SMART Goals Template
Are you tired of setting goals you don’t achieve? The reason that many people don’t succeed is because they don’t know how to set effective goals. This free SMART Goals Template will show you how to set goals that you will actually achieve step-by-step.
Setting goals and creating a clear roadmap for how you’ll reach each goal increases your chances of success. It enables you to decide on a plan and prioritize your time and resources to make progress and eventually reach your goals.
When you set a goal, make sure it is SMART.
S – Specific (What will be accomplished? What actions will you take?)
M – Measurable (Can you measure the outcome?)
A – Achievable (Is your goal attainable? Do you have the necessary skills and resources?)
R – Realistic (Is your goal realistically achievable within the given time frame and with the available resources?)
T – Time-bound (Have you set a time limit?)
SMART goals have a higher chance of success since they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Every goal can be made S.M.A.R.T. and as such, has a better chance of becoming reality.
Click on the button below to convert any goal into a SMART goal.
The following SMART goal template will help you write down clear and measurable goals to work toward. Research shows that when you put your goals in writing, you will be much more likely to achieve them. Our free goal-setting template printables will help you set your goals step-by-step in writing.
SMART Goals Template with Action Steps
Typeable PDF | Word | Excel
The PDF version is editable and you can type on it. However, if you prefer working with Excel, then select the goal-setting template Excel format. The Word version is helpful if you want to edit the template.
SMART Goals Worksheet
Use our free printable SMART goals worksheet PDF to ensure that your goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. The SMART goals template will help you ensure that your goal is SMART and thus increase your chances of success. If you want to work on more than one goal, then make a few copies of the printable goal sheets.
SMART Goals Template Excel
How to write a SMART goal step by step.
Goals that are well-defined, detailed, and clear, have a much greater chance of being reached. To make a goal specific, try to relate to the five “W” questions:
- What do I need to do?
- Where will I reach this goal?
- When will I reach the goal by?
- Who needs to be involved to achieve this goal?
- Why do I want to achieve this goal? This is important to keep you motivated and on track and to ensure that the goal is meaningful and worth your time and energy.
Example of a vague or non-specific goal: I want to lose weight.
Example of a specific goal: I want to lose 14 pounds within the next three months by eating clean food only and working out at the gym five days a week. I will feel much better about myself if I lose this weight.
Use the SMART goal sheet to answer each of these questions.
A goal must be measurable so that you can measure your progress and determine if you are on track. You should be able to tell when you reach your goal.
Example: My goal is to lose 14 lbs and to work out five days a week.
The goal should be challenging and require work and not be too easy. It should be attainable with some effort on your part. Ideally, your goal should require you to stretch a little outside of your comfort zone.
Take your available time, skills, and financial situation into account, and whether you can achieve the goal with reasonable effort. Don’t set goals that are too difficult or overwhelming. If your goals are too big, then break them up into mini-goals or baby steps.
Example: I know I can lose 14 lbs since I have done it before. I have also worked out 5 times a week before, so I know it is achievable.
If that sounds overwhelming, then set a goal to lose 2lbs only. When you reach that goal, you will set another goal.
A goal must be realistically achievable within the given time frame and with your available resources.
Example: Since it works out to be about 1 lb a week which is a realistic weight loss my goal is realistic.
A goal must have a start and finish date. You must also have the time to do each of the steps you will need to take.
Example: I will start now and reach my goal in 3 months. I will exercise five times each week and lose about 1 pound each week for 3 months.
It is important that your goal is positive. You want to focus on what you want to do and not what you don’t want to do. What you focus on, increases. So when you focus on not doing something, then that will increase too.
Download the SMART goal-setting worksheet template in black and white or the color version above.
See our goal tracker and goal planner .
Who developed the concept?
The SMART goals acronym was first developed by George Doran in a 1981 article “ There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management goals and objectives ”. The article explains how managers understand that the most critical steps in a company’s management process are the establishment of objectives and the development of their respective action plans. However, most managers cannot write meaningful objectives. The author acknowledges that writing objectives was a major source of anxiety. Therefore, he suggested people just think of the acronym SMART in order to write effective objectives and simplify the process.
Why is it important to put your goals in writing?
According to a study done by Gail Matthews at Dominican University, those who wrote down their goals accomplished significantly more than those who did not write down their goals. In another study by psychology Professor Dr. Gail Matthews, those who wrote down their goals and actions had a success rate that was 33% higher than those who didn’t.
In the book “Goals” by Brian Tracy, the author describes a Harvard University study done in 1979. In the study, researchers asked recent Harvard MBA graduates if they had set any specific goals they wanted to achieve in the future. Only 13% of the graduates had set clear goals and a mere 3% had written their goals down. 84% of the graduates had no goals at all. The researchers followed up with the graduates 10 years later. The graduates who had set themselves goals were making twice as much money as those who hadn’t (on average). And those graduates who had written those goals down were earning 10 times as much (on average)!
How to decide which goals to set for yourself?
To reach your goals, you need to know what they are and you have to write them down clearly but how do you come up with your goals in the first place?
Sit down somewhere quiet and devote time to the process. Think about all your dreams. Include all aspects such as your career, personal development, health, wellness, fitness, family, relationships, financial situation, etc.
Brainstorm and create goals across all areas of your life to ensure that your life is balanced. If you don’t consider all areas, you might find that you have reached your goals but you are still not happy. For example, if your goal is to succeed at work but you put all your time into work and neglect your family or health, then even when you reach your goals you won’t feel fulfilled. You won’t feel happy and content. Therefore, make sure that your goals are balanced to make your life balanced.
Review and revise
A few days later, go over your list. Think about why you want to reach each goal. What benefit will it bring you? You need to be sure that a goal will benefit you or someone you love to make sure that it will be worth your time and effort. If a goal doesn’t benefit you, then take it off the list.
Ask yourself if you are willing to put the effort into reaching each goal.
If you don’t know why you want to achieve a goal or you are not willing to put in the work required, then take it off your list.
Rank your goals
You should now be left with a list of revised goals. Take each goal and rate it in order of importance in your life.
Ask yourself, if I were to achieve the goals on this list, which one would have the greatest positive impact on my life?
- 1 isn’t that important and wouldn’t have much impact
- 10 would be your dream life
Take the top four goals that have the highest ranking and start working on those. In the book “How to Get the Most Out of Your Life” By Zig Ziglar, the author explains that four is the maximum number of goals anyone can realistically juggle. That doesn’t mean that you won’t work on your other goals. You will just put them on hold until you’ve achieved one of your top four goals.
Benefits of SMART Goals
Why should your goals be SMART?
