S.M.A.R.T. Goals Workbook€¦ · S.M.A.R.T. Goals Workbook 3 Statement of Purpose As the title suggests, this is a workbook. More specifically, it is a workbook you can use to learn

S.M.A.R.T.GoalsWorkbook

ByDr.RichardFeenstra

August2016


www.decisionskills.com 2

TableofContentsI. StatementofPurpose…………………………………………………………3

II. EightShirtsandaLaptop……………………………………………………3III. HowtoUsethisWorkbook…………………………………………………3IV. TheS.M.A.R.TModel…………………………………………………………...4V. Specific……………………………………………………………………………….4VI. Measurable…………………………………………………………………………5VII. Actionable…………………………………………………………………………..7VIII. Relevant……………………………………………………………………………...9IX. TimeBound………………………………………………………………………10X. Summary…………………………………………………………………………..12XI. AdditionalMaterial…………………………………………………………..13XII. GuideandWorksheets……………………………………………………..14



StatementofPurposeAsthetitlesuggests,thisisaworkbook.Morespecifically,itisaworkbookyoucanusetolearnaboutandharnessthepowerofSMARTgoals.Still,tellingyouwhatitis,isdifferentthantellingyouthepurposeitserves.Whyshouldyoucommittimeandresourcestolearnhowtousethisworkbook?Thisworkbookwascreatedtohelpyoubetterstructureyourgoalssothatyoucanaccomplishmoreinlesstime,sothatyouaremoreefficient,morefocused,andmoreproductive.Itisthepurposeofthisshortbooktoprovideyouaprovenwaytoachievemoresuccess.Beforemovingon,Iwanttopointoutthatthisisnotnecessarilyaneasyprocess.Theterm“work”ispartofworkbook.WhenIfirststartedusingtheSMARTformattopursuemygoalsittookmeseveralhoursthatturnedintoafewdaystoreallyworkthroughwhichgoalsweremostrelevant.ThenittookmemoretimetofigureouthowIwantedtogoaboutachievingsuccess,establishingmysub-goalsandmynextactions.Afewyearslater,Inowreviewmygoalsonceaweekanditonlytakesme30minutes,nomorethananhourtoupdatemyprogress.EightShirtsandaLaptopAttheendof2011,Idecidedtoselleverythingandliveamobilelifestyle.SincethenIhavelivedinColombia,Ecuador,Peru,Vietnam,thePhilippines,andIndia.In2015,IspentacoupleofmonthstravelingthroughGreece,Italy,Spain,andPortugal.MycurrentadventurehastakenmetoChinafor4months.Ihavenowvisitedover30countriesandmylistcontinuestogrow.Ithasbeenatremendousexperience.Since2011,Ihavelivedoutofacarry-onbagandapersonalbag.Mycarry-onhasmyeightshirts,andmypersonalbagIcall,“TheOffice.”Travelhasnotbeenmyonlygoal.Asaneducationalpsychologist,Inowhaveover20,450studentsfrom164countriesaroundtheworld.IhavelearnedSpanishandhavesuccessfullylearnedseveralnewskillsetsthathavehelpedmegrowbothpersonallyandprofessionally.Sofarthisyear,Ihaveread16books.Thisworkbookwasasmall,short-termgoalaccomplishedusingSMART.WhilecertainlySMARTisnottheonlywaytoachievewhatyouwant,ithasdefinitelyworkedforme.Andwhilecertainlysuccessisarelativeconcept,Ihopemystoryisatleastslightlyinspiringforanyonethatwantstoachievemoreinlesstime.HowtoUsethisWorkbookIfyouarenotfamiliarwithSMARTgoals,thenIsuggestreadingtheworkbookfromstarttofinish.Oncefinished,usetheworksheetstoestablishyourgoalsstep-by-step.Ontheotherhand,ifyouarealreadyfamiliarwiththeSMARTmodel,evenifthemodelyouusedisadifferentvariationthantheonepresentedhere,youcan



probablygostraighttotheworksheetswhileusingtheworkbookmoreasareference.TheS.M.A.R.T.ModelGeorgeT.Doran,isgenerallycreditedwiththeoriginaldevelopmentoftheSMARTmodelina1981paperthathepublishedinthejournal“ManagementReview”,titled"There'saS.M.A.R.T.WaytoWriteManagement'sGoalsandObjectives".Intheoriginalversion,DorandefinedSMARTas:

1. Specific:targetaspecificareaforimprovement.2. Measurable:quantify,oratleastsuggest,anindicatorofprogress.3. Assignable:specifywhowilldoit.4. Realistic:statewhatresultscanrealisticallybeachieved.5. Time-related:specifywhentheresultcanbeachieved.

