The S.M.A.R.T. Framework: A Guide on How to Set and Achieve Better Goals

Whether we are talking about personal or team goals, long-term or short-term, the most widely used goal-setting framework used today is S.M.A.R.T.

The following guide will show you what S.M.A.R.T. means, explain how it works, and walk you step-by-step through a real-life goal-setting process so that you can implement S.M.A.R.T. in your own life or organization.

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What is a S.M.A.R.T. goal?

S.M.A.R.T. is designed to bring structure, clarity and accountability into your goals. Every goal or objective, from a short-term milestone to an overarching vision, can be brought closer to reality with the S.M.A.R.T. framework.

The acronym S.M.A.R.T. has several slightly different variations, but the most common is this:

• S = Specific
• M = Measurable
• A = Attainable
• R = Relevant
• T = Time-Based

SMART defined

1. Specific

Decide exactly what the result will look like and when you will achieve it. The more specific you are in this first step, the more likely you are to get the results you want.

Examples:

• “I will save $10,000 for a downpayment on a home by December 31, 2019”
• “I will design and implement a new-employee onboarding program for my department by January 1, 2020”

2. Measurable

Determine what measurements you’ll use to measure success, and by those measurements, what will success look like?

Examples of measures:

• Money: Amount of money saved, amount of debt paid off, reduction in expenses.
• Health: Lost fat, muscle gained, time to run a specific distance.
• Career: Complete a project, exceed a performance target, complete a course.
• Relationship: Plan and go on a vacation, implement a weekly date night, join a club together, learn a skill together.

Make sure that your measurements represent your values. For example, imagine that you’ve set a goal to lose 10 pounds. You’d lose 10 pounds if you implemented a massive caloric deficit, but you’d lose a lot of muscle and probably become ill. Would that be a success? The answer is ‘yes’ but the result is probably not what you had in mind. The same goes for a financial goal. You could make a lot of money if you committed fraud, but eventually, you’d probably end up in jail.

So make sure your goals are specific and truly meaningful to you.

For instance, I would set a fat loss goal that helps me burn fat while maintaining my muscle and my health. For example, I would combine two goals:

• ‘Eat 100 fewer calories than I burn 6 days this week’
• ‘Eat at least 100 grams of protein and less than 30 grams of fat 6 days this week’

To support these measurements, I would monitor my body-fat percentage and lean-mass and make monthly adjustments.

3. Attainable

Investigate whether the goal is possible for you; consider the time, resources, and effort it will take. Be mindful of other goals and obligations, and consider what sacrifices you will have to make to achieve this goal.

• For example, imagine that you’ve never worked out before, but you want to have a 1980’s Arnold Schwarzenegger physique by the end of the year. By researching ahead of time, you’d find that it takes several years of commitment to achieve that physique; therefore, this goal is unattainable.
• Instead, you might choose to start with something more realistic and measurable, such as ‘spend 2 hours in the gym 5 times per week’.

Goals that are about behaviours are much easier to attain and control than goals that are about results. For example, you might have a goal to ‘get a promotion before the end of the year’, but what happens when the results aren’t entirely in your control? Maybe the job never gets posted, or maybe someone with many more years of experience than you gets the job instead. In these cases, you could do everything right and still fail.

Instead, I like to envision where I want to be and then figure out exactly what I will need to have accomplished to get there. So if my vision was to get promoted within a year, I would review the qualifications of the higher position that I want, and set goals to get those qualifications. I would set goals around completing specific projects or taking courses to build the skills I’ll need. This way, I will have acknowledged my efforts even if the external factors don’t cooperate. Further, by being open and focusing on the skills and competencies rather than a specific promotion, I’ll put myself in a position to gain an expanded role when and where the opportunities arise, which may not be the position I had in mind.

Success comes from persistence, not infallibility.

Sometimes, you’ll do everything right and still fail. That’s OK. Try and learn something from the process, be proud of the effort you made, and get back to your grind. 🏆

— Chris (@ChrisjBergen) February 21, 2020

4. Relevant

Consider your personal or company mission, and ask how this goal supports it. Does this goal support the mission of yourself or your organization? If not, then think hard about why you want to achieve this goal.