Setting goals forces you to think about what you actually want in life
So many people live their lives on autopilot. They don’t even stop to ask themselves what they want out of life they just “survive”. They might have a vision but as the saying goes “a vision without a plan is just a dream”. If you want to turn a dream into reality, you need to sit down and plan. You need to clearly define each goal and create a plan to reach it. Setting SMART goals forces you to give thought to what you want to achieve and if you are willing to do what it takes to achieve them. This reflection process is essential to living the life that you want. Some people set goals that they don’t really want or don’t matter enough to them. They might think they do or maybe society or their parents might have influenced them. Once they sit down and devote time to writing their goals they might decide to change them to achieve things that are more important to them. Setting SMART goals enables you to devote time to reflection and ensure that your goals are really what you want to achieve.
Increase your chance of reaching your goals
Setting goals and achieving them will enable you to live the life you want. However, you need to know where you want to end up before you create a plan of action. Most people don’t reach their potential. They are frustrated by their lack of progress in their career, personal life, or relationships. For some reason, they cannot seem to live their dream life. Why do some people achieve amazing accomplishments and others stay stuck their entire lives? The reason most people don’t reach their potential is that they don’t believe they can and they haven’t taken the time to decide exactly what they want and how to get it. In fact, most people don’t even know how to set goals properly and have never actually set defined goals.
SMART goals make you more efficient
Even if you set goals but your goal-setting process is not effective, then the chance that you achieve your goals is not nearly as great. Moreover, you might even find yourself working really hard to reach your goals but if you are not working effectively toward your goals it might not get you where you want to go. When you set SMART goals and an effective action plan you will find yourself becoming a lot more efficient. You will spend your time on the things that matter (i.e. the things that will advance your goals).
SMART goals save you time
Once you have clearly defined goals, it will help you stay focused and prevent you from becoming distracted or focusing on things that won’t help you reach your goals. This is because a SMART goal has clearly defined outcomes so you will be in a better position to understand exactly what you need to do to achieve your goal. It might take time to sit and define your goals but in the long run, you will save a lot of time so it is worth it. Once you have defined your goals you can eliminate many activities that don’t promote your goals and you will focus on those that do. This will make you more effective. You will also enjoy your time more since you won’t be wasting time on things that don’t lead you to your goal.
How to Reach your SMART Goals
Create an action plan.
Break your goal down into small manageable targets. Set action items to reach each target. How do you do this?
Write down all the action items you can think of that you could do to achieve your goal. Include the steps you will take, the resources you will need and the knowledge you will need to acquire. Keep adding to this list until it is complete. You will find yourself adding things later on that you suddenly realize you need. That is great. Be flexible and revise your list whenever you need to. Our free goal planner will help you do this.
Organize your list into an action plan. List every single action item you will need to complete in order to achieve your goal. You can use our free checklist template to do this. Try to organize the list in the order you need to complete the tasks as it will help you be more organized and systematic. The order should be determined either by priority or by the things that need to be done first to allow other things to be done. I always like to focus on the 20% of the tasks that will account for 80% of your success. However, it isn’t always clear which of the items are in the 20% group. If you can identify them, then focus on them first.
Once your action plan is ready, get to work! Start today and do something every day to move you toward the achievement of your goals. Keep going every single day. When you do this, you trigger the “momentum principle” of success. It may be hard in the beginning but, eventually, it becomes a habit, and reaching your goals will get easier and easier.
Hold yourself accountable
Print our free goal planner and map out the milestones that will lead you to achieve your goal in the monthly planner . Each week, schedule the tasks that you will need to complete in your weekly and daily planner . At the end of each day, spend a few minutes on reflection. Did you reach your goals for that day? If not, what can you do the next day to reach them? Plan your goals for the next day ahead of time. Either do it first thing in the morning if you have time or the night before if you don’t have time in the morning.
Reaching your goals takes hard work and determination. If you don’t put in the work, you won’t get where you want to go. You also need to understand that anything worth getting is going to take time. Keep at it. Don’t give up. Even those people who are considered extremely successful have encountered obstacles. Work hard and you will get wherever you want to be, reach your potential and live your dream life.
Stay motivated and determined
How do you stay motivated to reach your goals?
Determination is what will keep you doing whatever you need to do to reach your goals. Determination is probably one of the traits that separate those who succeed from those who don’t. If you are determined to reach your goals then you will reach them. When you encounter an obstacle, you will overcome it (see turn lemons into lemonade ). If your motivation and determination start fading, then try the following: • In your goal planner there is a section to record why you want to reach each goal. Read this over and remind yourself why you are doing this. This will help motivate you and make you more determined to reach your goals. • Positive thoughts can materialize into reality, so stay positive (see how to manifest your goals). As soon as people encounter obstacles, many start with negative self-talk. They persuade themselves that they cannot achieve their goals and there is no use. Try using positive affirmations to offset negative self-talk and limiting beliefs (see how to write affirmations ). You might want to create positive affirmation cards and put them all over your home to remind yourself that you are totally capable of reaching your goals. • Try visualization to imagine yourself reaching your goals. You might also want to create a vision board to have a visual picture of where you are going.
References:
- There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management’s goals and objectives – George T. Doran – Management Review (1981)
- Achieving your goals: An evidence-based approach, John Traugott, Michigan State University Extension – August 26, 2014
- Why You Should Be Writing Down Your Goals, Forbes
- Goals! (2003), Brian Tracy
3 thoughts on “SMART Goals Template”
Awesome Templates. SMART Goals the only way 2 Go
Thank you for the great helpful article. I can not wait to start SMART process.
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Free Action Plan PDF Templates
Smartsheet Contributor Kate Eby
January 24, 2023
We’ve gathered a variety of action plan templates for Adobe PDF that can help you break down your goals into workable steps. You and your team can use these templates to monitor and fulfill project goals.
Included on this page, you’ll find a simple action plan template , a 30-60-90-day action plan template , a business action plan template , a corrective action plan template , an incident action plan template , and a student action plan template .
Simple Action Plan Template for Adobe PDF
Download the Sample Simple Action Plan Template for Adobe PDF Download the Blank Simple Action Plan Template for Adobe PDF
This simple action plan template is the perfect tool to assist you in planning and executing your goals. Start by describing your project’s primary goal. Next, list your benchmarks for success and your evaluation plan for measuring achievement. Use the template’s Strategic Action Descriptions column to list the components of your action plan, including the party or department responsible for it, the timeline, the resources required, any potential hazards, and the desired outcome. Download the template with sample text as a guideline, or try the blank version to build your action plan from scratch.
For free, customizable action item templates and resources, see this article on action item templates .
