How to set goals correctly: from a vague idea to a list of tasks in 5 steps

• Tweet
• Share 0
• Pocket
• VKontakte
• 1
• Login to have your vote counted

We talked about why you need to set goals in the previous article. Today we will tell you how to set a goal correctly.

Target. What is this?

A goal is the end result you are striving for. Most often, a goal stems from a dream or inspired desire. But inspiration alone is not enough, you also need work.

We can say this: goal = desire + conscious decision to act

.

Having set a goal, determine the tasks with the help of which you will achieve your plan.

The goal answers the question “WHAT needs to be done?”, the tasks tell you HOW to achieve the desired result.

For example, you wanted to learn English. Formulate a goal (to master a basic level of language in 1 year), make a decision and sign up for language courses.

The goal must be written down. How to do this correctly - watch our video:

We will succeed

I think everyone remembers the video with the legendary dialogue:

— Shall we clean it before it rains?

- No, we won’t remove it at all. We won’t remove it, although it may well be that we will. I think we'll remove it.

Combine operators worked at night and tried their best to harvest the new crop before the approaching thunderstorm arrived. A famous dialogue took place between a driver who came to pick up grain and one of the combine operators, who subsequently gave the driver a hare, which he almost crushed under a wheel, and offered to give it to his daughter.

You may also be interested in: Famous posters and posters of the 90s

It all ends with the driver, returning, looking at the photo of his daughter, at the hare obediently sitting next to him and saying affirmatively: “No, we’ll remove it.”

There is also a second part of this advertisement, released in 1996. Almost the same people are present in it. The men sat near the grain dryer and thought about what to do. They saw snowmobiles approaching and joyfully ran towards them.

The next shot they are already driving a ZIL car, which soon got stuck with its nose in a snowdrift. One of the men climbed onto a snowdrift to ask people on snowmobiles to help them pull him out.

Check your goal against SMART criteria

To achieve the desired result, you can use different methods. The most universal is SMART technology. This is an acronym and it translates as “smart”. For over 60 years, people have achieved success using SMART technology. It includes 5 criteria that a properly set goal must meet.

Specificity (S)

Formulate your goal clearly and as clearly as possible.

No “lose weight” or “learn”. Be specific: “My weight is 65 kg,” “Win ​​at least 10 chess games.” By being specific, you will see your intermediate successes. For example, reducing weight from 80 kg to 71 will motivate you to work further, because there is less than half of the way to the goal.

How high do you set the bar for yourself? At what level do you want to master a skill or learn information? For example, it is enough for Mikhail to learn to play simple courtyard songs in three chords on the guitar, and Oksana strives to participate in international competitions.

Three levels of information and skills

Level 1. Basic.

Josh Kaufman, author of The First 20 Hours. How to learn anything” talks about the principle of sufficiency. The principle implies mastering a skill at a level sufficient for the activity to simply bring you satisfaction.

Level 2. Intermediate.

You operate with basic concepts, do not need ready-made templates, and can even advise others.

Level 3. High.

You know about all the subtleties and tricks of the subject you are studying. Other people point to you as an authoritative source and look to you as an example.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re improving your guitar skills or mastering how to create websites, there are differences in skill levels everywhere. Before setting a goal, determine what kind of result will suit you.

«When a person does not know which pier he is heading towards, no wind will be favorable for him

»

Seneca

Measurability (M)

Formulate your goal with numbers:

terms, volume, percentage, ratio, time

Any work implies the presence of a result. SmartProgress has a Completion Criteria option. By filling out this line, you will formulate for yourself what you need to achieve. How to determine that the goal has been achieved? Learned 100 English words, read 60 books, earned 800 thousand rubles.

Reachability (A)

Think about whether your goal is realistically achievable

Sometimes it’s enough just to use logic - you’re unlikely to vacation in Thailand if you have a pathological fear of airplanes.

When checking the goal against this criterion, take inventory of resources. This is time, knowledge, skills, money, useful information, acquaintances, experience. You already have some of this, but you still need to get some. SmartProgress has a “Personal Resources” field that will help you think again about what will help you achieve your goal.

