Setting plans is one important thing we all must know how to do. If you really want to make something out of your life, you need to set realistic, achievable goals. When talking about achievable goals and plans, we are talking about plans that can be achieved and it’s visible. We’re not saying you should stop dreaming big, we’re just saying you should start small and be more realistic.
We need goals because they provide us focus and direction. Learning how to set achievable goals gives us more control over our lives and destinies. If we have no goals set, how do we know whether we’re successful or not? It’s not other people who should tell you whether you’re successful or not. The only metric of your success is you and your achievable goal-list. But be aware that setting achievable goals and plans is a process, not a single step. It takes time, energy, adjustments, mistakes, and an open mind.
It’s normal for you to have plans for the next 10yrs and even more. This doesn’t mean you really have control of time and season but it will be a push that will strengthen you to run your race.
Here are the important steps to consider when setting plans that makes your plan achievable.
Set smart plan
Smart is an acronyms popular to those in the marketing world because it’s used to measure the probability of a project to know if it’s achievable or not.
Let’s discuss S.M.A.R.T.
SPECIFIC
A good goal and plan should be a specific goal. Be as clear as possible, and use specific vocabulary not just guessing or trying to describe.
You Saying “I want to lose weight”, or “My goal is to get better at my job”, or “I want to spend more time with my family” simply means that you’re expressing the wish you have. In terms of goals, it means nothing but it’s just a wish.
If you’re not sure how to get more specific, try answering the five Ws:
Who?
What?
Where?
When?
Why?
What exactly do I want to get better at? How many pounds do I want to lose? How am I going to spend more time with my family? And so on…
“I want to take my family out to the park for 2 hours twice a week.”
“I want to lose 20 pounds by doing these exercises….”
This means getting specific. If your goals are specific enough, it’s easier to track your success at achieving them.
MEASURABLE
The weight-loss example works here as well: including the specific information about how much weight you want to lose makes the goal measurable.
If you’d like to start saving money, it’s not enough to say: “My goal is to save money.”
How much money do you want to have in your bank account? The more quantifiable your goal is, the better!
But, what do you do when your goals are abstract, like improving your relationship with your parents, for example?
The question you need to ask yourself is: how do I know that our relationship is improved?
More open communication? Having conversations about the past, the future, your emotions? Doing more activities together? In this case, these could be your measures!
ATTAINABLE
Is flying to space within the next two years a S.M.A.R.T. goal? It’s specific, it’s measurable… but, unless you’re an astronaut, it’s not really attainable.
Perhaps this is a drastic example, but you get the point. If you want to set an achievable goal, you need to account for your current situation and resources. These can have to do with your finances, emotional capacity, time, family circumstances, your position at work, etc.
If you’d like to save $10,000 within a year, but your salary is $2000 and you have a bank loan hanging over your head, then this probably isn’t an attainable goal. However, if there’s a promotion coming up, and you have only two loan payments left, then perhaps it is.
RELEVANT
What does it mean to set a relevant goal? Is there such a thing as an irrelevant goal?
Well, not in terms of importance. You’re the one who decides which goals are important to you. When we say “set relevant goals”, we mean goals that are relevant to you.
If you’re a hairdresser who’d like to expand their business and make it more visible, a relevant goal would be to get your business online, create a marketing campaign, or share posters and flyers.
TIME-BOUND
Finally, creating a time boundary will help you become more motivated, and will keep you on schedule.
If your plan is to lose weight, but there’s no time boundary, you can keep saying “I’ll start on Monday” every single Tuesday or Friday.
However, if you put it this way: “I’ll lose 20 pounds within the next two months”, you’ll hold yourself accountable to really start working out this time.
These are the basic tactics in building a smart and achievable goals and plans.