30-60-90 Day Action Plan Template for Adobe PDF
Download the Sample 30-60-90 Day Action Plan Template for Adobe PDF Download the Blank 30-60-90 Day Action Plan Template for Adobe PDF
Whether you’re in sales, project management, or another line of work, this 30-60-90 day action plan template is a perfect solution for mapping out your goals and deliverables. For each task in your action plan, provide a description, who it’s assigned to, and a due date. If you’re using the full 90 days, the template breaks down that plan into three 30-day segments. Set milestones along the way to ensure that you’re meeting goals in a timely manner.
See this article with more action plan templates in various formats to help ensure that your team is on track.
Business Action Plan Template for Adobe PDF
Download the Sample Business Action Plan Template for Adobe PDF Download the Blank Business Action Plan Template for Adobe PDF
Document key goals and individual tasks with this business action plan template. This template assists you in creating a high-level plan for your primary business objectives and tracking the status of each goal and task. The template’s line-by-line, individual task section helps you clarify the components of your action plan, as well as add descriptions, timelines, required resources, outcomes, and responsible parties. Download the template today to ensure that your action plan is a success.
Use a free marketing action plan template to strategize a successful marketing action plan.
Check out this comprehensive article on mutual action plan (MAP) templates to ensure that you are accurately and adequately documenting the MAP process. By doing so, you can maximize benefits for buyers and sellers during the buying process.
Corrective Action Plan Template for Adobe PDF
Download the Corrective Action Plan Template for Adobe PDF
This corrective action plan template helps employers, employees, mentors, HR professionals, and other personnel create a document with actionable steps. By doing so, anyone can ensure that all parties have a clear understanding of what steps they or their team members need to take to improve their performance. The template is an important tool for clarifying areas of concern, potential improvements, desired outcomes, and next steps.
Check out this collection of performance improvement plan templates to ensure that you take the most effective corrective measures for performance improvement.
Incident Action Plan Template for Adobe PDF
Download the Incident Action Plan Template for Adobe PDF
Solidify your organization’s incident management plan with this comprehensive incident action plan template. This template provides a High-Level Outline section for your action plan, as well as sections where you can record key personnel and contact information, backup procedures, and recovery plans. This template also includes a Version History section for version control, along with room for the names, dates, and signatures of the plan’s preparer and approver so that your action plan is up to date and ready to use if needed.
Student Action Plan Template for Adobe PDF
Download the Student Action Plan Template for Adobe PDF
Facilitate any student’s path to success with this dynamic student action plan template. The template enables you to set an overarching student achievement goal and to list support data, standardized assessments, and local assessments. For the student to succeed, provide both a strategy description and any supporting research that corroborates it. Finally, add strategic action descriptions, including desired outcomes and evaluation plan details, that the student must take to improve their academic performance.
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Smart Action Plan PDF
Setting Goals Is Critical in Achieving Objectives, Whether for Personal or Career. Get Your Smart Action Plan Examples From Template.net. Choose From Goals Examples, Goal Planners, and Goal-Setting Worksheets That You Can Edit Using Excel. Get Printable Excel Templates for Your Goal Worksheet, or Choose to Download in Microsoft Word. Visit Template.net Today! See more
Are you in search of an efficient way to write a smart action plan for your organization? Then you are in the right place, with the help of our Smart Action Plan Templates that we have on the website, you can make set goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bounded. Making a plan from scratch is indeed a challenging task, but we have templates that will help make that task a lot easier.
Before we talk more about our templates, why do you need to have a smart action plan? The answer to that is because the set objectives are easier to achieve when everything is properly laid out in the document. Aside from that, you're also minimizing the risk of overlooking certain goals since they are being bounded by time. Such plans are used by individuals, businesses, and organizations to help in proper goal setting. Smart Business Plans are suitable for every business or organization, regardless of how small or big they are. And with the help of our templates, you can make the right one that you need with ease.
But with a lot of websites offering Plan Templates , why should you use the ones from Template.net? For one thing, our templates come with suggestive contents that were written by our team of excellent writers, and these contents are 100% customizable. Another, our website has its own editing workspace that you can use for making revisions and adjustments to the template's content and layout in real-time. And last but not least, we have an attentive customer support team ready to assist you in any way they can. So? Avail yourself of our templates now!
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13 Free SMART Goals Templates to Edit, Download, and Print
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Goals are meant to get you to where you want to go. They are an important component of success.
However, if a person or a company’s goals are vague or unrealistic, they can do more harm than good.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry expressed it quite clearly in this quote:
“ A goal without a plan is just a wish. ”
SMART goals templates help you to achieve success.
With a SMART template, you’ll be able to keep track of goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely.
In this post, we share our collection of 12 SMART templates to help you succeed in your goal-setting.
You’ll find templates that are ideal for introducing goal-setting to children, templates for both businesses and personal life, colorful templates, and minimalistic ones as well.
Let’s dive into the list and get you started on your journey to success.
Table of Contents
1. DGH SMART Goals Printable
Download the PDF
If you want a simple way to create SMART goals for any area of your life, our Free Printable SMART Goals Worksheet can help. Learn how to use this worksheet by reading our guide here .
2. DGH SMART Goals Template (Guided)
First on the list is our very own Guided SMART Goals Template. We’ve added a guide question for each aspect of SMART goal setting to help you throughout the process. This is ideal if you are just starting out with SMART goal setting and need a bit of guidance. This simple template comes in A4 size.
3. DGH SMART Goals Template
For the more experienced SMART goal setter who doesn’t like distractions, this template is for you. Its no-frills approach will help you get to the execution part of your plan faster. It is straightforward: just write your SMART goal in each dedicated box. This simple template comes in A4 size.
4. SMART Goal Planner
via Fractus Learning
Finally, we have this template sample from Fractus Learning. This template ensures that the goals you are creating are concrete.
Just like the other templates, it has sufficient space where you can write the details of your SMART goals. Then, at the bottom of the page, there is enough space to write a clear statement of your goal.
5. Professional Looking Goal Setting Template
via Wise Goals
Here is a professional-looking template for your SMART goals. It can be downloaded as a printable PDF file. ( Administrative assistants can use it to set their smart goals. )
The header contains a motivational quote from Daisaku Ikeda, one of the most influential Japanese pacifists and spiritual leaders of the 20 th century. The quote says:
“ Anyone who has ever made a resolution discovers that the strength of their determination fades with time. The important thing is not that your resolve never wavers, but that you don’t get down on yourself when it does and throw in the towel. ”
We agree. Never give up, even when life gets hard .
6. Simple Goal Worksheet
This template is primarily designed for student use. It has two main sections:
In the Brainstorm section, template users are to identify up to four personal strengths, as well as four of the challenges they face in relation to the goal they want to achieve. ( Check out this post of self-awareness activities to help discover your personal strengths. )
The Goal section, meanwhile, provides space for the user to write a statement about their goal. There is also space to write three actionable steps for achieving this goal.