Relevance (R)

The goal must be related to other goals and not contradict them

This criterion is also called environmental friendliness of the goal in the sense of “carefully for what already exists.”

How much does a new goal help or at least not interfere with existing ones?

Environmental friendliness can be internal and external. Internal refers to your aspirations, values, beliefs. External environmental friendliness is the relationship between new and old goals.

For example, you want to become the head of a department, but for this you need to travel frequently on business trips. And one of your goals is to spend more time with your family. Here the two goals conflict and cannot be considered environmentally friendly.

Questions to ask yourself:

• How does your new goal compare to your old goals, desires, lifestyle, expectations?
• Is this the result you want to achieve by setting this goal?
• Is it worth the effort?
• Why and for what purpose do you want to achieve this goal?

Timed (T)

Set a deadline for achieving your goal

Clearly set deadlines motivate you to work more actively. It's easy to look back to see how far you've come and how much you still have to go. Parkinson's Law states: “Every job increases in volume to fill all the time available for it.” Therefore, if a goal does not have a deadline, you are unlikely to get around to it.

Are you afraid of being disappointed and not achieving your goal in the allotted time? Then set the deadline a little further than required.

Time management techniques for setting goals

You and I are business-minded and modern people, so we must have appropriate methods. I propose to get acquainted with the achievements of leading experts in the field of time management, goal setting and planning.

Franklin's Pyramid

This technique will help you build a clear hierarchical structure of goals, values ​​and plans. You will clearly see the priority of tasks and their consistency with each other.

You need to start building your personal pyramid from the bottom level. It contains a person’s life values: what matters most to him, what motivates him most and makes him happy. This could be family, creativity, social activities, self-improvement, spiritual development, well-being, etc.

I chose family and self-development for myself. Not very original, but honest.

We formulate global goals based on our core values. This is the second level of the pyramid. What would you like to achieve in life, how to realize yourself, what point to reach. Some people want to become famous, get on the Forbes list, travel all over the world, but for others it’s enough to have their own roof over their heads and a favorite business.

My global goal sounds like this: to raise a strong and harmonious personality in my son and provide him with a decent future.

On the floor above you need to place a master plan for achieving a global goal. It represents several key life challenges.

In my case, these could be tasks such as saving money for my son’s education, helping him finish school well, or buying a home.

What follows is a long-term plan for the next 3-5 years. It is compiled in accordance with the tasks of the previous level. After it, a short-term plan is written for the next few months, and after that a plan for every day. In this way, even daily tasks will be subordinated to global values. This is exactly what proper goal setting actually looks like.

SMART

The most popular technique in the field of goal setting, which is used by all and sundry. And they do it right. The essence of the technique is that each goal must meet five criteria: specificity, measurability, achievability, adequacy, and time limitation. The first letters of these criteria in English form the acronym SMART.

We have a separate article dedicated to the SMART method. If you are interested in learning more about it, take the time to look there.

Mind maps

A mind map will help you avoid getting lost in multitasking situations. Its main advantage is clarity. You don't have to go through huge lists of tasks and figure out what belongs to what.

In appearance, mind maps resemble a family tree. The main goal is placed in the center, from it there are branches to tasks, and from them to subtasks. This is just a godsend for complex purposes. See what the finished mind map looks like for my goal.

You can build mind maps on a sheet of paper, or you can use special programs like MindMeister.

Example of a SMART goal

S (specific)

— Play the acoustic guitar: correctly place the basic chords, use fingerpicking and different types of strumming in the game.

M
(measurable)
- play 10 songs by the groups Spleen, Basta, Gradusy.

A
(achievable)
- there is a guitar, tutorials on the Internet, time, money for classes in the studio or with a tutor.

R
(relevant)
- I want to perform at a bard song competition, and also be popular with girls.

T
(time limited)
- July 2022.

Why does this technology work?

• You audit all resources and evaluate whether the goal is achievable.

It happens that one gives up and emotions say: “Oh, that’s it. I can not do it". Don't give in to your feelings, use logic: you have everything you need to get to the end. And if there are no resources, then you know where to get them.

• You can clearly see the end result.

