For those of you who have been following along with the Goal-Setting Process, you know that we’re on Step 3, which has everything to do with setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely) goals. The assignment from a couple of weeks ago was to take our top 9 basic goals that we identified from our lists in step 2 of the Goal-Setting Process and work on making them SMART. I wasn’t quite ready to share my goals that following week, so I requested some additional time to make sure I was truly making my basic goals SMART.
Reminding you of my goals:
- Immediate goals: drink enough water, get enough sleep, and exercise regularly.
- Next 3 months goals: write and self-publish book #2 with accompanying workbook, create and self-publish an audio book for Playground Instruction for the Growing Adult, and start volunteering in my community.
- Next 3 – 6 months goals: conduct public speaking engagements, create audio book for second book, and learn to format e-book and paperback versions.
Reminding you of the characteristics of a SMART goal:
- S (Specific) – the goal has a clearly defined expectation that is communicated.
- M (Measurable) – the goal can be observed or compared and therefore assigned a number, value, amount, or estimation.
- A (Achievable) – the goal is challenging yet attainable, where the necessary resources are accessible.
- R (Realistic) – the goal has a relatable purpose and meaning to the desired outcome.
- T (Timely) – the goal has a certain timeframe for completion or a deadline attached to it.
However, I realized that my goals for the next 3 months and goals for 3 – 6 months out were too complex to create SMART goals for. They’re not basic enough. So, I really need to break the overall basic goal down into more manageable, bite-sized tasks to complete. By breaking down these goals into their most basic form, the multiple mini-goals that are created can then go through the SMART process.
I’ve actually decided to take a little more time to figure out just what those mini SMART goals will look like. It will take me some time as I’m still in the researching phase of audio book creation, the public speaking industry, and formatting books. Furthermore, I’m at the tail-end of writing my very rough draft for book #2. This go-around, I’m thinking about completing as many of the self-publishing pieces as I can manage, including book cover design, blurb and author’s bio write-ups, editing, and formatting. (I received help with all of these components for the first book.) So, I have more self-publishing steps to address this time. Plus, a workbook is now involved.
Needless to say, I’d be taking on a cumbersome and time-consuming undertaking to determine all the necessary tasks required for the 6 goals in the last two goal categories. Therefore, I reserve the right to bail out of posting my SMART goals for the broken down tasks lists. How many times can I write “SMART” in this post??? Anyway, I’m begging your pardon once again. You’ll just have to trust that I’ll get the work done. As a matter of fact, progress made on a big chunk of the remaining 6 goals should be covered in my Monday weekly reports to you.
With all of this being said, all progress (hope) is not lost. In an effort to give you some examples of SMART goal-setting, I was able to take my “immediate” goals and make them SMART.
- Basic goal – drink enough water
- Basic goal – get enough sleep
- Basic goal – exercise regularly
- SMART goal – I will drink more water for healthy body maintenance by increasing my intake to at least 32 ounces (4 cups) daily.
- SMART goal – I will increase the amount of sleep I’m getting each night for optimal mental and bodily functioning by adhering to an 11:30p bedtime schedule during the weekdays (Monday thru Friday). I will wake up around 4:15a in the mornings to see my husband off to work and then lay back down for another 2 hours to get in a total of approximately 7 hours of sleep before having to get my son up and ready for school. (I previously scheduled my book writing time between 5 – 7a but have recently moved book writing to between 9 – 11a to get enough sleep in my day.)
- SMART goal – I will exercise to strengthen my heart by walking in the mornings (around my neighborhood when the weather allows or at the mall when the weather is uncooperative) for 3 – 5 days out of the week (Monday thru Friday) for 45 minutes to 1 hour a day. During the Fall/Winter seasons, I’ll resume the “Fitness Blender” home workout routines in place of the walking.
degreesofmaternity.com 