Another column in this section allows the user to identify key helpers and/or accountability partners to help them attain their goal.
Finally, like a binding contract, the user signs their name at the bottom of the page.
7. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely
When working your way to success, it is important to be as specific as possible with your goals.
For example, rather than declaring “Lose weight this year,” you can make it more specific by stating “Lose 25 pounds by summer.”
This specific statement conditions your brain to work on achieving a specific goal. It sets you up for guaranteed success.
In this template, you’ll be prompted to specify your goals. Then you are encouraged to reflect on and identify obstacles and setbacks that might stand in the way of obtaining what you want.
After that, a section lets you identify up to seven action items and tasks. There are also slots for target dates.
These deadlines help create a sense of urgency for your brain. This, in turn, makes you receptive to opportunities that bring you closer to your goals.
Finally, the worksheet has space for writing down how you will reward yourself when you’ve achieved your goals. ( Check out some ideas for rewarding yourself. )
8. My SMART Goal
This simple template is an ideal goal-setting tool when you need a no-frills approach to tracking your goals.
Although initially designed for kids, this template actually works well for people of all ages.
The template comes in a teal-colored theme. Unlike other templates, this one prompts you to reflect on why your goal is important to you.
If you’re working on goal-setting with kids, you might want to display their goal worksheets after they’ve filled them out. This serves as a visual reminder, much like a vision board , which activates the Law of Attraction and helps them achieve what they want.
9. Simple SMART Goal Templates
If you’re looking for a a variety of SMART goals templates, these might be the one for you.
When you’re using a SMART template, you will be encouraged to reflect on how important or worthwhile your goal is.
Some of the questions that help you explore this aspect of goal-setting are:
- Does it really matter to you?
- Why are you doing this?
- Does it support others and/or a wider purpose?
Determining how relevant your goal is often helps you become more committed to following through with it.
10. SMART Goals for Kids
First on the list is a template designed for kids.
Introducing goal-setting to children helps them develop this life skill early on.
It can be especially valuable as they take on bigger responsibilities. It can also be a springboard to help them learn about personal responsibility .
This example is available from Template Lab (clicking the link instantly downloads a .zip file of the template). It features a colorful template with the image of a kid surrounded by speech bubbles.
Each speech bubble contains a prompt that kids will answer in order to establish their SMART goals.
The template is downloadable and editable as a Word, Excel, or PDF file.
11. Colorful Template
This colorful template is pretty straightforward when it comes to helping you plan your SMART goals.
It has a number of spaces for different aspects of SMART goal-setting. One goal goes into each sheet of the template.
The beauty of this template is that you can use it for any type of goal-setting. You can plot out your monthly goals with it, and it’s also great for creating exciting, long-term goals .
12. SMART Goal Map
This goal map is primarily designed to help students set and achieve their goals.
Each of the five boxes represents one letter of the SMART acronym. There are also guide questions you can answer in relation to SMART goal-setting.
Children and young people benefit from setting small, achievable goals. Accomplishing these goals boosts confidence and encourages them to apply goal-setting in other areas of their lives.
To help your kids in their goal-setting, you might want to check out this post for SMART goal examples for kids .
13. Gray Themed Goal Setting Template
This elegant template might be what you need for goal setting if you love the color gray. It is intended for use in a team setting, but it can also be tweaked for personal use.
It has guide questions to help you explore and establish your goals, as well as a plan for how to accomplish them.
When formulating your goal, make sure to use clear, concise language. Your goal statement should be one or two sentences only.
Visualize how it will look when you’ve achieved your goal. Set a target date for when the goal has been achieved. Remember to take note of the actual date when you’ve accomplished your goal.
Final Thoughts
Goal-setting often fails because the things that people want to achieve are not written down. Another reason why people fail to achieve their goals is that they don’t have a concrete plan for how to pursue them.
SMART goals templates help bring structure and organization to your goal-setting. In addition, it encourages you to be accountable in working towards what you want to achieve and tracking your progress on your way there.
We hope you have found the template that works best for your needs in today’s post.
You might also want to take a look at some goal-setting worksheets made by Develop Good Habits for you. Head over to this post to check out the free downloadable worksheets .
If you are looking for other resources on goal-setting, the following posts might be of great help:
- 7 SMART Goals Generators & Software for 2023
- 15 Goal Chart Ideas & Templates to Track Your Progress
- 13 Free Goal Setting & Tracking Printables for 2021
- 9 Best Goal Setting Planners (Our 2021 Review)
- 9 Best Goal Setting & Tracking Apps for 2021
Finally, if you want to take your goal-setting efforts to the next level, check out this FREE printable worksheet and a step-by-step process that will help you set effective SMART goals .
- Goal Setting
- SMART Goal Templates
Quick jump to:
Introduction.
Goals have become an integral part of the work, business and life of every modern human being. Because setting a good goal is the fundamental thing you can do on the way to success.
Goals provide clarity and make it easy for you to move in the right direction.
Whereas without goals you’re likely to float along with no progress.
SMART goal setting is a system designed to help you set the right goals and achieve them easily. It helps you channel all your efforts toward new accomplishments and stay motivated along the way.
On this page, you can learn what SMART goals are and how to set SMART goals. Also, you can find smart goals template for personal use at office or home as well as smart goal examples of properly designed SMART goals.
What is SMART goals?
S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym that stands for:
S - specific. Your goals have to be clear and unambiguous. The problem with the general goal-setting system is that the goals lack specificity and therefore make the final destination look blurred.
The mission of the SAMRT goals system is to fix that, so the first principle of the SMART goal-setting is to make your goals as specific as possible. Decide exactly what you want to achieve and say it out loud. Don't go for generic "bigger", "better", "faster". Determine what this all means and name the exact improvement you're looking for.
The SMART system helps you focus on specific results and see exactly what you need to achieve by using action verbs and specific milestones. For example, instead of setting a goal “I want more sales”, you have to say “I am going to increase the sales by 30%”.
M - measurable. The next principle of this goal-setting system is all about making goals measurable. It goes hand-in-hand with the first principle that's about specificity. Meanwhile, it makes sure you can see exactly how far or close you're on the way to your goal and how many steps left to finally reach new heights.
The end result - your goal - has to be measurable so you can certainly see if and when you achieve it. This helps you track the progress and estimate the efforts required to achieve your ambitions. In the example I made earlier “by 30%” is exactly what turns a general goal into a measurable one.
This adds a significant amount of clarity to how the final destination looks like and helps you understand better if each step that you make is getting you closer to your goal or not.
