SMARTE GOALS! They have nothing to do with being more intelligent, rather they are about the way you specifically plan a goal! SMARTE is actually an acronym which describes the different important factors to consider when creating a goal.  SMARTE stands for Specific; Measurable; Achievable; Relevant; Timely and Evaluate. In this post, we are going to cover what each part of the SMARTE goal means and how you can use them to plan your goals! We also have a Goal Setting template, as well as a prefilled example template, which you can download to help you with goal setting! SPECIFIC: Goals need to be clear and specific so that you know exactly what you are aiming to achieve! For example, the goal 'to start running' isn't very clear. What constitutes running? Is it running for 5 minutes? Is it running just once in the year? When a goal is this unclear, it makes it very hard to know what you are achieving or how to plan your approach to achieving the goal. A much better example of the goal would be 'to be able to run 5km continuously by the end of April' This example clearly shows that the goal isn't just 'to run', but to be able to run 5km continuously by a certain part of the year. It is often useful to use the five 'W's to help form your specific goal:
MEASURABLE: The measurable part of SMARTE relates to how you are going to track progress, as well as measure success or failure for your goal. After all, if you can't measure your progress or success in the goal, how will you ever know if you've actually achieved it? One of the benefits of being able to monitor progress is that it keeps you on the right track to improvement and ultimately achieving the end goal. A running goal like the example of 'running 5km' is fairly easy to measure, as you can use a fitness watch or running app to keep track of your running distance. If your running distance isn't improving over the number of weeks you are training, then it's pretty clear that you need to change something in your training plan. You could also keep track of the number of breaks you need to take during your 5km runs in training. If your breaks aren't getting shorter or less frequent, than again, you probably need to change something in your training! The goal 'to run 5km continuously' also makes it pretty clear what success or failure will look like. SUCCESS = running the 5km continuously FAILURE = having to take a break during your 5km run To make a goal measurable, it's helpful to ask yourself the following questions:
ACHIEVABLE: The point of a goal is to eventually achieve it, so ensuring that it's something you can actually accomplish is important! Ultimately, you want the goal to be challenging, but not so far out of your reach that it's impossible for you to achieve. Let's use the running goal example again. Say you were someone who has never gone running before: a big goal like 'run a half-marathon in 3 months' is definitely quite the challenge and maybe something you are passionate about doing, but it's likely going to be too difficult for you to actually accomplish. However, the goal 'to run a 5km event in 3 months' is probably a sufficient enough challenge for a beginner runner, but is also definitely achievable! To make a goal achievable, it's helpful to ask yourself the following questions:
RELEVANT For a goal to be relevant, it should be something that you consider worthwhile, meaningful or important to you. The goal of running may not be relevant in the sense that it's something you've always wanted to do; but it may be relevant because you want to be fitter and healthier. Or it could be relevant because your partner likes to go running and you want to be able to go running with them. Identifying why the goal is important or meaningful to you will make the reward of achieving it more motivating! To make a goal relevant, it's helpful to ask yourself the following questions:
TIMELY Goals need to have a clear start and end date so that you have a clear deadline for achieving the goal. Knowing exactly how much time you have to achieve the goal will make it easier for you to prioritise actions towards achieving that goal. Conversely, if the goal is not time-constrained, there will be no sense of urgency and you will likely have less motivation to achieve the goal. To make a goal timely, it's helpful to ask yourself the following questions:
EVALUATE Some people will argue that there is no 'E' or 'evaluate' in SMARTE goals, however, we think this part is actually fairly important! Evaluate is essentially reflecting on how successful you were at achieving your goal. It can be a great way to understand what process of your goal setting worked well; which part maybe needed improvement; and ultimately what you can do next time to make achieving your goals easier! You may even find that performing this 'evaluate' portion throughout your journey to achieving a goal might be helpful in keeping you on track, and knowing whether maybe you need to make an amendment to your goal. To evaluate a goal, it's helpful to ask yourself the following questions:
Take home message SMARTE goals are a great way to really nail down the nitty gritty information that will keep you motivated and on track to completing your goals! Whether it's saving for a house; learning a new language; or maybe learning how to do a triple back flip to show off at parties: we are confident that SMARTE goals will help you have your best shot at success! To make it even easier to use SMARTE goals, we've also made a printable goal setting template for you to download and use! We've also included a version that has been completed as an example for you to refer to if you're feeling a little stuck!
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AUTHORSCarly Rush - Exercise Physiologist Archives
January 2022
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