It’s easy to be persuaded by external pressures, but by sticking with your personal or organizational mission, you can avoid setting the wrong goals. For example, is a new car the best way to spend that money you’ve been saving, or are you caving to social pressures? Or is a workplace social media strategy best way to invest your time, or are you just doing it because everyone else is?

Always ask yourself “why do I want to achieve this goal? What is the benefit I am hoping to gain and will this specific goal achieve it?” Don’t be afraid to step away from a goal midway through when you find that it’s not the best use of time and resources.

5. Time-Based

Time-based means deadlines and deadlines mean action.

Other people are always going to fill up your agenda if you don’t fill it up yourself. When you let this happen, you get stuck in a reactive loop and you’ll never get ahead. By proactively setting deadlines for goal-related activities, these activities become the priority and they will get done — just don’t forget to schedule them into your agenda.

Do set strict deadlines, but be willing to be flexible. Things change that are out of your control, and it’s better to be flexible than to fail. Consider the Dwight Eisenhower quote “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything”.

So how do we make a SMART goal?

Let’s take one of the most popular New Year’s Resolutions of 2023, ‘Exercise more to get in better shape‘, and make it S.M.A.R.T.

In this example, ‘get in shape’ is the closest thing we have to a goal, so I’ll start with some questions to flesh this out:

1. Why do I want to ‘get in shape’?

• Confidence?
• Health?
• Improve performance in sports, job, etc?

I’ll choose the first one — ‘confidence’

2. What specifically does ‘in shape’ mean to me?

• Do I want to look better?
• Do I want to increase my physical strength?
• Do I want to reduce the risk of heart disease?

I’ll choose the first option — ‘I want to look better’

3. How do I measure it?

• Does it mean I can run 10 kilometers?
• Does it mean I have less body fat?
• Does it mean I have big muscles?

I’ll choose a combination of ‘less body fat’ and ‘ big muscles’.

4. Is this attainable? I’ll do some research to find out.

• Is it possible to achieve this goal within the confines of my values?
• Am I willing to make the sacrifices it will take to achieve this goal?
• Do I have the resources (time, money, etc)?

Let’s say I’ve done the research and found that this is attainable with a nutrition plan and an exercise program.

5. Is this goal relevant to my mission?

• Will achieving this goal make me proud?
• Will achieving this goal bring me closer to being the person I want to be?
• Will achieving this goal support my other goals?

Let’s say that the answer is yes. Being in great physical shape gives me confidence, and makes me feel good about myself.

6. What are the time-frames?

• When do I want to have completed the goal?
• What milestones will I hit along the way?
• How can you break the large goal into several smaller components?

Let’s say I’ve got a vacation coming up in three months, and since I’ll be spending a lot of time on the beach, I’d like to be in good shape by that time. I’ll set weekly milestones for progress: ‘lose half a pound of fat and gain half a pound of muscle each week’.

Finally, let’s put all of this together into a SMART goal:

By asking questions like those above, the goal pretty much writes itself now. Here it is:

“To improve my confidence, I will lose 5 pounds of fat and gain 5 pounds of muscle by x date (three months from today). To achieve this goal, I will commit to a nutrition and exercise program. At the end of each week, I will check my progress to ensure that I have lost half a pound of fat and gained half a pound of muscle, and I will make adjustments to my nutrition and exercise program as needed”

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Final Thoughts

Great job, you now know how to set a goal using a S.M.A.R.T. goal framework! Before you go, consider these points that will help make your goals successful:

• Always use positive language when setting S.M.A.R.T. goals. Negative language such as ‘I will stop eating candy’ isn’t effective at motivating a change in behavior. Positive language such as ‘I will commit to a healthy nutrition plan’ is much more effective.
• Use calendar reminders to help keep you organized as you implement the new habits and activities that are involved in achieving your goal.
• Make adjustments as you go.
• Writing in a journal at the start of your day can be a powerful tool (I use Microsoft Onenote). Write about why you are working towards this goal, and how you will make progress today. Don’t worry if your journal entries are repetitive; the purpose is to build the mindset and habits that will bring you success.

Thanks for reading!