Sincetheoriginalformatawiderangeofothervariantshavesurfaced.Themostcommonusethe‘A’asachievableandsomeversionsextendthemodeltoincludean‘E’andanadditional‘R’toformSMARTERgoals.Thesecond‘R’ismostoftenusedtorefertoresources,askingtheindividualtoconsidertowhatextenttheresourcesareavailabletoachievethegoal.Inthisworkbook,aversionofSMARTisusedthataddressestherealitythatinlifewemostoftenareinpursuitofmultiplegoals,notasinglegoalinisolation.Inordertoaddressthisaspectofgoalsetting,theformatdiscussedis:

1. Specific:bepreciseinwhatyouwanttoachieve.2. Measurable:quantifyperformanceandoutcomes.3. Actionable:statenextactionsandmilestones.4. Relevant:determinepriorities.5. TimeBound:developfeedbackloopsandtimelines.

SpecificManytimeswhenpeopleareasked,“Whatareyourtopgoalsinlife?”Commonresponsesincludetobehealthy,wealthy,happy,totraveltheworld,ortowritethenextgreatnovel.Whiletheseresponsesaregoals,theyarenotspecific.Infact,theyaresogeneralthattheyaremoreappropriatelydefinedasvisionsofsomementalpictureofanidealfuturestate.Andwhileitisgoodtohavevision,researchhasshownwhenitcomestoactualachievementofagoal,beingspecificisimportant.Inover400laboratoryandfieldstudies,ithasbeendemonstratedrepeatedlythatspecific,challenginggoalsleadtoahigherlevelofachievementthaneasygoalsthatarevagueorabstract,e.g.tellingapersonto“doone'sbest.”Theunderlyingtheoryisthatwhenagoalisspecific,thisprovidesclarity,helpingwhenitcomesto



mentallyconstructingaplanforsuccessandprovidingmotivationforsomeindividuals.Inbeingspecific,youneedtodefineyourgoalsintermsofthepreciseresultyouwanttoachieve.Ifyoucannotbeexact,thenatleastarange.Forinstance,whatdoesitmeantohaveagoaltobehealthyorwealthy?Thesearesubjectivegoalsthatlackdefinition.Isbeingamillionaireevenconsideredwealthyanymore?Whatabouthealth?Formost,beinghealthymeansbeingcapableofacertainphysicalactivitysuchasrunningamarathonorbeingacertainweight.Therefore,ifyourvisionistobehealthy,setagoallikeruntwomilesinunder15minutesorgetyourbodymassindex(BMI)totwenty.Generallyspeaking,themorespecificyoucanmakeagoalthebetter.Themorespecific,theeasieritbecomestoestablishotheraspectsofthegoal.Thelessspecificyourgoals,themoredifficultitwillbetomeasuresuccess,todeterminetheactionsyouneedtotake,tofigureouthowonegoalrelatestoanotherandtoestablishtimeboundaries.MeasurableThisisarguablymyfavoritepartofgoalsettingandanareawhereIthinkitiseasyto get off track by establishingmeasurements that are less than helpful. In fact, Ithinkinourdigitalworldgettingofftrackiseasierthananyothertimeinhistory.Themostcommonerror Isee isestablishingmeasurementsthat trackresults,butnotperformance. I think in order to obtain thebest results you should try touseboth.Thesecondmostcommonerrorisallowingthewayyoudecidetomeasuretodrive your goal instead of the goal driving theway youmeasure. Last, I want tocovertheconceptoftriangulation,discussingwhenandwhyyoumightwanttousemultiplemeasurements.Outcomesvs.PerformanceAsimpleexampleisthecommongoaltoloseaspecificamountofweightaspartofaresolutiontoliveahealthylife.Forpurposesoftheexamplelet'ssayyoudeterminethatyoucouldstandtolose10pounds.Thisprovidesyouaresultoroutcomethatyouwant to achieve and you can easilymonitor how your goal is progressing byusing a scale to weigh yourself periodically. Still, establishing this measurementdoesnothingtohelpyouasitrelatestoactualperformance.Aperformancemeasureontheotherhandisaparticularactionyoucantakethatismeasurable, and that you have reason to believewill help you achieve results. Intrying to lose weight common methods include diet, exercise or taking asupplement.Fordietyoucantrackthenumberofcaloriesyoueateachdayandforexerciseyoucantrackthenumberofcaloriesburnedorthetotaldistanceyouwalkorrun.Thesupplementisamatteroftrackingthefrequency.Theseareallactionsyoucantakethatarebasedonsometaskyouneedtoperform.Fromthesemeasures



