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.</p><h2 id="710e">Example</h2><ul><li>I want to have 100 followers so I can join the Medium Partnership Program.</li></ul><p id="21e2">This is measurable because I have an exact number of followers within the goal. One hundred is the bare minimum to join the program, but it’s still a specific number.</p><p id="b030">Would I eventually like to have more than that? Absolutely. But we’re doing baby steps.</p><h1 id="d779">A — Achievable</h1><p id="9792">Research your goal. Based on what you can find, is it achievable?</p><p id="6173">Be realistic about this part. Could I technically have more Instagram followers than a Kardashian? Sure, because that many people have accounts. But not all of those people want to see my content and that’s okay! Not everyone cares to read about writing or parenthood or whatever I decide to share.</p><p id="dbea">That’s okay!</p><p id="f613">I’m not a tech savvy person at all. I’ll never pretend to be. That means that people who post mostly about computer science, data science, new tech gadgets, etc. probably wouldn’t be accounts I would follow because they would be way over my head.</p><p id="978b">Not everyone has the same interests as you. Not everyone is as passionate as you are about the topics you post.</p><p id="5f92">Keeping all of that in mind, I think 100 followers is an achievable goal.</p><h1 id="292c">R — Relevant/Reasonable</h1><p id="d839">Is your goal relevant to what you’re trying to achieve? Or is it some random, out of the blue thing you’re trying to do?</p><h2 id="7041">Example</h2><p id="cb9e">I’ve wanted to be a writer most of my life. Nearly all of my personal goals are related to this in some way and it’s something I’ve been working toward for years.</p><ul><li>I’ve been writing and creating for as long as I can remember.</li><li>I joined a creative writing group in middle school called Power of the Pen. We wrote short stories based on the given prompt during our meetings every single week, joined writing competitions (I won once!), and practiced our craft.</li><li>I wanted to get my undergraduate degree in either English or Creative Writing. It took 10.5 years! Life threw me curveball after curveball to the point I thought I would never be able to do it. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Creative Writing with a Fiction Writing concentration on 1/1/23.</li><li>The next logical step for me was to try to get into an MFA program. I knew they were competitive and I wasn’t totally confident in my writing. I submitted a sample and I got in.</li></ul><p id="8845">Do you need to have this kind of track record for your goal to be relevant? Absolutely not! Does your goal need to be huge? NO. The great thing about setting your goals this way is that it can be whatever works for you, no matter how big or small.</p><p id="b2b0">Is it reasonably within your grasp? We might all have huge dreams, but I hate to say that we can’t do everything. We have to know our limits.</p><h2 id="ce1a">Example</h2><p id="6f1f">I’ve played volleyball my entire life. I would have loved to be on the US Olympic volleyball team. Truly. The thought of being on the court with some of my idols takes my breath away and nearly brings a tear to my eye.</p><p id="3861">However, this probab

