Been a bit of a hard think this one, but here are my goals based on what I've learned from these exercises so far.1. Lose weight - to reach a size 12 by Christmas.
2. Earn £300 per week within a year.
3. Complete redecoration and repairs on the house within 18 months.
They are a slight mix of things but looking back, they really reflect what I want to focus on for the moment. They are all medium term goals. I've not listed any longer term goals, because personally, I think it can be a mistake to have too many goals that you feel you're working on all at once, as there is a danger of feeling overwhelmed. I'm committed to these goals, although these goals may need some refinement.
Don't forget to add your link below. I've discovered that I cannot display more than one linky at a time so this will automatically close the Life Plan linky. I think I may need to revisit what linky tools I use. If anyone has any free suggestions, do please let me know.
So, let's move onto week 4. This is going to build on what we have just done. We're going to review these goals and make sure they are SMART.
Basically, SMART goals answer three questions - What do I want? When do I want it? And how will I know when I get there? They are unequivocal. They leave you in no doubt what it is you want to achiever.
Let's look in more detail what a SMART goal consists of.
Firstly, it is Specific. "Lose weight", "Get fit", "Start a new interest" are just not specific enough. They commit you to what you are actually going to do. Are you going to lose 1lb, 1st or 10st? How are youg going to get fit? What sort of interest do you want to start?
Then, it is Measurable. If you want to lose weight, saying how much you want to lose makes it measurable. I don't weigh myself so saying I want to reach a certain size also makes it measurable (if a little more variable!). Being measurable means that you'll know when you've reached your goal so you can celebrate your success.
It's also Achievable. Losing one stone in 6 weeks is achievable. Losing it in 6 days isn't. This means you're not setting yourself up for a fall, something we're often liable to do. It's a really tough one as sometimes having a dream can spur you on and it's hard to know where achievable ends and pipe-dream starts but you do need to ask yourself if what you are setting yourself is achievable.
Next, it's Relevant (sometimes listed as Realistic). It's got to be something you're committed to doing, that you believe is worth doing, that you believe can be accomplished. Without buy-in from yourself, how are you ever going to achieve what you want? This is partly why I don't think a long list of goals is helpful - is working on 6 goals at once achievable? Probably not.
Finally, it's Time-bound. You put a time limit on it, so that it doesn't drift, so that it fits in with other goals, so that you know what you're aiming for. And yes, as time goes on, schedules might have to change, but a goal is something to aim for and if you miss, you can just have another go. Right?
So, now you know all this, review your goals and see if your goals are SMART. If any of them aren't, rewrite them so they are. Remember how I asked you how committed you were to your list of goals that you wrote this week? Once you've reviewed and maybe rewritten at least some of them, consider again how you feel about them.
Go away, do your homework, and write your post, not forgetting to include the badge in your post. The next linky will not be next week, as I want to take half term off, so come back to link up on Thursday 3rd November.
If you're new to Life Circle, click on the tab above to learn more about it and see the previous tasks. If you want to join in, then please do. Either start at the beginning (although you'll have to link up by leaving a comment for now) or work out your goals and review them for this task only. You'll get the most out of it if you take it from the beginning, but feel free to do what makes you feel most comfortable.
Thanks for reading.