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SMART GOAL SETTING WORKSHEET
With Guidance Notes
A Brief Guide to SMART goal setting
A SMART goal is a goal that is secific! measura"le! attaina"le! relevant and time "ased. #n other
words! a goal that is er! clear and easil! understood"
S#E$I%I$
The goal must clearl$ state &hat is to "e achieved! "$ &ho'! &here and &hen it is to "e achieved.
Sometimes it ma$ even state wh$ that goal is imortant.
%ot all of these &uestions will al$ to ever$ goal! "ut it is imortant to as' all the &uestions in order
to assess how secific $our goal is and ma'e it as clear as ossi"le.
MEAS(RABLE
Measura"ilit$ alies to "oth the end result and the milestones along the wa$ to attaining a goal. #t
answers the &uestion of &uantit$ ( how much! how often! how man$) The milestones are signs
along the wa$ that will tell $ou that $ou are on the right trac' to achieving $our goal.
*or instance! $our ultimate goal ma$ "e to ma'e +0!000 dollars in a $ear! "ut the milestones ma$ "e
to ma'e ,!000 dollars ever$ month! which will add u to +0!000 in a $ear. So "$ focusing on ma'ing
the ,!000 dollars ever$ month $ou will ultimatel$ reach $our goal of +0!000 dollars. This ma'es the
goal more attaina"le "ecause it is easier to thin' of wa$s to ma'e ,!000 dollars ever$ month than
+0!000 all at once.
#t has "een said that what cannot "e measured cannot "e managed.
This is often true when it comes to goals. Sometimes it is difficult to measure a goal! "ut at such
times there is usuall$ an indirect measure that can "e alied.
ATTAINABLE
-ou should ensure that the goals $ou set are achieva"le.
*irstl$! $ou must "elieve that $ou can manage to do what $ou are setting out to do. #f $ou set goals
that re un"elieva"le even to $ourself it is ver$ unli'el$ $ou will achieve them.
This is e&uall$ imortant when setting goals for a grou! such as in the cororate setting. #f the
eole for whom the goals are "eing set do not "elieve the$ are attaina"le! it is unli'el$ the$ will
wor' wholeheartedl$ towards achieving them.
Agreement and articiation in the SMART goal setting rocess is imortant in such cases to ensure
that most eole are ha$ with how realistic the goals are.
Secondl$! the goals must "e ossi"le! all things "eing e&ual. There is no oint setting a goal to float
in the air and def$ gravit$ using onl$ $our mind! for instance. %o matter how hard $ou tr$ this won.t
"e achieva"le.
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/e careful however! that $ou do not limit $ourself "ased on what other eole "elieve to "e
achieva"le or not. Set $our own standards "$ understanding $our own a"ilities! strengths and
wea'nesses.
RELE)ANT
-our goals must "e relevant to what $ou want to achieve in the short term and the long term.
0nderstanding $our organi1ational or ersonal vision! mission and urose is critical in this resect.
Sometimes $ou can "e temted to do something siml$ "ecause it is eas$ and sounds great! onl$ to
discover later on that is has no long term imortance to what $ou want to achieve as an individual or
an organisation.
2o those things that are most imortant and in line with $our long term vision and mission
TIME*BASE+
This sometimes overlas with the goal "eing Secific! "ut it aims to ensure that $ou ut a time-frame
to $our goals. Someone said a goal is a dream with a time-frame to it. Siml$ deciding "$ when $ou
want to achieve something can "e a good motivator.
#t can revent $ou from rocrastinating "ecause $ou 'now that $ou are wor'ing to a deadline.
,%ailing to -lan is -lanning to fail.
#f $ou find $ourself una"le to set a SMART goal it is more than li'el$ that $our future lans are not
clear enough and need to "e wor'ed on. *urthermore do not get temted to s'i the rocess of
SMART goal setting and 3get on with it4 without full$ anal$1ing $our goals.
2oing this careful lanning at the "eginning will save $ou lots of time and disaointment at a later
stage and $ou will avoid ma'ing costl$ mista'es.
INSTR($TIONS
Work through the worksheet that follows, including as much detail as possible under each heading in the columns.
Clarify your goals to yourself as much as is possible.
When you are done with the table you will be able to write SMART goals based on this.
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Name:
Date:
GOALS
INTENTION S#E$I%I$ Measura/le Attaina/le Releant Ti'e Based
What is it that !ou
&ant to achiee0
Who0
What0
Wh!0
Where0
When0
Ho& Much0
Ho& often0
Ho& 'an!0
Achiea/le0
Is it
i'-ortant to
&hat !ou
&ant to
achiee
ulti'atel!0
When0
Print and attach additional sheets if necessary to capture information for additional goals.
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Phrasing your smart goals
In the spaces below, develop a statement defining your specific goal, incorporating as many of the
elements that you worked on above as possible into the statement. This will include the actions you
plan to take to meet this goal, your timeline, and how it will meet the organisational or personal goal
you are addressing. Also indicate what types of additional skills and resources are necessary to
facilitate this goal.
GOAL 1:
GOAL 2:
GOAL 3:
GOAL 4:
Print and attach additional sheets if necessary to capture information for additional goals.
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2008 All Rights Reserved. This document is free to download and use unmodified.