Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals for Purposeful Living
We all know January and the new year are the traditional times to review your priorities and make some life changes. I don’t even make resolutions anymore because they tend to be too vague and can often set you up for disappointment and discouragement. I think setting S.M.A.R.T. goals for purposeful living is a better approach. On top of that, you can set goals ANY TIME, not just at a new year.
Goals have a more positive connotation, they help with focus and clarity for purposeful living overall, and they can be broken down into specific, achievable steps. They can cover every aspect of your life — homeschooling, relationships, spiritual, health, whatever you want to accomplish. If it’s important to you, try setting some S.M.A.R.T. goals to be more intentional about your progress.
I’m sure you’ve probably heard of S.M.A.R.T goals before. That’s because it’s a formula that works! Just in case you aren’t sure or don’t remember what S.M.A.R.T. stands for, let’s review it now and remember why it matters.
What are S.M.A.R.T. Goals?
SPECIFIC – Your goal needs to be spelled out very precisely and you also need to have a reason WHY behind your goal, some benefit or emotional attachment that will keep you focused. For example, a goal might be to complete a certain amount of coursework in your homeschool this semester, declutter the schoolroom, or read through the Bible in a year.
Using language that leaves no doubt as to what the goal is, why you want to achieve the goal, and how you will get there is very important. If you are not able to be detailed in your description of the goal, it will be hard to meet it. Take the time to do this part right. Don’t be afraid to revise it and narrow it down if necessary as you get started.
MEASURABLE – This is where keeping a Goals Journal comes into play. It can be a “report card” and a method to measure what you want to accomplish and what you actually accomplished. If your goal cannot be quantified, then it’s not a full goal and you won’t know when you have succeeded.
Check out My Purposeful Plans Goal Tracking Journal to help with this!
ACTIONABLE / ACHIEVABLE – There are different things that “A” can stand for, but it’s usually actionable or achievable. In order to achieve anything, you must take action. So, make your goal actionable, where you do something each day that will eventually result in an accomplished goal.
Goals should also be achievable or you will quickly get frustrated. Be accurate about the time it takes to reach a goal, and what actions it takes to get there. Also, know who will be responsible for doing it.
REALISTIC / RELEVANT – “R” can stand for realistic or relevant, and both are important. If you want your goal to succeed, it should most certainly be realistic or you will fail. If you’re currently doing one hour of read aloud time per week with your kids and your goal is to increase that to 7 hours of read aloud time per week, that might not be realistic. However, you may be able to increase it to two hours of read aloud time per week. Once you achieve that goal, you can set a new goal to increase your read aloud time. Ramping up your goals gives you quick wins along the way and increases your motivation.
Your goal should also be relevant to your life’s vision and match your values. There’s no point in making or achieving goals that have no relevance to your long-term life goals. You could instead use that time to set goals that get you one step closer to actually reaching your life goals. So always ask yourself if the goal is relevant to your life goals.
TIME BOUND / TIMELY / TRACKABLE – Various authors refer to the “T” in the S.M.A.R.T. acronym as time-bound, timely, or trackable. All of these t’s are important parts of the goal creating and setting process. If you don’t set a time limit and you can’t track what is happening, your goal will be hard to quantify or show as achieved.
Tools for Success
I’ve been reading Your Best Year Ever by Michael Hyatt. He has some great encouragement for setting and achieving goals. He also takes the S.M.A.R.T. goals system a few steps further, making it S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goals. The “E” stands for Exciting and the “R” stands for Risky. I recommend reading this book when you’re serious about reaching your goals and need a boost of motivation.
Another great book by Michael Hyatt is Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want. It helps you to “reverse engineer” the things you want to achieve that matter the most in terms of leaving a legacy and living with purpose.
I 
created the My Purposeful Plans Goal Tracking Journal to help with setting S.M.A.R.T. goals. There are 104 pages to record your goals, your successes, and your thoughts on what’s important in your life, along with motivational quotes to inspire you. There’s a brief guide to setting S.M.A.R.T. goals to get you started, too. You can get it for 50% off in my store right now. (Having a store on my site and creating products for sale was a major goal for me!)
Writing down goals helps you overcome resistance. ~ Michael Hyatt
The other book I’ve been reading is The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months by Brian Moran. I’m in an accountability group with some other homeschool mom bloggers and we’re helping to encourage each other through setting goals in 12-week time frames. It’s a very inspiring way to look at achieving what matters and making the best use of your time in all aspects of your life.
I’ve learned some secrets about goal setting that have really helped me make progress with the things that matter:
- Accountability with like-minded friends
- Make them S.M.A.R.T. goals
- Write goals down and keep track of them
- Re-evaluate on a regular basis
Now that I have these things in place and I’m working toward them, I know this method is something I want to teach my daughters to do in their lives as well. It’s all about purposeful living!
Do you set S.M.A.R.T. goals in your home and homeschool? Let me know in the comments!
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