Establishing attainable goals

"I want to be 125 lbs by the time I go to Vegas for my girlfriends bachelorette party".  Sounds reasonable right?  What I don't tell you is that my girlfriends bachelorette party is in two weeks and I have 15 lbs to go.  All of the sudden that reasonable goal doesn't seem so reasonable.  So why do we make such heartbreaking goals, knowing that the outcome will only be disappointing.

In my personal life, I have taken to making S.M.A.R.T goals.  I am a busy professional, a full time student, the mother of a toddler, the wife of a wonderful man, a friend, a housekeeper, and whatever myriad of hats fall on my head at that given moment.  S.M.A.R.T goals help me to compartmentalize personal, professional, and scholastic goals.

What is a S.M.A.R.T goal? 
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely

 For example:  My goal above is to lose 15 lbs in two weeks.  A S.M.A.R.T goal would be, I will modify my eating habits and work out 3 times a week, tracking my fitness progress and adapting my routine to maximize weight loss. 

As a doctoral student the goal is to finish the degree and the dissertation, but the S.M.A.R.T goal would look more like this.
                    
  • Set  aside 2 hours a day to concentrate on coursework
  • set aside 2 hours a week for possible research articles
  •  set aside 1 hour a week for dissertation processes such as choosing committee member, and researching editors. 

These goals may only be applicable for a short amount of time, and then they must be adjusted to fit the need of the program. The S.M.A.R.T goals that I set for year one, will not be the same goals that I have once I begin writing my dissertation.  I must be able to adapt my goals based on my needs.

This takes practice, and I am still developing my goals, but I do feel that this process is a great tool, for organizing my goals without over generalizing them, or without becoming overwhelmed.

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