Smart Goals and Objectives
ByWhether you use the SMART goals acronym or some other basic framework for setting goals, you still need to set several different kinds of goals.
The first level of goal setting is lifetime goals. Define your life goals by asking this question: What are the 3-5 things, which if I accomplish them in my life, will make my life as success?
When you ask this question you will quickly filter through some of the less important issues and force yourself to dwell on what is really important. In most cases, those really big goals will relate to your relationships and family and the legacy you want to leave.
Once you have settled on those lifetime goals, work through your ten year or decadal goals: What are the 5-10 things you need to accomplish in the next ten years to move significantly toward your life time goals? These should be very big goals, and directly aligned with your life goals. While our years seem to whip by faster and faster as we get older, ten years is still a long time and we should be able to get a lot done in that time span. So shoot high, push yourself. Some people like to set their ten year goals and not touch them, but I prefer to revise mine every year when I think through the next layer of goals.
Annual goals are the level of goal setting that most people start and end with. But in this system I am laying out here, your annual goals, 5-10 of them max, must contribute to your decadal goals which in turn support your life goals. A year, as you know, is not a long time at all. You can get something done but not usually as much as you think. One way to set your annual goals is to have one goal for each of your ten year goals, and think through what you need to do to get 1/10 of the way to that goal in the coming year. That’s not necessary, but your annual goals should relate to the ten year.
One more layer of goal setting. And the addition of this layer makes a huge difference for a lot of people. These are quarterly or 3 month goals. And the way to approach these three month goals is to set only 3 fairly substantial goals, that in the accomplishment of each one you will move 50% of the way to one or more of your annual goals. That’s right, you try to do half the job in 3 months. This creates a bit of pressure, which is needed to reach your goals, but still allows some time to do something. And, as you knock of each quarterly goal you simply add another one so there are always three goals in your face as you plan your week and live your day.
This is truly a smart goal setting system, whether or not you use the SMART acronym. It creates focus, positive pressure and ensures that your short term goals support your long term dreams.
Learn more about this system at The-Life-Plan.com