If biathletes didn’t see their target, how would they shoot? A specifically formulated goal helps you understand whether you are going in the right direction and how close you are to the goal.

• Set tasks more effectively on the way to your goal.

Knowing what, where and when you want to get it makes it easier to achieve what you want. You have assessed your resources, checked the relevance of the goal - now you can continue on your way.

To move quickly and efficiently, you need to carefully plan your actions.

An example of how to monitor the achievement of your goals

1. Resources to achieve the goal

There is one simple rule: in order to get something, you must first part with something. If you set a goal, you will have to pay to get it.

The price is not necessarily presented in money - it can be time, energy, effort expended, temporary inconvenience, etc.

Movement towards a set goal in itself already presupposes the use of effort, tension, and approaching what is desired through overcoming oneself.

Before setting goals, imagine what the cost of achieving what you want will be.

What will have to be sacrificed? How much time, material resources, nerves and effort will you have to spend, what sacrifices will you have to make? To take English classes, you will have to give up an extra hour of rest after work. Can you handle it?

How to learn to set goals taking into account the resources needed to achieve them? You can look at the examples above:

Double your income:

• You work for a company as an employee:
• Find out if a higher salary is acceptable for your position. If this is possible, find out what needs to be done to achieve this and do it.
• Take advanced training courses, cover a wider range of responsibilities (at a higher cost), or look for another job.
• Change your profession to a higher paying one. It will be difficult, but doable.
• You are the owner of the company:
• Get twice as many clients as you already have.
• Increase the average check amount.
• Cut costs.
• Increase performance by 20%.

Set big goals, the results will be worth it. Increasing your income is very difficult; it can take a whole year of hard work and will require changing your usual way of life and habits. You will have to take on more responsibility, find internal reserves, and show persistence in moving towards your goal.

Watch movies in original:

• In learning a foreign language, the main thing is that classes are regular. Practice for only an hour, but every day. Take it upon yourself to master the rules of grammar, memorize new words, find ways to practice (in a group, club or personally with a teacher);
• It will take from 30 minutes to an hour of time daily.

Spend a week abroad:

• It would be nice to know an international language, but this is not a necessary condition. You can choose a country where this is not needed;
• Here's what you need: a passport to travel abroad, a visa, money (about $400–700), vacation and a determined attitude.

We recommend

“Project management in an organization: structure, responsible persons and methods of organizing work” Read more

Explore the area for your project:

• This will require strength of character and determination, because launching an entire company is not an easy task. If you are in the accounting department and see yourself as a restaurateur, follow your dream. Quit your old job, get a job as a waiter, move forward to the position of manager and then manager. Delve into the intricacies of the process. Find something that is truly interesting to you, introduce yourself and develop there;
• You will need the ability to analyze, work hard, be able to see the interests of the client and satisfy them, and not be afraid to take risks.

Record a song in a recording studio:

• If you dream of singing, sing. You just have to put in a little effort and everything will work out;
• you will need $50 monthly to pay for vocal lessons, twice a week for an hour for classes with a teacher, half an hour of daily independent training, plus $40 to pay for the services of a recording studio.

2. Checking the target

This is an important step in the process of understanding how to set goals in life. Give yourself answers to a few questions:

• Do I have enough resources? Set a goal to get them if the answer is no.
• Will I be able to devote the whole day to working on the task at hand? After all, this will require additional effort.
• If it doesn’t work out, will I be too upset or will I calmly come up with a new activity?
• Why do I need this? Will I feel like a happy winner when I accomplish my goal?
• You tried to set realistic goals - now imagine that you have achieved them. Is everything good now, was your journey pleasant, are you satisfied with the result?

There is a good way to assess the necessity of the tasks set for you: if you imagine, even before setting goals, that they have already been outlined, but don’t do anything yet, but just live with thoughts about it for a couple of days.

