You know all those dreams you have in your head? You know how you wish you could make them reality?

You can!

When you write down your dreams, they become a goal.

But not all goals are created equal!

Using a goal setting worksheet for SMART goals is the best strategy for setting yourself up for goal-crushing success!

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What are SMART Goals?

SMART is an acronym for a goal setting process. It lays out the challenge of making your goals

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time-based

Even Harvard Health recognizes that using SMART goals keeps you focused and on track.

How can a goal setting worksheet help me?

Most people think that once they know the SMART goal steps, they can mentally go through them like a checklist. The reality is, though, when we write things down, it helps our brain remember them. It also helps us see what gaps there are in the process.

Using a goal setting worksheet doesn’t have to be a boring step that kills your enthusiasm for your goal. Rather, think of using a goal setting worksheet as a way to strategically plan the path to your goal. It helps you set off towards your goal with confidence that you can actually achieve it.

A goal setting worksheet helps walk you through the process logically by asking important questions about each of the five steps of a SMART goal.

SPECIFIC

Setting a general goal isn’t going to move your life forward. In order to bring about the change you seek, your goal needs to be specific. Instead of saying I’m going to eat healthier you could say I’m going to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day to better nourish my body. 

Questions to ask when writing a SPECIFIC goal are:

• What do you want to achieve?
• Why do you want to achieve it?
• Do you need any support- personal, professional, material?

MEASURABLE

Like a cousin to “specific,” there needs to be a way to assess whether or not you have met your goal. For a simple goal like I’m going to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day to better nourish my body, it is measurable by defining what makes a “serving.” Is it a single piece of fruit or a cup of vegetables? Whatever measure you adopt at the beginning is what goes along the way to reaching your goal.

For larger goals, you may want to set intermediate benchmark measurements. If your goal is likely to take six months or longer, set clear measurements along the way. For example, if your goal is I’m going to lose 30 pounds to improve my heart then reasonable measurements along the way are I’m going to lose 5 pounds per month.

Questions to ask to help shape your goal into a MEASURABLE one are:

• How will you measure your progress?
• Do you need to set benchmarks along the way?
• How will you know when you have met your goal?

ATTAINABLE

Something is attainable when it is realistic and within reach. For example, it is NOT attainable for me to set a goal of being an Olympic gymnast.

(Yep, that’s the harsh reality of being a mid-forties mom of three.)

Now, attainable doesn’t require that I can do everything and reach my goal TODAY. If that were the case, your goal would already be reality.

Attainability is an important part of the SMART goals process because it keeps your goals from being outrageous. Outrageous goals have a way of disappointing people over and over again.

Questions to ask regarding whether the goal is ATTAINABLE are:

• Are you capable of reaching this goal?
• Do you need to build additional skills?
• Do you need to acquire additional materials?

RELEVANT

I’m not here to be a dream crusher. Promise!

But making sure your goal is relevant to your life also keeps you from chasing goals that just don’t make sense for you.

Relevance is about having a goal that moves you toward the bigger picture dream life you want. It is not about doing something that fulfills someone else’s dreams or even expectations.

Questions to ask to make sure your goal is RELEVANT are:

• How will achieving this goal affect you?
• What is the impact of this goal on you and others?
• Does this goal help move you on your life’s path?

TIME-BASED

Oh, time! You tricky beast!

No one has enough time. That’s just the reality of being human. But don’t let time become the excuse for why you aren’t reaching your goals.

Making sure that your goal is time-based helps keep you on track. It’s important to realize that having a time component to your goal setting isn’t just about a deadline. Rather, it’s also about making sure that this is the right time in your life to go for your goal.

Questions to ask to help make your goal TIME-BASED are:

• What is the timeline of this goal?
• Is there a firm deadline?
• What happens if the timeline shifts?
• Is this the right time in your life to reach for this goal?

Use these steps as a template for working through your SMART goals. And then go get ’em!

The Well Balanced Women blog is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please discuss your health issues with a licensed medical practitioner.