SMART Goals..

Specific. Measurable. Achievable. Realistic. Time Bound.

• Specific – The Goal must be specific in nature.  Which of these is better?  Improve on customer service.  Or Increase our customer service survey rating by 10% over the 2015 numbers by July 2016.
• Measurable – The goal must be clearly measurable. In the example above, you can see that the first goal was not measurable.  Improve… is not measurable unless you put some numbers and a way you will be measuring the improvement.  I used survey rating as our measurement and an improvement of 10% as the goal.
• Achievable – It has to be realistic.  If I had never run or exercised before, I should have a goal to run a marathon next week.  That’s just not achievable.  It takes months of training to build up a base and expect to finish a marathon without serious injury.
• Realistic – Goals must be realistic.  If I had a goal to become to create the largest social network by the end of the year… well its possible, technically, but not realistic. Goals must be realistic and for large goals, you should be able to break them down into smaller goals.
• Time Bound – Goals should be bound by a date. If you want to achieve something, be sure to put a date on it so you can track to it.  If you say, I want to run a marathon, but don’t put, By 12/31/2016, then you’ll likely never run that marathon. You’ll tell yourself that, you’ll do it next year, etc.

I’m a firm believer in documenting your goals. If they are down on paper, in a place where you have to look at them daily or weekly, you’re more likely to achieve them, and if you share them with people, then you have people there to hold you accountable for your goals.

I challenged my team to run a half marathon together last year.  I told them if you really wanted motivation to achieve the goal, post it on Facebook that you were doing it and when you were doing it.  By putting it out there, you have your followers holding you accountable, and now, you won’t only be letting yourself down, but them to. That’s usually enough motivation to keep going and finish the goal.

My 2016 Goals

Personal Goals

1. Attend 100% of my kids sports games and practices in 2016.
2. Have game night with the wife once per month after the kids go to bed in 2016.
3. Have a movie night with the wife once per month after the kids go to bed in 2016.
4. Have a date night (with baby sitter) at least once per quarter in 2016.
5. Take my family on a vacation to the beach in 2016.
6. Take my family on a vacation to the mountains in 2016.

Fitness Goals

1. Run at least twice per week for 46 of the 52 weeks in 2016.
2. Work out at least twice per week for 46 of the 52 weeks in 2016 (runs don’t count).
3. Eat fast food no more than one time per week for 46 of the 52 weeks in 2016.
4. Average 10,000 steps per day in 2016.
5. Complete a 5 day fast.

Business Goals

1. Increase my podcast listeners by 10x.
2. Increase my email subscriber list by 10x.
3. Write one book in 2016.
4. Create and launch 3 iOS Apps in 2016.
5. Give at least 3 talks in 2016.

Sponsor:

Surviving a 5K Race

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