orvariablesyoucanbegintotieyourperformancetoresults.Asthegeneralwisdomgoes,performancedrivesresults.MeasuringWhatYouManageSpeakingofgeneralwisdom,managementexpertEdwardDemingisknownforhisstatement,"Whatgetsmeasuredgetsmanaged."Ifyousetaperformancemeasuretoeatlessthan2,000caloriesadaythenitisthisaspectofthegoaltoloseweightthat will get managed. And, management requires resources, including time andenergy.Givenweallhaveafiniteamountofresourcesavailable,asneakytrapyouwant to avoid is allowing a method of measurement to dictate what you willmanage.Stickingwiththefitnesstheme,agrowingtrendiswearabletechnologythathelpsmeasure all sorts of neat statistics. Fitbit is a popular brand of wearable tech,providing a wireless wristband to help track things like heart rate and even thenumberofflightsofstairsyouwalkupeachday.Becauseofthesemeasurements,itis tempting to fall into the trap of searching for stairs you can climb or trying todevelop a fitness routine to use the heart ratemonitor. If you are not careful themeasurementtoolbeginstodrivewhatyouaremanaginginsteadoftheotherwayaround.An example that is also a growing trend is theuse of analytics in business. I loveanalytics. I think it is fun to checkmywebsites and see people from all over theworld visiting. I can see how long they have stayed on the site,what type of thedevicetheyusedtoconnectandsometimesIevengetdataonageandgender.TherearehundredsofanalyticsavailablefromwhichIcanchooseandamountainofdataatmyfingertips.Itisthismountainofdatathatbecomesthedouble-edgedsword.Youwantdatatohelpmake informeddecisions, but you also need to avoid letting analytics be themeasurethatdrivesyourgoals.Instead,youfirstwanttousethedatatoinformandhelp establish your goals and only then select the analytics that are the correctmeasurement tools for the job. It is a subtle, but important difference betweenmeasuringwhatyoumanageversesmanagingwhatyoumeasure.TriangulationAnotherkey tomeasuring a goal is knowingwhenandwhyyou shouldusemorethanonemeasurementtogaugesuccess.Wehavealreadydiscussedtheneedtouseboth performance and outcome measures, but there is another concept calledtriangulation.Theideabehindtriangulationisthatlikethethreesidesofatriangle,tousethreemeasurementstohelpverifyandvalidateoutcomes.



Eatinglessthan2,000caloriesadayisperformancebased,theexpectedoutcomeisalossofweight.Whathappensthen,ifaftertwoweeksnoweighthasbeenlost?Havingthesinglemeasurementweight,itwouldappearnoprogressisbeingmade.However,ifyoualsoweremeasuringinchesaroundyourwaistandbodyfatpercentage,thethreemeasurementstakentogethermaytelladifferentstory.Forgoalsthatareshortterm,simpleorlowimpacttheaddedefforttomanagemultiplemeasurementsisprobablynotworththeresources.But,forgoalsthatarelongterm,complexorofhighconsequence,usingtriangulationissomethingtoconsider.Forthebestresults,Irecommendusingthreetypesofdatathatincludebothquantitativeandqualitativeformsofmeasurement.TheBottomLineAcriticalpartofestablishingagoalistoknowhowyouplantomeasuresuccess.Forbetterresultsconsider:

1. Makesuretousebothperformanceandoutcomemeasures.

2. Measurewhatyoumanage,nottheotherwayaround.Firstestablishyourgoals,thenselectthecorrectmeasurementforthejob.

3. Forgoalsthatarecomplexorhighconsequenceandlongterm,consider

usingtriangulation.Selectmultiplemeasurementstovalidateresultsandkeepyouontherighttrack.

