Smart and Smarter Goals – A Smart Goal Breakdown +Free Cheatsheet

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Mark Murphy the author of “Hard Goals” “hates” them. Brain Tracy likes them. But what are SMART Goals? Can they help you finally achieve your goals? Or are they just another hyped management tool? 

In our smart goal breakdown we’ll take a look at where they came from, how to make smart goals work for you and when it’s useful to set smart goals. And did you know there are even SMARTER Goals now? What’s up with that? This and more will be covered in the following post.

What are Smart and Smarter Goals – A Smart Goal Definition

The first time I ever encountered the acronym SMART was at university. when professors tried to teach us about the benefits of SMART Goal Setting for our studies.

So. what does SMART Goals Mean? There are multiple explanations to what the acronym SMART can stand for. Here is the most common one:

S          = Specific (where, who, what)

M        = Measurable (how many/much)

A         = Achievable/Attainable (possible?)

R         = Relevant (why, how does it help?)

T          = Timebound (when)

Later on, authors added additional elements, such as SMARTER2:  

E          = Evaluated (evaluation of the progress – where in the action                     plan are you?)

R         = Reviewed/Rewarded (lessons learned, feedback, reward)

The Origins of SMART Goals

I did a lot of research on where the term SMART Goals originated from for the smart goal breakdown. The truth is I didn’t find any conclusive evidence as to who really invented the term.

 

There seems to be a general consensus that the term was firstly used in the article “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives” published in 1981 in Spokane, Washington by George T. Doran, a consultant and former Director of Corporate Planning for Washington Water Power Company.1

In the article Doran explains how to write meaningful objectives:

“ […] when it comes to writing effective objectives, corporate officers, managers, and supervisors just have to think of the acronym SMART (p.36).”1

Doran’s original definition consisted of the following 5 elements:

Specific:                    target a specific area for improvement.

Measurable:            quantify, or at least suggest, an indicator of

        progress.

Assignable:              specify who will do it.

Realistic:                  state what results can realistically be achieved

       given available resources.

Time-related:         specify when the result can be achieved.

(Doran, 1981,p.36)

While these days it is believed that a SMART goal should include all 5 elements Doran explicitly explained that the suggested acronym doesn’t mean that every objective written will need all five criteria. Keeping it much more flexible.

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SMART Goals Examples

Now you probably wonder how a good  SMART goal looks like. Let’s check out some examples:  

BAD SMART GOAL EXAMPLES

GOOD SMART GOAL EXAMPLES

I’ll lose weight till the end of December.

 Not specific enough.

I’ll lose 2 kg of fat by the 31st of December.

 Be specific

I’ll write 50.000 words for my new book.

Smart Goal Breakdown Checkmark Until when?

I’ll write 50.000 words for my new book until the 1st of January.

Smart Goal Breakdown Checkmark Always give a time -limit.

I’ll watch 30% less Netflix by the 21st of October 2021.

Smart Goal Breakdown Checkmark Too complicated to track! Do you know what number 30% would equal?

I’ll watch a maximum of 1 hour of Netflix per day by the 21st of October 2021.

Smart Goal Breakdown Checkmark Make it as simple as possible and easy to track!

Set SMART Goals with The Goal Setting Workbook

The Goal Setting Workbook
Goal Setting Workbook

Buy the 30 Pages of Goal Setting Here!

How, Why, and When you Should Use SMART GOAL SETTING

How to SET, TRACK, and HIT your SMART GOALS - A SMART GOAL BREAKDOWN

 

“Only Action Creates Results. Words Are Cheap.“

 

Set Your Goal

  • Be as specific as possible. A common mistake is often that people are too unspecific. Read the examples again to check whether your goal is specific enough!
  • When making your goal measurable you have to find the right key performance indicator. A key performance indicator is a number that measures your performance.
  • Let us say you want to lose weight. Maybe the scale alone isn’t the right way to measure goal achievement, since you will also gain muscle mass. Figure out your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). When exactly is your goal achieved and how can you measure that? Need help finding your right indicator? Send us a message with the goal you try to achieve.
  • Is the goal achievable within the given time? You can still shoot for the stars, but you shouldn’t be discouraged, when you only hit a mountain. When you start with smaller goals, and you hit them you’ll get loads of motivation. Next increase the difficulty level. My personal experience is that when the goals are too big, I get discouraged or overwhelmed.
  • Make sure your goal is relevant. Does it support your long-term goals? I had the habit of studying everything when I was a student. Instead of focusing on exercising and focusing on the most relevant parts I would get lost in the details. Was that efficient? Sometimes we do stuff for the sake of doing something. Make sure to set relevant goals. The 80/ 20 Rule can help you with that.
  • Keep to the schedule!
  • Don’t be too harsh on yourself. Keep it flexible. That’s what the evaluation process is for.

Action Plan

We’ll explain action plans in more detail at a later point. But the most important steps are:

  1. Create a Before and After. (What’s the current situation – Where do you want to be?)
  2. Create Milestones (How did others get there?)
  3. Break Them Apart into Small Achievable Tasks
  4. Organize them into your Calendar
  5. Stick to it.

It doesn’t matter how awesome the action plan is. In the end whether you stick to it depends on your grit! Sometimes you just have to do stuff even thought it is hard. With determination, persistence, focus, stubbornness and discipline.

“Everything is hard before it is easy.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Emotional Management can help you with that! As does creating routines and habits.

Track and Evaluate the Progress

In order to figure out whether your Action Plan works you have to track the progress and evaluate your results.

  • Are your Action Steps getting you where you want to be?
  • Are you within your given Timeline?

You can track that with weekly, monthly yearly with Progress Reports.

Smart Goal Setting Worksheet – A Free Smart Goal Graphic

We’ve created a small goal-setting template for you to help you with setting Smart Goals. All you need to do is click on the picture and subscribe to our newsletter and you’ll get it into your inbox in no time! 😊

Here is a little preview:

Smart Goal Worksheet

The Criticism

Critics often mention the following negative aspects of SMART Goals:

  1. Inflexible: SMART Goals lack flexibility and therefore don’t work as well for long term goals that might change over time.
  2. Demotivating: Due to their strict character, smart goals don’t cause excitement instead demotivating.
  3. Stifles Creativity: As you have to follow certain steps and achieve a rigid goal there isn’t a lot of room for flexibility

When and when not to use SMART GOALS – Our Experience

So last but not least I’d like to give you a little review on our experience with SMART Goals in the form of a short Q and A:

Q: Do we think smart goals are useful?

A: Yes and no. They are great for short-term goals, but they are too inflexible to achieve our dreams. Their inflexible structure stifles motivation in the long term they don’t leave enough room for experimentation and fun.

Q: When would we recommend smart goals?

A: With simple manual tasks that don’t need creativity. Like preparing 10 packages for transport within 1 hour. For quantity goals, they are the best!  And when you are a numbers person.

Q: Why do smart goals fail?

A:

  1. When we set our goals to high.
  2. When we aren’t really into the goal.
  3. Too many goals at once.
  4. When our action steps are too difficult to achieve.

 

The most important part is that you set goals and that you work towards them. Create your own goal achievement system that works for you and get started.

 

Sources:

1 Doran, George T. “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management’s goals and objectives.” Management Review 70.11 (Nov. 1981): 35. Business Source Corporate. EBSCO . 15 Oct. 2008.

 

2 Yemm, Graham (2013). Essential Guide to Leading Your Team: How to Set Goals, Measure Performance and Reward Talent. Pearson Education. pp. 37–39. ISBN 978-0273772446. Retrieved 2013-07-05.

 

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Love from Germany,

 Carina and Julia