How To Make SMART Goals

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Everybody continually talks about setting goals, to-do lists, and other measures to increase productivity and performance. When making goals, you should ask: what makes a quality goal? Are there a better ways than others to make goals? How can goal setting be more effective? The best way that I have found to make goals is by using SMART goals.

This is a specific way to make goals that will allow you to have a measurable goal that can be tracked. Also, it gives a goal some way to be measurable and quantitative. Now, whether you are making a personal goal or a career goal, this method is the sure-fire way to keep yourself on track.

SMART goals are a goal that is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely, or SMART for short.

Specific

A specific goal is a goal that points to some concrete and specific action. An example is I want to learn Spanish. This is not a SMART goal in and of itself, but the specific part is that you want to learn Spanish. If you said you wanted to learn a language, this is too vague. Also, you can make this goal more specific as you will see through the rest of the explanation.

Measurable

So the measurable component is, does your goal have aspects that will allow you to measure your progress. In our goal, I want to learn Spanish, you will want to be able to measure your progress. Can you measure your progress? Of course, and this can be done by the number of words you have learned. So you will want a component that will specify needing to measure the amount of words you have learned.

Attainable

Is learning Spanish an attainable goal? Well to learn Spanish is broad, but to learn Spanish to a conversational level in 1 year is a little more specific. The question is, is this attainable? If you can make a goal attainable by placing more details in the goal itself it will become more attainable. By practicing Spanish for at least 30 minutes a day I can learn Spanish in a year. If this is attainable then you can say it is attainable.

Realistic

Is learning Spanish a realistic goal? Of course. Learning a language is something anybody can learn. Knowing this you know that learning Spanish is realistic. Now learning Spanish to a native level in 1 month may not be realistic, but let’s keep the goal to something simple such as learning Spanish.

Timely

If a goal is timely, then it has a time period in which to be accomplished. If you want to be conversational in Spanish in 1 year, which means you need to know 2,000 words, this is time bound. This goal is actually the SMART goals you are working to formulate.

The SMART goal is that you want to be conversational in Spanish in one year by learning 2,000 words. This is a specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and a timely goal. By using this metric you can create goals which you are able to accomplish.

Good luck and good selling!

How To Create A Detailed Plan

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Creating a detailed plan does not need to be difficult.

Being detail oriented and organized are valuable on, but this does not come naturally to everybody.

Attention to detail and organization are beneficial when planning for a project. Projects can become overwhelming and go much longer than expected if not planned in detail.

This is why there needs to be a detailed plan.

The big question is how to develop and stick to the plan.

We are going to discuss how to develop and execute a detailed plan for projects. Use this process to plan for all your future projects.

Who Is The Project For?

The first step in a detailed plan is to identify who the project is for. Is the project for a client, your boss, or for a family member.

Answering this questions will dictate how you identify the project scope. As everybody’s needs are different, this will help identify the right goals.

Why Does The Market Need The Project?

In a detailed plan, we need to identify why the project needed. Is the project for the market, and so you need to define the solution the project is providing?

Or, is the project for your company and so you need to identify the solution internally?

This is essential, because once you can identify the needs of the project you can develop the rest of the process. The need will allow you to identify the solution to solve and how to provide value.

What Is The Project Timeline?

Develop a timeline for the project.

When is the final project due?

Once this is identified, then you can create different milestones. Milestones are essential so that you can stay on track to meet a deadline.

Also, it helps in breaking the larger project goal into simpler more manageable tasks. This will assist in continuing to move the project forward.

Who Is The Competition?

When developing a project you want to know the competition.

Who else is doing what you are trying to do?

If you are providing a solution, are there current solutions in the market?

If so, how can you better them?

Also, if there are others doing your project, then there is no sense in reinventing the wheel. Look to others for how to accomplish the goal, and then make the solution better.

Why Are You Different?

Defining why you are different is essential. If there is no difference then there is not much point to do the project.

Define your differences and why your project is needed. This will clearly focus why you are trying to do this particular project.

Also, the differentiation will become your competitive advantage when the project is complete.

What Is The End Goal?

Start from the end of the project. Define what the end goal and work backwards from there.

This will give you an idea of what you are trying to accomplish. Then, you can define the other goals along the way. The end goal can come from a curiosity or an observation, but you want to have a reason to begin a project.

Building a detailed plan can ensure the success of a project, product or startup. Take the time to plan, as this can become a predictor of success.

Good luck and good selling!