ActionableAgoalwithoutactionisjustadream.IfmeasurableistheaspectofgoalsettingIfindmostfun,actionableisthecomponentIfindmostimportant.AnalternateversionofSMARTusesthetermachievableinsteadofactionable,butforreasonsIwilltalkaboutnext,Ipersonallyfindactionabletobemoreuseful.



AchievableIwouldberemisstosaythatitisnotgoodtoatleastconsidertheextenttowhichagoalisachievable.Researchhasshownthatwhenitcomestogoalsetting,themostsuccessfulindividualsarethosemorecapableofaccuratelymakingself-assessmentsoftheircapabilitiesandresourcesavailable.Thoseindividualsthatfailtoaccuratelygaugetheirabilitiesorresourcesaremorelikelytofail.Thismaymakeitseemthen,thatsuccessisdependentuponsettinggoalsthatareachievable.However,thereisalsoresearchonmotivationthatsupportswhatHenryFordwasknowntohavesaid,“Whetheryouthinkyoucan,oryouthinkyoucan’t—you’reright.”Asitturnsout,yourindividualbeliefsregardingwhetherornotyoucanorcannotachieveagoalhasasignificantimpactonsuccess.Thisincludedsifyouaremotivatedtobeginworkingtowardsagoalinthefirstplace.Individualswithbeliefsthatsupporthighlevelsofsuccesssetstretchgoals,goalsthatarechallengingwithouttheguaranteeofachievement.Considertheextensivelistofludicrous,unachievablegoalsthroughouthistorythatpeopledaredtoattempt.Therewascircumnavigatingtheearthinawoodenship,runningamileinunder4minutes,landingamanonthemoon,mebeingchosenmalemodeloftheyear,transplantingahumanheart,cloningasheepandthelistcontinues.Withrecentadvancementsintechnologyitseemslikethepaceatwhichtheonceunachievableisbeingachievedisacceleratingatanunprecedentedrate.Iadmitmypersonalbiashere.Itisbecauseofmyfirmbeliefinmankind’sabilitytoachievetheunachievablethatIpreferusingthetermActionablewhenstructuringmySMARTgoals.ItiswithinthecontextofwhatisactionablethatItrytoaccuratelyassessmyabilitiesandtheresourcesIhaveavailable.Itrytodetermineifmynextactionisachievableratherthantheoverallgoal.“Shootforthemoon.Evenifyoumiss,you'lllandamongthestars.”-NormanVincentPealeActionableInsteadofachievable,focusonwhatisactionable,whatISyourplanforsuccess?Forsimpleorshort-termgoalsitmaynottakemuchefforttoquicklywritedowntheexactactionsrequired.Ontheotherhand,forcomplexorlong-termgoalstheplanforsuccesswillmostlikelybemoredynamic.Largergoalsmoreoftenwillrequirebreakingthemdownintosmallersub-goalsorestablishingmilestones.Generallyspeaking,wheneverIcreateanewgoal,Iwritedownaminimumofmynextthreeactionsorsub-goals.Thedegreeofdetailyouwantinyouractionplanwillvary.Whilecreatingacomprehensiveactionplanmightseemideal,regardlessofthetypeofgoal,whenitcomestodynamicorlong-termgoals,youwanttofocusmostofyoureffortonneartermactionsandleavetherestforlater.Themainreasonforthisapproachisbecausebydefinition,dynamicgoalsebbandflow,soyouarebetteroffnotwasting



