the next one... or the next... And then we put off the goal until... never. As the ancients said - ad calendas graecas!

And finally - a summary of using the SMART model

Regardless of whether you achieve your goal in full or realize "only" part of it, you have some work behind you that is worth summarizing.

Ask yourself - what was helpful to you in acting, what resources did you discover, what decisions were helpful? What competencies and skills of yours influenced the achievement of the goal?

By answering these questions, it will be easier for you to take on a challenge once again, better adapted to your capabilities.

The SMART model is not always convenient to use. Some people have such intrinsic motivation for action that they don't need help defining a goal. However, it's worth testing this type of solution at least once in your life to have it in your back pocket as an additional resource.

Additional materials:

Inspiring TEDx recording.