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ly isn’t a reasonable goal for me.</p><ul><li>First, I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and started suffering from chronic dislocations at the age of 15. I probably can’t play at an Olympic level if I can’t even keep my arms in their sockets.</li><li>Second, I’m almost 29 years old and not nearly as athletic as I used to be. Sure, I could try to work up to that again, but it’s probably safe to say I won’t be up to par with Kerri Walsh Jennings or Misty May-Treanor. A girl can dream though, right?</li></ul><h1 id="3a21">T — Time</h1><p id="5db4">Give yourself a deadline. You’re going to work harder toward your goal if you have a time limit, even if it’s self-imposed. This also ties in with being reasonable.</p><p id="6a4c">Could I write a full length novel in one day? Definitely not. Make a million dollars by the end of the week? Not unless I win the lottery.</p><p id="843f">But if I make a reasonable, consistent schedule with time limits that make sense, I could achieve a realistic goal.</p><h2 id="98c5">Example</h2><p id="4852">I want to have 100 followers by Saturday, March 18. That gives me three full days.</p><p id="9d8b">If I keep posting twice a day and increase my engagement with other writers, I think that’s an attainable goal.</p><p id="98e8">I’m going to add an extra step. Stay with me.</p><p id="b1aa">T should also stand for “Tell people” for two reasons.</p><ul><li>Most people are afraid of failure. If you don’t tell anyone what you want to do, they’ll never know if you don’t get there. The only possible person you’re disappointing is yourself.</li></ul><p id="c6d9">Tell people. You can tell your spouse, a small group of friends, or announce it on a huge social media post. Just tell someone.</p><p id="c9a5">There’s a good chance whoever you tell is going to occasionally ask you how you’re doing or if you’ve made any progress. By doing this, they’re holding you accountable without even realizing it.</p><ul><li>It’s more fun to celebrate your successes with other people! Especially people who have been along for the ride with you.</li></ul><p id="9bf1">Your friends/family/whoever have likely been rooting for you since the beginning. Now you did it! Celebrate however you want to with the people who supported you.</p><figure id="ada5"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*[email protected]"><figcaption>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@markuswinkler?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Markus Winkler</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/-fRAIQHKcc0?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure><p id="e5a8">I hope you have big dreams for yourself and, if you use the SMART method to set your goals, I have no doubt you can achieve them.</p><p id="4ffc">Let me know your personal goals in the comments if you’re willing to share! I want to cheer you on!</p><blockquote id="86bb"><p><a href="">McCaylee Putney </a>has a BA in English and Creative Writing from SNHU. She is working on her MFA in Creative Writing while juggling all the other facets of her life. Follow her here or on Twitter at @mputneywrites to see more of her journey.</p></blockquote></article></body>

How To Set SMART Goals

Including why you should be doing it.

Sometimes you hear or read something that sticks with you for a long time. Something you realize can apply to so many areas of your life.

The SMART method for setting goals is something that’s been with me for years. It’s something I learned about during my brief stint at nursing school. (Nurses are literal superheroes, by the way.)

It’s an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time.

I’m all for sharing knowledge that’s helped me with other people. So, instead of dropping the acronym and leaving you to figure out the rest, I’m going to do this step-by-step with you. I’m going to set a goal with you and work toward making that a SMART goal.

S — Specific

Now we’re getting into the nitty-gritty of goal setting. This might require some thinking and that’s okay.

For this article, I’m going to be using a personal goal and adjusting it for each step so you can see exactly how this works.

Like a lot of people, I want to make money doing something I love. Cool. But that’s not specific enough. Narrow it down.

Writing? We’re getting there.

Freelancing or a consistent platform? What specific platforms pay writers? Do they have a program, like Medium? Do you pitch to them and hope for the best? Is pay based on views or interaction?

These are some of the things I had to think about when setting my goal.

Example

I want to join the Medium Partnership Program.

I could have written that I wanted to gain a following or make money from my writing. Those are great goals, but they’re not specific.

Gaining a following could be just one person, a hundred, a thousand, etc. At the time of this writing, I have 34 followers. That might be a good following for some people and a horrible amount to others. I need to know what my specific, ideal number of followers would be. What would I consider success?

Again, “making money from my writing” could be anything from a penny, paying for a daily coffee, or relying on writing for my entire income. If I made one cent, one time, from my writing, that would be cool, but it’s not my overall goal. Joining the MPP would mean a small, consistent income as long as I continue writing.

M — Measurable

Give your goal a number. I can’t just say that I want to lose weight. Technically, if I lose a single pound, I could say that I’ve done that, but I wouldn’t be happy about it.

What can you use to measure your goal? Followers? Pounds? Word count? A certain consistent income amount? It can be anything that makes sense, but it has to be measurable.

Example

I want to have 100 followers so I can join the Medium Partnership Program.

This is measurable because I have an exact number of followers within the goal. One hundred is the bare minimum to join the program, but it’s still a specific number.

Would I eventually like to have more than that? Absolutely. But we’re doing baby steps.

A — Achievable

Research your goal. Based on what you can find, is it achievable?

