Setting Goals
Everyone has personal goals they want to reach; whether it’s saving for a car, getting ready for college or going on a great graduation trip. Here‘s how to make sure your goals are SMART.
- Specific. Instead of a vague target, like saving for college, a more detailed goal might be contributing $50 per paycheck to your college fund.
- Measurable. In the example above there’s a set behavior of saving a specific dollar amount from each paycheck – that way it’s easy to see if you’re meeting your objective.
- Attainable. Make sure you have the skills, ability and tools needed to reach your goals. Otherwise you may fail, and that’s not very motivating.
- Relevant. If your goal doesn’t mean anything to you, you probably won’t work very hard to reach it. Determine how your goal benefits you now and in the future.
- Time-based. Set a deadline and break your goal down into manageable pieces. If you keep reaching the smaller goals, it’ll be much easier to reach the big one over time.
Now, practice creating your own SMART goal using this step-by-step work sheet.
