SMART goals are the key to success. They meticulously outline each step of the goal-creating process, making your desired result more achievable. Use these tips to give you and your team more direction, motivation, focus, and productivity.
Without clear goals, you’re just trucking along each day with nothing to celebrate and no end in sight–just doing what needs to be done to get by. Creating SMART goals will not only make you more productive, but it will make work more exciting. You’ll have numerous small achievements to celebrate along your journey.
Whether you’re creating them for yourself or your employees, SMART goals create structure and trackability, provide clear milestones, and help teams work harmoniously.
What Are SMART Goals?
Specific
Be as precise as possible when creating your goals. Even if your specificity means you must make multiple small goals instead of one large one, that’s fine. Outline exactly what you wish to accomplish.
Think about who needs to do what, by when, where, and why. Ensure your goal aligns with personal and company values.
Ex: My goal is to improve communication among my remote team, using business messaging apps, so we can seamlessly work together and achieve more before our busy season in February.
Measurable
It should be easy to track progress along the way. Create mile markers, pay attention to KPIs, and don’t assign yourself (or your team) more than you can handle.
Ex: Instead of the current two hours a day we spend checking and responding to in-company emails, we will lower this time spent to 45 minutes per day.
Attainable
You must set achievable goals to succeed. Make sure your goals match your current position within the company and that they are something you (or your team) are passionate about working toward. You may need to learn new skills or gather data before setting out to achieve your goal.
Ex: By making everyone’s roles in the company clear, individuals will not CC employees who do not need to be included in email chains. Additionally, by using Slack or Teams, we will simplify and speed up conversations.
Relevant
A goal must make sense for the person or company you’re setting it for. Think about how it will improve the company and how it fits in with other short and long-term goals. It should not serve only one purpose.
Ex: By spending less time reading and replying to emails, employees will have more time to focus on other tasks, like editing their articles and creating eye-catching social media posts.
Time-bound
Without a timeline or deadline, there’s no sense of urgency to complete a goal. Ensure your timeline is realistic. Leave space to adjust the timeline throughout the process if needed. Celebrate as you accomplish each small step on the way to achieving the bigger goal.
Share time management techniques with your employees to help them stay organized, motivated, and on track.
Ex: Within one month, the team will be trained to use a business messaging app and have an easy-to-access document that states everyone’s role within the company. Within two months, our time spent on emails will be cut in half. After three months, employees will only spend 45 minutes maximum on emails daily.
Tips For Creating SMART Goals
Don’t rush the planning period
Before finalizing your SMART goals, outline milestones and potential derailments. Think of how you will handle issues as they arise ahead of time. As all goals should be measurable, gather the data you need to see where you’re currently at and what your goal will be.
Delegate tasks
Even if you’re a solitary worker, realizing how much you can complete yourself is essential. Consider using the Eisenhower Matrix technique to group tasks into categories depending on their importance and urgency.
If you’re creating goals for a team, outline exactly who will complete which tasks.
Maintain momentum
Keep motivation high by setting aside enough time to work on the goals and celebrating each step of the way. If you have trouble sticking to a schedule or getting over the midday slump, try engaging your five senses while working remotely or these energy-boosting tips (that don’t include coffee!).
Give praise and recognition
Whether you are creating goals for your employees to achieve or for yourself, taking note of and celebrating progress along the way is important. Praise and recognition boosts motivation, confidence, and productivity.
Praise your employees with kind words and gestures, or praise yourself with a celebratory dinner or something else you enjoy.