• Double your income. You will have to go for additional training, or take on more responsibilities, or work harder to find new clients. Do you know how to do this?
• Watch movies without translation. You can start by watching the originals with subtitles in Russian, studying the language for an hour every day. Do you want this? Will you spend time and energy on this?
• Take a week-long trip abroad. Collect information about the selected country. Have you lost the desire to go there, do you want to spend money on it or will you come up with something else?
• Conduct an analysis of the area chosen for your project and the activities of competitors. Study the opinions of other business representatives in the area in which you yourself would like to work, find a way to personally talk with those who could become an example for you, learn about the pitfalls.
• Record a song performed by yourself. Take one vocal class. Many schools do not charge money for the first trial.

3. The first step towards achieving the goal

So, you have already understood how to set goals, outlined one (or several) for yourself, checked it, and decided on your obligations. You can start doing it.

Now it is very important to determine what should be the first step towards achieving the goals.

Here are the first steps regarding the given examples:

• Double your income. Give an objective assessment of the existing circumstances and write down ways to double your income. It will take about two hours.
• Watch movies without translation. Choose a couple of schools for teaching foreign languages ​​and go to each for a trial lesson. You will understand what your level is and where the conditions are better. It will take a couple of hours.
• Take a week-long trip abroad. Write down countries that you have enough money to visit and it will be interesting to visit there. It will take about three hours.
• Conduct a business area analysis for your project. Write down what you need to have and do in order to start a new business in a given niche. It will take about eight hours.
• Record a song performed by yourself. Go to a trial lesson with a vocal teacher. It takes one hour.

4. What to do if you fail?

Just don't get upset! Failure of a set goal is also a result.

After some effort, did you feel like you didn't really need it and stopped? Wonderful!

What are the positives of the situation? They are:

• You become more aware of what is really important to you and what is not so important.
• When faced with difficulties, you now know exactly where they can await you, and you will look for other ways.
• Have you miscalculated your strength? Well, now it’s easier to understand how to set new goals based on your capabilities. And what was planned is already half done - that’s also a plus.

We recommend

“Business financing: in search of reliable sources of borrowed funds” Read more

The following achievements can hardly be considered failures:

• Double your income. It turned out only 50%.
• Watch movies without translation. Sherlock is still too tough for you, but for Friends you don’t need a translation.
• Take a week-long trip abroad. You spent a week in the mountains in your country.
• Conduct a business area analysis for your project. It became clear that you need to start with $50,000 in hand, you can’t do it without a partner, and you are already in the search process.
• Record a song performed by yourself. Two months of lessons with a teacher showed that you don’t like singing and don’t enjoy it.

Plan and work

Knowing WHAT you want to achieve, it is easier to determine HOW to achieve it. If the goal is complex or long-term (create your own business in the IT industry, buy an apartment without taking out a mortgage), then your action plan will be more extensive. Don't be alarmed. We will tell you about 2 ways to go towards your huge goal in our video

.

1. By time. Set yourself milestones. What should I achieve in a year? What should I be like in 2 years? What should I know, be able to do?
2. Make a list of everything you need to do to achieve your goal. Get an education, study the market sector, analyze the achievements of competitors, reach first the local, then the regional level - the more detailed the actions are, the more effective the work will be.

This is my country

Two astronauts slowly fly over the Earth while on the Mir space station. At this time they play “city”:

- Moscow;

— Moscow has already been... Samara;

- So it’s in “C”;

- Yes, we’re flying over Samara, see?

And it was at this moment that the well-known phrase sounded from the mouth of the senior cosmonaut: “The most beautiful girls are in Samara.” The second cosmonaut did not agree with this and said that the most beautiful ones were in Novgorod.

Another view of the Earth from space. They are trying to contact the crew via radio from Earth:

- First! First! This is "Earth". Can you hear me? Why was the connection disconnected? Welcome!

- This is the first one. We're fine. Let's start work.

Supplement your main goal with useful habits

A habit is an automated action that we constantly feel the need to perform. We automatically do exercises, drink coffee in the morning, and check email when we come to work. And if something disrupts the course of events, we begin to get nervous.

Habits help you save internal energy to solve more important and complex tasks. There is no longer any need to waste time and energy thinking about whether to do exercises now. You just go and do what needs to be done without thinking. Therefore, it is important to form healthy habits. They make our lives easier and have a positive impact on our work.

Watch your thoughts - they become words.

