How to Set “ASMART” Goals in 2018

January 1, 2018296 views0

How to Set “ASMART” Goals in 2018

2018-01-01T07:00:49+01:00

By CNP

It’s the season of New Year’s Resolutions and many people are rushing to change habits by setting goals. Records have shown that these resolves are abandoned midway more often than not. There are several ways to set and attain a goal, but in this article, I will be mentioning how to set and attain goals using a business model called ASMART. I hope that if you are able to understand this methodology and apply it to your future aspirations it will get you closer to attaining them. ASMART is an acronym which means: A for Aligned, S for Specific, M for Measurable, A for Achievable, R for Realistic, and T for Time-bound. The ASMART model for setting and achieving goals is a useful resource for any individual trying to achieve some level of growth in his or her personal life or career. Align: This is the first step. You should set goals that are aligned with your vision or career path. The need for this is to understand and determine to what end does this goal affect you. Will achieving this set goal make you a better person or professional? Will it add value to you or devalue you? I believe goals should make you better after attaining them. Specific: Whatever you want has to be clear and specific. It shouldn’t be something vague or generalized. Generalized goals would end up not being achieved because you don’t even know it when you achieve it. It is hard to quantify because there are so many things attached to it. For example, if I say my goal is to be successful. I haven’t set any goal. It’s wishful thinking at best. But if I come around and say, “I want to be a Successful Social media expert”, then I have succeeded in defining a clear objective and this goal is to better my career. Measurable: When you set a goal; you need to be able to monitor its progress or lack of it by setting various milestones. These could take the form of minor objectives which you will achieve and will ultimately add up to attaining the main goal. The small objectives can be used to track your performance. Attainable: In setting goals, one should endeavor to set goals that are achievable. It doesn’t mean that you should set easy goals, but set goals that are not too much for you so that you don’t lose motivation or get discouraged along the way. Goals are supposed to stretch your potentials ultimately and not look like a mountain that will make you give up. Realistic: It is good to employ a bit of logical reasoning in setting goals. If we set realistic goals we would be able to employ our mental resources to work to achieve those goals, but if our goals are just like wishful thinking then it’s quite easy to deviate from them. What I am saying is that your goals must make sense to you and seem achievable enough to want to work at attaining it. Time-bound: We shouldn’t set a goal that is not in relation to a particular time or period. Goals should have a deadline so we can set plans with which to achieve these goals within a certain period of time. Some other tips can be used to help us in attaining goals are: If a goal is large, it is good to break it into smaller goals so you can approach it at bit sizes and not get overwhelmed. Write down your goals so you can make reference to it daily. Be accountable. Tell your friends about it so that they are able to check up on you from time to time. Set goals that are relevant to you or what you do. This is related to the being aligned part of a goal. Be prepared to do the hard work and pay the required sacrifices to move ahead. Imbibe discipline to help you stick to your plans, whether you feel like it or not. Keep researching better ways to achieve your goals faster during the process of working on your goals. Don’t just set goals; make an action plan with which you would achieve your goals. This action plan will clearly state the tasks or activities which you will do as stated on a daily or weekly basis to achieve your goals. Happy New Year.