timegettingtoospecificwithmilestonesthataredistant.TheBottomLineWithoutactionagoalisjustadream,thereforewhenstructuringyourSMARTgoalsmakesurethegoalisactionable.Toaccomplishthis,taketheendgoalandthensetintermediatestepsormilestonesyouneedtoaccomplishalongtheway.Afteryouhavedeterminedyourmilestones,focusonestablishingnextactions,thoseactionsthatwillgetyoutothefirstmilestone.Asyouprogress,theactionsyoutakewillprovidefeedbackthatyoucanthenusetoadjustyourplan.RelevantMostversionsofSMARTdonotuserelevant.Inmyopinionthoseversionsneglecttwokeyaspectsofgoalsetting,(1)thatweallhavemoregoalsthanthetimewehaveavailableand(2)thatgoalsarenotstrictlyindependentofoneanother.VersionsofSMARTthatdonotuserelevantaresilentontheseissues,providingnoguidanceonhowtoevaluatemultiplegoals.Therefore,togetthemostoutofgoalsettingandimproveyourchancesofsuccess,younotonlywanttomakesureyourgoalsarealignedwithyourvisionandyourvalues,butyouwanttomaximizeyourtimeandresourcestopursueonlythosegoalsmostrelevanttoyourlong-termsuccess.ValueandEffortOnewaytoevaluatemultiplegoalsistoplaceyourgoals,sub-goalsandactionsrelativetooneanotheronamatrixthatlooksatperceivedvalueverseseffort.Whenyoulookacrossgoals,youwanttofocusyourresourcespursuingthosegoalsmostrelevanttoyourvisionthatareloweffortandhighvalue.

Toreinforce,theuseofthematrixisarelativeprocess.Hopefullyanygoalyouarelookingtoachievehasadegreeofchallengethatwillinvolvesubstantialeffort.Themethodthen,whenrankingeffort,issimplyacomparisonbetweencompetinggoals.Forinstance,Ihaveagoaltopublishabook.ShouldIwriteaworkoffictionthattellsastoryofanevilmastermindandhisplanstoconquertheworldorshouldIwriteabookthatexplains7keypsychologicalprinciplesthatyoucanusetoharnessthepowerofthehumanmind?Bothwouldbeachallengetowrite,bothwilltake



significanteffort,butgivenmyvaluesandmybackgroundasaneducationalpsychologist,thebookaboutthehumanmindwilltakelesseffortandhaveahighervaluethantheworkoffiction.TheParetoPrincipleAsecondmethodfordeterminingwhichgoalsaremostrelevantistousetheParetoprinciple,alsoknownastheeightytwentyrule.Thistakesallgoalsthatareunderconsiderationandaskswhicharethe20%ofyourgoalsthatwillprovide80%ofyourresults.Itisthistop20%thatarethegoalsmostrelevanttoyoursuccess.Thisdoesnotmeantodiscardtheremaininggoals,simplytoholdtheminreserveasyoupursueyourmostrelevantgoals.Periodically,asyouaccomplishagoalornewideaspresentthemselvesyouwillwanttorevisittheParetoPrinciple,dustingoffoldideastodeterminewhattopursuenext.AndanadditionaluseoftheParetoprincipleistohelpmanageyourresourcesinpursuitofthosemostrelevantgoals.Oneoptionistocommit100%ofyourtimeandenergytothe20%ofyourgoalsthataremostrelevant.However,anotheroptionprovidesabitmoreflexibility,committing80%ofyourtimetothemostrelevantgoalsand20%ofyourtimetogoalsnotnecessarilyalignedwithyourvision.Thebenefitofthisarrangementisthatithelpsfocusthemajorityofresourcesonthemostrelevantgoals,yetleavessomeroomtoexperimentwithnewideas.MaybeIcanwritemybookaboutanevilmastermindafterall,itmayjusttakemealotlongertocomplete.TheBottomLineIfyouareanythinglikemethenyourto-do-listexpandsasyoupursuemultiplegoalsinlife.Youhavemoreideasthanhoursintheday.But,everyideaisnotcreatedequalsoyouneedamechanismtoevaluateyourideasandestablishthosegoalsmostrelevanttoyoursuccess.Twotechniquestoevaluatemultiplegoalsare:

1. TheValue/EffortMatrix:thiswillcompareyourgoalsalongtwocriteriatohelpensureyouarefocusedonloweffort,highvaluegoals.

2. TheParetoPrinciple:thislistsallyourgoalsandthenyouselectthe20%ofgoalsthatwillgiveyou80%ofyourresults.

TimeBoundThelastaspectofstructuringanygoalistoaddresstheconceptoftime.InthisfinalsectionIcoverwhyitisimportanttoincludethingssuchasactionfeedbackloops,andincentivesforprocess.ActionFeedbackLoopsAcommonissueIseewhenusingSMARTisfailingtoharnessthetimedrivenpowerofactionfeedbackloops.Ifyouwanttostaymotivatedandontrack,structuringyourgoalstoprovidefeedbackatthecorrectfrequency,i.e.thecorrecttime,is