A - achievable or attainable. This is probably the most important criteria of the SMART goal-setting system. Because it makes sure you set the goals that are within reach. It is crucial because very often people set unrealistic goals that they can never achieve due to various factors. Such goals become utopian and unfulfilled dreams.
SMART goals objectives are to help you stay motivated and keep moving forward.
Meanwhile, with unattainable goals, your motivation can vanish quickly forcing you to give up. The attainability really depends on the nature of your goal. Nevertheless, make sure you don’t set goals that are impossible to achieve. In order to see if the goal you set is achievable, check if you have all the resources required to achieve it and if anybody has done it successfully before.
R - relevant. This principle of the SMART goal approach has significant importance from the point of view of motivation.
This feature of a SMART goal makes sure that a goal you set matters to you and you personally consider it important. Unless your attitude towards this particular goal is serious and you care about the final result, then you’re unlikely to stick with it.
Each goal you set has to be relevant in the sense that the thoughts about achieving it keep you up at night and make you want to work even on weekends.
Therefore make sure your goal is relevant at this very stage of your life and it means a lot to you. Otherwise, don't even waste your time on such sudden urges and irrational desires to do something.
T - time-bound. Another problem with the general goal setting is that goals sound vague and have no time boundaries. In order to make a goal time-bound, add the deadline - year, month or day when exactly you want to achieve it. Your goals have to have the start and finish date.
If the goal doesn’t have any time constraints, you’ll never have a sense of urgency and likely to postpone the completion of any goal-related tasks. According to the SMART goal system, each goal you set has to have a due date. Make a clear decision when you want to achieve your goal.
For example, “I’m going to increase sales by 30% by the end of the year” is both specific and time-bound goal. Now it looks like a SMART goal that is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound.
I've also designed a few examples of SMART goals from different spheres that will inspire you and provide even more clarity on how to use this approach.
Examples of SMART goals
Work-related and business goals:.
1. "We will hire 5 new employees for the marketing team over the next 2 months, till December 15"
This goal is specific: 5 employees for the marketing department.
It's measurable: It states exactly how many employees and for what team the company needs to hire.
Achievable: It's totally realistic because 5 new people in two months is a doable task.
Relevant: The company needs to grow faster so it needs more people who'll do marketing.
Time-bound: The goal has an exact deadline - December 15.
2. "We are going to improve the conversion rate on the xyz.com website by 30% till the end of the quarter"
The goal is specific: A 30% conversion rate improvement on a particular website.
It's measurable: The goal statement says exactly how big the desired improvement should be.
Achievable: It's totally realistic because last quarter CRO efforts provided a 25% improvement.
Relevant: The company wants to maximize its revenue.
Time-bound: The goal has an exact deadline - the end of the quarter.
Life-related SMART goals:
1. "I'm going to move to Barcelona till July 2023"
The goal is specific: It says exactly what you want to achieve without any ambiguous statements.
It's measurable: The progress is easy to measure.
Achievable: It's totally realistic if you have required documents and enough money for that.
Relevant: If you are eager to change the place where you live, this goal is totally relevant.
Time-bound: July 2023 at the latest is when the goal has to be accomplished.
Sport-related SMART goals:
1. "I'm going to run a sub-3-hour marathon in April 2023 in London"
The goal is super specific: It says what, when, how and where you going to do.
It's measurable: It says exactly what pace you should be running at to hit that sub-3-hour mark.
Achievable: It's totally realistic because last marathon was 3 hours 9 minutes. And there is plenty of time to prepare properly for the race.
Relevant: Of course, it is. What runner doesn't want to run this fast?
Time-bound: The goal has an exact deadline - April 2023.
Thinking about getting started with the S.M.A.R.T goal setting? Take a step further goal-setting theory and apply this system to your own life with one of this simple and convenient ready-made smart goals template designed for writing smart goals.
Download SMART Goal PDF Templates
Have a list of objectives you want to achieve? Now it's time to upgrade your goals and write smart goals that will help you set, achieve goals and improve your life.
Setting smart goals is easy with the templates. These worksheets simplify the process and help you master the s.m.a.r.t. goals technique faster without worrying about the layout. They have all the SMART goals important criteria and key parts required to start setting goals and objectives smarter.
Each template has a set of questions that will guide you through the process and help you learn how to set SMART goals efficiently. Each template is dedicated to one specific goal that you want to capture and focus on.
These templates were professionally designed to help you apply all the theoretical knowledge about this system and start setting s.m.a.r.t.e.r goals using the print-ready files. The templates are available in two styles that both look great when printed.
Choose the template you like and click the button below to download a worksheet in PDF, customize the size to choose the one you need and print it out at the office or home or local print shop.
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How to set SMART goals (+ examples and templates)
Last updated on: December 21, 2021
Norman Vincent Peale, an advocate of the positive thinking movement, once said:
So, by proxy, goals are everywhere. And, more to the point, everyone has their own.
But, are our goals always worth pursuing?
Are our goals always even possible to pursue?
Are our goals tangible enough?
Are our goals integral to our lives?
Can we easily recognize whether we’ve been successful in reaching our goals (or not)?
Can we mark goals with a time frame and a motivating deadline?
Those are all difficult questions — ones that often seem to surpass our ability to answer in a straightforward, methodical, and logical way. Luckily, there’s simple criteria you can use as a point of reference to determine the value of any goal — and that are the SMART criteria .
Now, what exactly are the SMART criteria? What are SMART goals? And how do they work?
To help shed light on these principles here’s your very own SMART Goal-Setting 101 Guide that helps explain everything you need to know about this popular and useful goal-setting strategy.
Table of Contents
What is a SMART goal?
We all have goals — to be more successful in what we do, to enroll in a university, improve our skills, lose weight — the list goes on. But, have you ever stopped to think is it really enough to say “I want” to accomplish something. Well, most often, it’s not.
This is where the SMART goal concept comes in. The SMART goal concept helps you elaborate your aims and desires thoroughly, make an action plan, and as a result — the possibility to achieve your goal increases tremendously. SMART goals are also known as SMART criteria or SMART objectives, too.
What does SMART stand for?
The acronym SMART stands for 5 characteristics of a goal that must be included in the process in order to successfully achieve the goal:
- S pecific — i.e. they are straightforward, precise, and can be easily defined.
- M easurable — i.e. they imply a clear tool or points of reference you can use in order to assess whether you are successful in progressing toward or reaching the said goal (or not).
- A ttainable —i.e. they are realistic, in terms that you have a reasonable amount of time, money, and skills to successfully reach them.
- R elevant — i.e. they hold certain importance within your life, the project you’re currently working on, or your business as a whole.