Watch your words - they become actions.

Watch your actions - they become habits.

Watch your habits - they become character.

Watch your character - it determines your destiny.

O. Khayyam

Believe in yourself

This advertisement describes the beginning of Alla Pugacheva’s career path. About the troubles that always haunted her.

Playing in the background of her speech is her very first and unsuccessful solo concert in the 1970s. The audience doesn’t really listen to her: some play chess, some knit, and so on. At the end of her number, a spotlight began to sparkle above her head.

Next we move to the dressing room, where the manager calms her down and says that soon everyone will know about her. However, she doesn't believe it.

The main result of the video was her last phrase: “You just need to believe in yourself and everything will work out.”

What is unusual is that young Alla Pugacheva is played by her daughter, Kristina Orbakaite. And the role of the littlest Kriska is played by her son, Nikita Presnyakov.

SmartProgress helps you form healthy habits

On the SmartProgress service you can set not only a regular goal, but also a habit goal. This will help form and consolidate daily repetitive actions: jogging in the morning, reading books, walking, getting up early. If you decide to give up something, then in this case the habit goal will work. Regularity is important when forming a habit. That's why a habit goal doesn't take a vacation. Running in the morning every other day or taking a break from sports on holidays will not achieve the desired result.

For example, in your SmartProgress profile you set a habit goal to “get up early.” Your job is to check in with your goal after completing your daily action.

For five days you conscientiously celebrated your achievements, but you missed the sixth day. A red cross (failure) appears in the habit goal and you have to start your journey again.

Once you place the final checkmark on your goal, it will automatically complete. Write a conclusion, note the difficulties and successes of forming this goal. And start a new one! As Lao Tzu said, “A journey of 1000 li begins with the first step.”

1. Think about which goal is most relevant to you today. Is this a habit goal or does it require relatively more preparation?
2. Formulate the goal in accordance with SMART criteria. It must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
3. Choose how you plan your actions: chronologically or to-do list.
4. Create a goal on SmartProgress and write down your plan to achieve the goal.
5. Start implementing the plan.

Sometimes people set goals incorrectly. Because of this, they become disillusioned and feel unable to achieve greater heights. But EVERYONE can set goals and achieve what they want. We, members of the SmartProgress team, support you and wish you success in achieving your goal!

• Tweet
• Share 0
• Pocket
• VKontakte
• 1
• Login to have your vote counted

We love you

This advertisement is based on the memories of an elderly man riding in a subway car:

First, 1945, still the same metro. Everyone is happy, the melody of the victorious song “From Moscow to Brest” is heard. A young military man on crutches rides with a girl, smiling and laughing. The hero of the video wrote “I love you 1945” on the car window.

It’s already 1968, still a subway car. A little girl sits and cries next to the man. He puts the doll on his hand and tries to cheer up the girl.

And soon 1995. He still peers into the darkness of the tunnel. And on the window appears an inscription written by him from the past: “I love you 1945,” where he corrects the year to 1995.

I love

Everything happens at a concert of the DDT group. Yuri Shevchuk sings the song “Far, Far Away.” Among the spectators in the hall are a deaf-mute girl and a guy. They watch the concert carefully, holding hands. The following is a dialogue in sign language:

- Do you like it?

- Yes very. The song is so beautiful.

-Can you see well? Sit on my shoulders.

- Are you uncomfortable...

- I love you.

- But I don’t have you... I love you very, very, very much!

For some reason, tears always began to flow at this moment. It's too touching.

Disadvantages of SMART goals

Like any other technique, SMART does not provide guarantees and does not promise to fulfill the goal for you. First, you draw up an action plan, understand the deadlines, estimate resources, and then convey the goal to employees and start the process.

A lot of things can affect the achievement of a goal: motivation will decrease, the human factor will play, some new facts will emerge, or the goal will simply become less of a priority.

For example, a manager wants to find a new employee for a department - this is his goal. He determines for himself the criteria for a suitable employee: experience, portfolio, education. According to all formal parameters - resume, test task - the candidate is suitable. In a personal conversation, it turns out that the candidate goes to the company to steal information.