criticaltosuccess.Scientificresearchusingbothratsandhumanshasshownthatweprefersmallerrewardsmorefrequentlythanalargerrewardthatisdelayed.Appliedtogoalsetting,thismeansyouwanttoensureyouestablishintermediatetimeframestoprovidetherightfrequencyoffeedbackandhelpkeepyouontherighttrackinpursuitofalonger-termobjective.Asanexample,takethespecificgoaltolose10poundsin10weeks.Doyouweighyourselfonceandthen10weekslaterweighyourselfagain?Ordoyouweighyourselftwiceadayoronceaweek?Feedbackspreadtoofarapartisunlikelytokeepyoumotivatedandfeedbackthatistoofrequentisnotveryuseful,efficientoractionable.Establishingthecorrectfrequencythatworksforyouisimportant.Youwantthefrequencytobeoftenenoughtogiveyouusefulinformationthatisactionable.Ifyousteponthescaleonceeverytwoweeks,thiswillprovideyouactionablefeedbackabouttheextenttowhichyourprocessisworking.SpeakingofProcessandRewardsWhenyousetupfeedbackbasedontime,itisnotsimplydeciding“yes”or“no”,basedonwhetheryouachievedyourmilestoneorgoal.Instead,timeisatriggertoevaluateandadjustyourprocessasneeded.Ifaftertwoweeksyouhavenotlostanyweightthenmaybeyourprocessofgoingtothegymtwodaysaweekandeatinglessthan2,000caloriesisnotworking.Thisevaluationbasedonthefeedbackloopyoucreatedallowsyoutoadjusttheprocessandtryagain.Maybeyouneedtogotothegymthreedaysaweek,trytocutbackto1800caloriesadayormaybeyouneedanewactionplanalltogether.Afteradjustingyourprocessgiveitanothertwoweeksandthenreevaluate.Overtimetheadjustmentswillhelpyouzeroinontheprocessthatworksforyou.Nowthismaysoundabitoddinaresultsorientedworld,butIpersonallyrewardmyselfforprocessmoresothanoutcome.ThisdoesnotmeanIignoreoutcomes,butthatIchoosetofocusmyrecognitiononprocess,becauseprocessiswhatdrivesresultsandthatiswhereIwantmymotivationtooriginate.Iwantittooriginatefrommyintrinsicdesiretocontinuouslyimprovemyprocess.Iftwodaysaweekatthegymandeatingunder2,000caloriesadaydidnotresultinachievingmymilestoneoflosingtwopounds,myfirstquestionisdidIfollowmyprocess?Iftheanswerisyes,thenwhileImaynotbeexcitedabouttheresultsIdonotconsideritafailure,butratheralessoninwhatdoesn’twork.IfontheotherhandIfailedtofollowtheprocess,thenitisanissueofdiscipline.PerhapsIneedtoadjustmyfeedbackloopormaybeIneedtoreconsiderwhatobstaclesormechanismsarehinderingmyprogress.TheBottomLineWhenitcomestoestablishingSMARTgoals,youwanttoharnessthepoweroftimebymakingsurethatyourgoalsareTimeBound.Thismeansnotonlyestimatingbywhenyouwillachieveyouroverallgoal,butwillalsomakesurethatyouconsider



thingssuchas:

1. Action-feedbackloops:Makesureyourgoalsaredesignedtoprovidethecorrectfrequencyoffeedback.

2. Process:Akeypurposeofthefrequencyoffeedbackistoallowforyouto

makeadjustmentstoyourprocess.Consideraligningincentiveswithyourprocessvs.outcomes.

SummaryToputitalltogether,SMARTisastructuredmethodtogoalsetting.Itprovidesanevidence-basedapproachtoachievingyourgoals.Whileitisnotthepanaceaforallofthechallengeswefaceinlife,ifyouhavereadthroughtheworkbook,theSMARTmodelisanothertoolthatyoucanplaceonyourmetaphoricaldecision-makingtoolbelt.YounowhavethemeanstouseSMARTasawaytoestablishandmonitorgoalsthatarespecific,measurable,actionable,relevantandtimebound.PracticeSMARTasawaytoenhanceandimproveyourlife.AuthorcontactinformationRichardFeenstra,PhDEmail:[email protected]:www.linkedin.com/in/richfeenstraWebsite:www.decisionskills.comTwitter:www.twitter.com/decisionskills***Connectorfollowusingemailoranyoftheabovesocialmediachannels***



AdditionalMaterialForfreeaccesstotheonlinecourse,“SimplifyYourProblems:ThePsychologyofChoice,”subscribehere.Ifthisisaprintversionoftheworkbook,useyoursmartphonetoscantheQRcodethatcorrespondsthematerialyouwanttocheckout.