- T ime-bound — i.e. they “bind” you with a specific time frame you’ll have to work on reaching the goal, in order to call your efforts a success.
Take a look at the example with cutting time while processing data in Excel below:
The application of SMART goals is versatile — you can use these criteria to decide whether it’s worth it to pursue specific career goals or work on specific areas of your personal development.
To help you wrap your head around the matter, here’s a few examples that illustrate what SMART goals really are (and, perhaps even more importantly, what they’re not).
1. What are Specific Goals? (Specific goal example)
Saying that you want to “be in marketing” is a nonspecific goal.
It’s what you usually say to your extended family when you want them to stop pestering you about when you’re going to get a job — it sounds nice, it may even impress your grandparents, but it’s too broad to actually motivate you to act on it.
On the other hand, saying that you want to “land the position of a junior marketing specialist in a Boston tech company” — now, that’s a well-defined, specific goal you can strive for.
2. What are Measurable Goals? (Measurable goal example)
Saying that you’re going to study for your Math exam that’s scheduled this Monday is not a measurable goal.
Again it’s something you tell your parents to get them off your back — it suggests no actionable plan, and no distinguishable milestones to help keep you on track.
But, saying that you’re going to study for your Math exam for 5 hours each day, leading up to the next to last day before the exam when you’ll revise everything — that’s a measurable goal with clear milestones and a plan you can follow (and, more importantly, a plan you can stick to).
💡 Whatever SMART goal you set, it’s best that you measure and keep track of it with a suitable tool, to make sure you stay on track throughout it. Here’s the definitive list of the Best goal tracker apps you can use for the purpose.
3. What are Attainable Goals? (Attainable goal example)
Saying that you’ll lose 30 lbs in one month is usually not attainable .
There are two outcomes that can come from such an overachieving goal. And neither is favorable:
- You go on a strict diet and exercise routine. You stick to your diet with faltering and exercise hard every morning. But, ultimately, you fail because it’s simply near-impossible to lose that much in such a short time. As a result, you feel demoralized, despite the problem being striving too high, and not your own lack of skills and determination.
- You feel discouraged by such an unfeasible goal from the start. So much that you give up without even trying.
On the other hand, saying that you’ll lose 3 lbs every week for a month by eating healthier and exercising regularly is attainable .
With such a reasonable goal, you’ll have the best chance to maintain motivation throughout it.
4. What are Relevant Goals? (Relevant goal example)
Say you want to major in Economics. That sounds relevant and worthwhile, right?
However, you’re not the least bit interested in Economics, and you don’t plan on pursuing a career in Economics in the future. That right there makes it an irrelevant goal, as it’s not clear what you’ll gain in life by working toward it (apart from gaining a college degree, which you can also manage by studying something you like ).
As concluded earlier, it’s always best to pursue a college education in a topic that interests you. A college education goal may also be relevant if you pick a potentially profitable subject you’re not 100% passionate about, but want to pursue, and know you’ll be able to land a prospective job with.
5. What are Time-bound goals? (Time-bound goal example)
Saying that you “want to participate in a poem writing contest that’s due next week” is admirable.
But, phrasing it like that means it’s not a time-bound goal .
In this case, the contest has a deadline — say it’s Sunday, February 2nd. But, you yourself don’t have a deadline for your work defined.
Will you submit your finished work on Tuesday? Or Wednesday? Or 5 hours before the contest deadline, giving you enough time to tweak to perfection?
What is your time-bound battle plan?
Now, say that you plan to handle the contest by:
- writing the first draft for your poem on Monday, January 27th
- revising everything on Tuesday, January 28th
- finalizing the rhyme scheme on Wednesday, January 29th
- sending out the poem on Thursday, 3 days before the deadline
That’s a time-bound goal you can work with.
Why should you use SMART goals?
Even ancient Greek philosophers emphasized the importance of goal setting and proposed that “ Purpose can incite action ”. Setting your goals by following the SMART criteria will help you elaborate on them more thoroughly, and see if the goal you want to achieve has any potential, or if it’s just a waste of time. Here is how the SMART goal concept can benefit you:
1. Diminishes procrastination
In a study that was conducted in 2011, the authors wanted to find out whether a SMART goal worksheet can help students enhance their performance and learning outcomes. The authors gave students a team project as an assignment and introduced them to the SMART goal concept to help them finish their project. The result was more than desirable. Apart from showing effective team collaboration and creating precise work time estimates , students didn’t wait to finish their projects until the very end. Using SMART goal worksheets helped them ease procrastination and timely complete their projects.
Therefore, having a SMART goal concept in mind can help you boost your performance and stop procrastinating for good. Instead of “ I’m going to finish work ”, say “ I’m going to work tomorrow for 3 hours, tackle the most important tasks first, and deal with the less important ones later. ”
2. Improves time management skills
Setting goals and efficiently managing your time are two elements that go hand in hand. If you look at the acronym SMART again, you will see that the terms measurable and time-bound refer to time management. That being said, when you have a clearly defined goal or goals, you know how and where to focus your time. What’s more, you can make work time estimates and stick to them to avoid poor utilization of resources. Finally, your improved time management skills will help you reduce distractions and increase your focus on more important tasks.
For that purpose, you can opt for a time tracking tool such as Clockify to get a silent partner in efficiently managing your time and reaching your daily targets .
With integrating SMART goals into your daily routine (whether work or personal), you will never miss a deadline or find excuses for missing your workout again.
3. Gives a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment
The correlation between goal setting and well-being is explained in the subjective well-being cycle or SWB. When you set yourself goals and accomplish them, you feel more satisfied with your life. Those accomplishments and satisfaction trigger us to pursue more goals, and this is how the cycle repeats.
You can’t seem to meet your deadlines?
Integrate the SMART goal concept into your life by following the rules we mentioned earlier and see for yourself. The sense of accomplishment and joy will push you towards setting new goals and achieving more. It’s like eating candy — you just can’t stop because the feeling is so good.
4. Beats workload overwhelm
Little planning ahead never killed nobody — but feeling overwhelmed with work can. By setting your personal or business goals you have a clear picture of what needs to be done, when, where, and how — so, the likelihood of feeling burned out reduces tremendously. What’s more, when you clearly identify your SMART goals, you will learn how to determinedly say “No” to your colleagues the next time they try to swamp you with work. Setting your SMART goals will save you from exhaustion and stress.
Now that you understand what the SMART goal concept means and why it is beneficial — let’s see when SMART goals are the most effective (and when you should avoid them).
When to use SMART goals? ✔️
Are SMART goals effective?
Yes, when used in the right context.
