You can do just about anything if you know how to set goals, but most of us don’t. It takes quite a bit of planning and if you’re not a planner, it can be tough. That’s why we have the SMART method for setting goals. A SMART goal is one that is:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Action-oriented
- Realistic, and
- Time-based
Specific
Being specific helps you focus on exactly how you’re going to reach your goal. Start by creating a statement that explains what you’ll do. Use the phrase ‘I will’. Now, ask yourself the what, why and how of this goal to refine it. Make it as detailed as possible. This will help you generate the sub-goals and steps that you need to take to get there.
Real Life Example: I will grow my yoga teaching business by including corporate offerings in my services. That seems like a pretty fabulous goal, but how exactly are you going to achieve it? You also need to set sub-goals – little steps to take that will get you to your end goal.
Measurable
There needs to be some way to know when you’ve reached your goal. The results have to be measurable. If you want to make more money, for example, choose a specific dollar amount that you’d like to be making per year. The great thing about making goals measurable is that you can easily see your progress and this keeps you motivated to work on it.
Real Life Example: I will add 4 Corporate Yoga Clients/Classes to my teaching roster per month providing an additional $700 income per month. Here you’re measuring both the amount of classes/clients your adding and attaching a dollar value to it.
Quick TIP: sometimes it’s easier to work backwards from your bottom line/dollar value to figure out your metrics!!
Action-oriented
Without action, goals are just day dreams and day dreams don’t pay the bills. Make a list of your sub-goals and attach specific actions you can take to make them happen. Think about things you can do today that will bring you closer to achieving your goal. Also plan actions you can take when things don’t go as planned. Hello Plan B. During the course of working your way toward your goal, set aside time to reflect on your actions and assess the results. Self reflection and analysis will let you dig in and get to the bottom of where you’re getting hung up. If you’re not getting the results you want, make the necessary changes.
Real Life Example: Sub goals could include; draft Corporate Yoga Proposal; establish corporate pricing, add corporate services to my website. Not getting that damn proposal written? Why not? Don’t know how to research ROI? Confused over standard corporate pricing? Don’t let confusion or the unknown paralyze your momentum, it’s time for Plan B. Hire Terra Kroll to design corporate yoga proposal package.
Realistic
Goals only work when they’re realistic. Keep your head in the stars, but your feet firmly planted on the earth. To fluff that down, it simply means that you have a firm grasp on the big picture – perspective. Ask yourself whether or not this goal is something you can do – or even want to do. Take some time to think about your strengths and weaknesses. Which parts are going to be easy and which will be difficult? Develop a plan for the challenges you’re going to face.
Real Life Example: You’ve read the yoga blogs and understand corporate is the way to go + you want in on the prosperity. Your goal is to build corporate yoga offerings into your services and maintain at a minimum 10 corporate clients per month. You’re a popular yoga teacher with an extremely loyal following. You consistently pack your classes. The kicker is, you’re known and loved for your deeply spiritual classes. Students that come to your classes really want to be filled up. The problem here is that your spiritual classes are not going to jive with the needs of corporate america. Corporate yoga will be the kriptonite to your Yogini superpower. If you’re dead set on moving into the corporate world, how are you going to adapt your spiritually based teaching to make it more corporate friendly? That’s the plan, Stan.
Time-based
Set up a detailed time frame for when your goal and all of your sub-goals are going to be achieved. This is hard to estimate if you’ve never done it before – just make the best guess possible and change your time frame slightly if you need to. Be flexible baby! We often find that it takes longer than we planned. However, make sure you have a definite deadline to add urgency to it.
A great way to plan out your goal is to use mind maps. Mind maps are visual tools used for brainstorming and setting out tasks. At the center is your main goal and all of your sub-goals branch out from it. You can then define timeframes and exactly how you’re going to reach all of your sub-goals. Mind maps put goal planning in a visual format that makes it easy for you to see the big picture.
Here’s the 2014 Goals Mind Map for The Darshana Collective:
Need to play a lil catch up?
