Goals for the summer

What are your plans this summer? Have you been thinking about anything you would like to change? Anything you would like to focus on doing more of?

Now is the time to take action. Think about what it is you want, and consider the following elements for a successful goal.

Specific. Rather than a goal like ‘stop stressing out all the time’ think about something more concrete. Think about the broad goal, and what it really means. For instance, what is ‘stop stressing out’ all about? What is the root cause of stressing out all the time? Think about the ‘why’s’ for a few minutes. In this case, the why’s could include scheduling too many things, not getting enough sleep, and not having enough help to get stuff done. So you might pick something more specific as your goal, like ‘avoid scheduling too many things.’

Measurable. So if you wanted to avoid scheduling too many things, how would you measure that? You can think about the current state, and how many things you tend to schedule in a day right now. Maybe it’s 10 things. So your goal could be to reduce the number of things by 20%. Number of things you plan in a day is measurable.

Achievable. You want your goal to focus on things you have some control over. If you have zero control over the number of things that are on your calendar, then you probably need to focus on a different goal. Chances are, you have some things that must get done, like grocery shopping and paying bills and going to work. But you likely have choices about how much overtime you put in, or how many social activities you plan.

Realistic. It doesn’t make sense to say you will never stress out ever again. So take some baby steps first. You can always set another goal once you achieve the first one.

Time-Bound. You need to put a target date on the calendar to make yourself accountable. This will help you avoid procrastination and give you an end point to stop and measure your progress.

So let’s get ready for a great summer! If you would like to read more about goal setting, check out: http://topachievement.com/smart.html