Here’s when SMART goals work best for:
1. Setting priorities
Use the SMART goal criteria when you want to single out your priorities and focus solely on them. Or use them when you feel like you can’t seem to identify your priority tasks and initiatives. The SMART criteria will guide you in the right direction to get a better insight into what’s important to accomplish something, and it’ll save you from wasting your time. If you don’t set your priorities right, you will lose track, and probably end up feeling exhausted .
2. Setting high-level goals
Use SMART goals when you need to focus on high-level goals that involve a number of smaller, specific tasks. High-level goals, such as advancing your career , enrolling in a university, or losing weight, demand a thorough action plan which the SMART goal concept can offer you. For a more detailed explanation, read the How to set SMART goals? section below in this blog post.
3. Tackling your work tasks
SMART goals will help you carry out your ongoing job responsibilities more efficiently and successfully. The SMART goal concept will help you split your goal into smaller, more manageable pieces , and you will have a clearer insight into the tasks needed to achieve the ultimate goal. Tackle your tasks one at a time to efficiently accomplish them and avoid being overwhelmed.
4. New assignments
Use the SMART goal criteria when you’re moving on to new assignments. Whether simple or complex, the SMART goal concept works well with all types of assignments regardless of their complexity or duration. It shifts your attention to what needs to be done and makes a thorough plan to achieve the final goal.
5. Personal development
Incorporating the SMART goal criteria into your daily routine can assist you in making an everlasting, positive change in your life. This way, you can identify areas for improvement and personal growth, and go the extra mile to advance your career.
💡 If you want to perform better at your job following a comprehensive, step-by-step guide, check this article out → How to be better at your job
When SMART goals are not so smart ❌
Now, just because it sounds like the smart thing to do (pun intended), that doesn’t mean that you should view all your tasks and initiatives through the SMART goals prism. Or, try to force them into the SMART goals mold.
Here’s when SMART goals simply don’t work:
1. When you want to use them to “count” your successes and failures
You shouldn’t use SMART goal setting just so you can race past your goals as fast as you can, without stopping to take a breather and reflect on what you’ve learned along the way.
You also shouldn’t view a SMART goal you haven’t accomplished as a failure you need to reprimand yourself for.
Just because you failed this time, doesn’t mean you won’t be able to succeed next time or use the knowledge you gained from pursuing the said goal in the future.
2. When you have the tendency to give up too soon
SMART goals take time — that’s because they’re more complex than your usual, everyday goals, such as getting to the food store before it closes.
As such, they take more effort and dedication — hence, they can be a bigger challenge for people who get nervous when they think they’re not progressing as best as they could.
If you fear that a goal, no matter how SMART it is, is too large for you to commit to it, it’s best that you reassess it, and parse it into smaller, less challenging goals you can reach easier, one by one, until you’ve accomplished everything.
3. When you’re uncertain whether a goal is attainable or not
Out of all the letters in the SMART acronym, the “A”, as “attainable”, is the least precise one.
After all, most of the time, we can only be sure a goal is attainable or not if we’ve already tried pursuing it.
So, are you really sure you have a shot at landing the position of that junior marketing specialist at that Boston tech-company?
Perhaps you don’t have the right qualifications?
Or the right experience?
Just as we’ve seen before with our example with losing 30 lbs in a month, pursuing a goal we’ve defined as attainable (despite it not being so, realistically speaking) is bound to discourage us when we fail to reach it.
Alternatively, we may miss out on some great opportunities if we mark a realistic goal as “out of reach” without properly thinking about it.
4. When managing a project
According to the Scrum methodology, even though the SMART criteria suggest that a goal should be specific and measurable (which agrees with the project management norms), other SMART goal criteria can threaten the success of a project . Since a project goes through many stages during its life cycle, some things, such as if a goal is realistic, cannot be predicted in advance without further analysis. Also, the criterion time-bound doesn’t really fit with the project management principles either. We can’t know when a goal is to be accomplished due to the constant changes during a project’s life cycle.
Therefore, the SMART goal concept doesn’t go hand in hand with project management since it “encourages a simplistic and short-sighted approach to management.”
5. When you expect a challenge
The SMART goal criteria propose that your goal needs to be attainable , meaning that you should know in advance if you have the right skills/knowledge/resources to accomplish something. When we know that a goal is achievable in advance, it gives us some kind of security, but on the other hand, it keeps us stuck in one place. We are deprived of learning new things or acquiring new skills. Sometimes, the thrill of the unknown pushes us towards and makes us realize all the things we can do. Thus, if you are a thrillseeker looking for sudden challenges along the way — maybe the SMART goal concept is not the right for you.
Now that you understand when and when not to use them, here are some examples of well-rounded SMART goals you can find inspiration in:
Inspirational SMART Goal Examples
Do you strive for a profitable business or a career? Or you just want to improve your skills and stay on top of your workload? SMART goals can pitch in and help you with that, but take a look at the 5 examples that we’ve provided first. If you don’t find something for yourself — read the section How to set SMART goals? to create a careful plan for reaching your own goals, or make use of the free SMART goal templates that we’ve carefully created for you.
Let’s go through the examples:
1. SMART goal for improved performance at work (example)
Saying “I want to improve my Excel skills” is too vague. Instead, try making your goal:
- Specific: I want to improve my performance with Excel, in order to get a promotion at work. These performance improvements will focus on quicker data entry, more efficient calculations, and creating graphs.
- Measurable: I’ll know I’ve succeeded, because by the 1st of next month, I’ll be able to enter my data, complete my calculations through custom and combined formulas, create graphs, and carry out my other work in Excel all on my own, and with minimum effort.
- Attainable: I have enough time to work on improving my Excel skills. I can even enroll in an online course to help me understand some of the finer points.
- Relevant: I like working in my company, and I want to continue working there — one of the preconditions of my staying in the company longer and getting a promotion is to streamline my work in Excel.
- Time-bound: I want to perfect my performance with Excel by the 1st of May.
💡 Are you familiar with the Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) term? It may help you boost your work performance, so check this article out → Everything about performance improvement plans
2. SMART goal for improved time management (example)
Poor goal setting → “ I want to accelerate the process of calculating in Excel. ”
Your goal should have the following attributes?
- Specific: It takes me 6 hours to implement all the formulas I need to process data in Excel. I want to cut that time to 3 hours per day, at least.
- Measurable: I can track the time I spend handling Excel data every day, and then observe how that time decreases day by day, and week by week, while I work on improving my schedule.
- Attainable: I have the resources that will help me learn how to be more efficient when using and combining Excel formulas.
- Relevant: I currently spend 6 hours of an 8-hour workday carrying out calculations in Excel, and that’s too much of my time. Cutting that time in half would make sure I have more time for other work activities.
- Time-bound: I want to cut the time I spend on Excel calculations in half by the 15th of next month.
