SMART in goal setting

A goal set to accomplish a purpose must have feasible characteristics. One set of those characteristics is that a goal must be SMART. The acronym SMART was propounded by George T. Doran in his article entitled “There is a S.M.A.R.T way to write management goals and objectives” as appeared in the November 1981 issue of Management Review.

Varieties of books, blogs, websites and other posts gave their views about the meanings of the letters of the acronym. However, the 1981 edition of the acronym stood for S- Specific, M- Measurable, A- Assignable, R- Realistic, T- Time based. In the current edition of the SMART acronym, one is likely to find key words are suggested by Smart project (http:/projectsmart.com) as outlined as follows;

·         “S- Specific, Significant, Stretching

·         M- Measurable, Meaningful, Motivational

·         A- Agreed upon, Action, Achievable

·         R- Realistic, Relevant, Reasonable, Rewarding, Result-oriented

·         T- Time-based, Timely, Tangible, Track-able”

What then does a person need to do with those five key words above as far as goal setting is concerned?

S- SPECIFIC:
Your goals must be clearly defined, touching a task fulfillment and can be understood by everyone

M- MEASURABLE:
You must know how your goal will, be said to be completed; thus the parameters for identifying an accomplished goal, how much of it will be accomplished and at which time?

A-. ATTAINABLE:
Also means “achievable” and this figures out that the goal can be established to fulfill the dream in focus. There are some goals that are not attainable owing to what it’s going to fulfill.

R- REALISTIC:
The goal must be real. It must represent a way out into reaching a dream and a way in which you are willing to work.

T- TIME-BASED:
A goal is said to be time-based if it has been woven around a time-frame or a deadline. Every single day can serve as a little improvement on a set dream through a well set goal.

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