ForafreeonlinecourseongoalsettingusingtheSMARTmodel,visithttps://www.udemy.com/goal-setting/orclickthefollowinglinkorscantheQRcode.

Youcanalsofindadditionaldecision-makingtoolsbysubscribingtotheDecisionSkillsYouTubeChannel:www.youtube.com/user/DecisionSkills



GuideandWorksheetsTogetthemostoutoftheworkbook,Ihaveprovideda5-stepguidealongwithcorrespondingworksheetsthatyoucanusetocreatealistofinformalideasandthenturnthemintostructuredgoals.Guide

¨ Step1–CreateaList

¨ Step2–PickYourTop5

¨ Step3–StructureYourGoals

¨ a.Specific

¨ b.Measurable

¨ c.Actionable

¨ d.TimeBound

¨ Step4–FinalDraft

¨ Step5–RevisitRelevant



Worksheets:Step#1–CreateaListTake30-minutestocreatealistofthingsyouwouldliketoeitheraccomplishorexperience.Thislistwillmakeupyourcurrentinformalgoals.Structurewillbeaddedlater.Focusondevelopingamentalpictureofsomeendstate,someoutcome,e.g.publishanovel,traveltoChina,etc.Eachitemshouldbenolongerthanasinglesentence.Ifithelps,youcanthinkofitascreatinga“bucketlist”.

Step#1:ThingsIwanttoaccomplishorexperience(informal)



Worksheets:Step#2–PickYourTop5Usingwhatyouhavewrittendowninworksheet#1,decideonyourtop5goals.Ofallthethingsonyourlist,whicharethegoalsyoureallywanttoaccomplish?Youcancreateafreshlistusingtheworksheetprovided,oryoucansimplyenumerateonyouroriginallist.Arecommendationistolooktowardsanybigger,longer-termgoalsyoumighthave.Note:thisstepisinpartselectingwhichgoalsyoufeelaremostRelevant.Youwanttoselectgoalsyoubelievewillbemostimpactfulonachievingyourbiggestdreamsorvisions.

Step#2:MyTop5



Worksheets:Step#3–StructureYourGoalsThelistscreatedinstep#1and#2arestillinformalgoals.NowitistimetousetheS.M.A.R.T.formattoprovidesomestructure.Takeeachgoal,independently,andfillintheworksheet._________________________________________________________________________________________________Goal#____(____________________________________________________________________)

informaldescription#3aSpecific–1stdraft#3bMeasurable–rememberbothoutcomeandperformancemeasures #3cActionable–listatleast3nextactionsorsub-goals(milestoneachievements)#3dTimeBound–establishbywhenthegoalwillbeaccomplished.



Worksheets:Step#4–FinalDraftFromstep#3youshouldhavefive(5)worksheets.Takeeachgoalandnowwriteaformal“goalstatement”.EachstatementshouldincludeeachcomponentoftheSMARTmodelcoveredintheworksheet.Goal#1Goal#2Goal#3Goal#4Goal#5



Worksheets:Step#5–RevisitRelevantInstep#2youhavealreadydecidedwhichofyourinformalgoalsaremostrelevant.Nowyouhaveatleast15actionsorsub-goalsrelatedtothe5goalsyouselectedinstep#2.Atthispointintheprocess,usingonlythe5goalsyouselected,revisitandprioritizewhichactionsand/orgoalsaretheonesyouwillbepursuingfirst,second,third,etc.UseeithertheParetoPrinciple(80/20rule)ortheValue/EffortMatrixtodetermineyourmostrelevantpursuits.Thishelpsestablishnextactionsora“to-do-list”relatedtoyourgoals.

Step5#-NextActions

Documents

S.M.A.R.T. Goals Workbook€¦ · S.M.A.R.T. Goals Workbook 3 Statement of Purpose As the title suggests, this is a workbook. More specifically, it is a workbook you can use to learn