Be realistic about this part. Could I technically have more Instagram followers than a Kardashian? Sure, because that many people have accounts. But not all of those people want to see my content and that’s okay! Not everyone cares to read about writing or parenthood or whatever I decide to share.

That’s okay!

I’m not a tech savvy person at all. I’ll never pretend to be. That means that people who post mostly about computer science, data science, new tech gadgets, etc. probably wouldn’t be accounts I would follow because they would be way over my head.

Not everyone has the same interests as you. Not everyone is as passionate as you are about the topics you post.

Keeping all of that in mind, I think 100 followers is an achievable goal.

R — Relevant/Reasonable

Is your goal relevant to what you’re trying to achieve? Or is it some random, out of the blue thing you’re trying to do?

Example

I’ve wanted to be a writer most of my life. Nearly all of my personal goals are related to this in some way and it’s something I’ve been working toward for years.

I’ve been writing and creating for as long as I can remember.
I joined a creative writing group in middle school called Power of the Pen. We wrote short stories based on the given prompt during our meetings every single week, joined writing competitions (I won once!), and practiced our craft.
I wanted to get my undergraduate degree in either English or Creative Writing. It took 10.5 years! Life threw me curveball after curveball to the point I thought I would never be able to do it. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Creative Writing with a Fiction Writing concentration on 1/1/23.
The next logical step for me was to try to get into an MFA program. I knew they were competitive and I wasn’t totally confident in my writing. I submitted a sample and I got in.

Do you need to have this kind of track record for your goal to be relevant? Absolutely not! Does your goal need to be huge? NO. The great thing about setting your goals this way is that it can be whatever works for you, no matter how big or small.

Is it reasonably within your grasp? We might all have huge dreams, but I hate to say that we can’t do everything. We have to know our limits.

Example

I’ve played volleyball my entire life. I would have loved to be on the US Olympic volleyball team. Truly. The thought of being on the court with some of my idols takes my breath away and nearly brings a tear to my eye.

However, this probably isn’t a reasonable goal for me.

First, I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and started suffering from chronic dislocations at the age of 15. I probably can’t play at an Olympic level if I can’t even keep my arms in their sockets.
Second, I’m almost 29 years old and not nearly as athletic as I used to be. Sure, I could try to work up to that again, but it’s probably safe to say I won’t be up to par with Kerri Walsh Jennings or Misty May-Treanor. A girl can dream though, right?

T — Time

Give yourself a deadline. You’re going to work harder toward your goal if you have a time limit, even if it’s self-imposed. This also ties in with being reasonable.

Could I write a full length novel in one day? Definitely not. Make a million dollars by the end of the week? Not unless I win the lottery.

But if I make a reasonable, consistent schedule with time limits that make sense, I could achieve a realistic goal.

Example

I want to have 100 followers by Saturday, March 18. That gives me three full days.

If I keep posting twice a day and increase my engagement with other writers, I think that’s an attainable goal.

I’m going to add an extra step. Stay with me.

T should also stand for “Tell people” for two reasons.

Most people are afraid of failure. If you don’t tell anyone what you want to do, they’ll never know if you don’t get there. The only possible person you’re disappointing is yourself.

Tell people. You can tell your spouse, a small group of friends, or announce it on a huge social media post. Just tell someone.

There’s a good chance whoever you tell is going to occasionally ask you how you’re doing or if you’ve made any progress. By doing this, they’re holding you accountable without even realizing it.

It’s more fun to celebrate your successes with other people! Especially people who have been along for the ride with you.

Your friends/family/whoever have likely been rooting for you since the beginning. Now you did it! Celebrate however you want to with the people who supported you.

I hope you have big dreams for yourself and, if you use the SMART method to set your goals, I have no doubt you can achieve them.

Let me know your personal goals in the comments if you’re willing to share! I want to cheer you on!

McCaylee Putney has a BA in English and Creative Writing from SNHU. She is working on her MFA in Creative Writing while juggling all the other facets of her life. Follow her here or on Twitter at @mputneywrites to see more of her journey.