💡 Does the SMART goal you want to reach involve cutting down the time you spend on an activity, task, or type of project? Use Clockify, our free goal tracker , and track your time before and after implementing the SMART criteria, to track your progress and make comparisons across days.
3. SMART goal for students (example)
Your grades won’t get better overnight, and you sure want to get into a top school or university. Well, saying “ I want to improve my GPA ” won’t do miracles. Instead, make sure your goal is:
- Specific: I want to improve my GPA to 3.8 so that I can apply to a semester abroad with full-scholarship covered.
- Measurable: I’ll need to score an A or A+ on all of my tests this semester in order to improve my total GPA to an average of 3.8 in order to qualify for a semester abroad on time.
- Attainable: In recent months, I have fallen behind with school, but I have a history of improving my grades when I put substantial effort in it, so I can improve my grades once again. I’ll need to work hard, temporarily cut back on extracurricular activities, and focus on each test and quiz as it comes along.
- Relevant: The school abroad I want to spend a semester at has a great Chemistry program. Passing that program will come in handy when I go to college, where I want to major in Chemistry, in order to become a Chemical Engineer.
- Time-bound: I want to improve my GPA to 4.0 by the end of this semester, in order to qualify for a position at the college abroad in question.
4. SMART goal for leadership and team management (example)
Do you notice a stall in your team’s productivity? Being a team leader can be a double-edged sword from time to time. However, SMART goals can come to your rescue even in this situation. Make sure your goal to boost your team’s productivity is:
- Specific: I want to motivate my team to improve their productivity by 50%.
- Measurable: 50% of increased productivity will trigger a 50% faster project turnaround.
- Attainable: I’ll use team management software , as well as supply my team with the right productivity tools to help them out.
- Relevant: Higher productivity means faster project turnaround, and faster project turnaround means satisfied clients. Satisfied clients bring a good word of mouth, so we’ll likely land more clients on account of it. As a result of such great results, the team’s morale and their self-confidence will increase, so they’ll feel encouraged to continue with the said good work.
- Time-bound: I want to see the expected improved productivity results 6 months from now.
5. SMART goal for weight loss and fitness (example)
You know that I’m-hitting-the-gym-next-Monday attitude never got you anywhere. Most people (including myself) consider going to the gym or exercising in any form as exhausting, something that requires a lot of will and determination. It is not easy, but setting a goal based on the SMART goal concept can make it much more bearable and joyful. Once you are on the right track, you will regret missing your workouts even during public holidays (again me, but post-SMART-goal attitude this time). Be all ears and ensure that your goal is:
- Specific: I want to lose 10 pounds to improve my fitness and athletic performance.
- Measurable: I want to lose belly fat and be able to endure physical activities without getting tired easily.
- Attainable: There is a gym near my building which has group fitness classes with indoor cycling, weight loss program, pilates, and more. I’m going to try with the weight loss program first to lose some fat, and maybe later switch to pilates to form my body shape. Also, I’m going to avoid fast food and late-night snacking.
- Relevant: I like to look nice in my clothes, and physical appearance really matters to me. Fast food is high in cholesterol and high cholesterol runs in my family, so I need to be extra cautious.
- Time-bound: I need to go to the gym three times a week, go places on foot, and hopefully lose 10 pounds within the period of two to three months. This is a healthier plan since if I lose weight in a short time, I will gain it all back eventually.
How to set SMART goals?
Setting SMART goals shouldn’t be a problem — create a SMART action plan by answering a straightforward set of questions, and follow a few other accompanying steps presented below. Therefore, to make sure your goals are SMART, follow the steps:
1. Set a SMART action plan (with examples)
Let’s say that you want to lose weight. Here are the universal questions to outline a SMART action plan by answering one letter of the SMART acronym at a time:
Questions for Specific goals
If you want to make a goal-specific , consider answering the following questions (you don’t have to answer all of them, but the more questions you answer, the more specific your goal gets):
- Q1: What is the goal?
- Q2: What are the details of the goal?
- Q3: What do I want to accomplish with it?
- Q4: Who is involved?
- Q5: Where is it going to happen?
- Q6: What resources are available?
Examples of answers that prove the goal is specific :
- A1: I want to lose 12 lbs.
- A2: I want to lose 12 lbs by losing 3 lbs each week during the said month — I’ll eat healthier food and exercise to achieve this.
- A3: I want to be healthier, boost my energy, and feel better about myself in general.
- A4: I am the chief person responsible for losing weight, but I’ll also book time with a personal trainer and occasionally consult with my friend who’s a professional nutritionist.
- A5: I’ll go to the gym, and I’ll make most of my healthy meals at home.
- A6: I’ll have advice from my personal trainer and nutritionist friend.
Questions for Measurable goals
If you want to make a goal measurable, consider answering the following questions:
- Q1: How will I measure progress?
- Q2: Do I have the necessary tools to measure your progress?
- Q3: How will I know the goal has been accomplished?
Examples of answers that prove the goal is measurable :
- A1: To measure my progress (or lack thereof), I’ll weigh myself each Sunday afternoon for a month .
- A2: I’ve recently bought a high-tech weight scale, and I’ll use it to measure my weight loss progress each Sunday.
- A3: Simple math will tell me whether I have accomplished my goal — If by next month the weight scale shows 12 lbs less in total when compared to the weight when I started the diet and exercise routine, I’ll know I’ve succeeded.
Questions for Attainable goals
To make your goal more attainable , answering the following questions might help you:
- Q1: Do I have the financial capacity to carry out my goal?
- Q2: Do I have the skills and will power to carry out my goal?
- Q3: Will I have access to help when needed?
- Q4: Do I have all the necessary resources?
- Q5: Do I have the time to carry out the goal?
Examples of answers that prove the goal is attainable :
- A1: I have enough money to join a gym and consult with a professional trainer.
- A2: I’ve previously already managed to lose 13lbs within a month on a different occasion, so I firmly believe I can do it again.
- A3: I’ll have access to a personal trainer, helpful advice from my nutritionist friend, as well as additional support from my family.
- A4: I have all the necessary resources at hand, as there are several great gyms in my city, as well as an enviable selection of healthy food in the neighborhood supermarket.
- A5: Considering that I remotely work flexible hours 5 days a week (or 9-to-5 in an office), I can spare 1 hour per weekday to go to the gym, and I have enough time to prepare healthy meals. I can easily spare even more time for the gym and food preparation on weekends.
Questions for Relevant goals
To make your goal relevant, ask yourself questions:
- Q1: Why is this goal important to me?
- Q2 : Is this goal worth my time?
- Q3: Is this the right time for it?
Examples of answers that prove the goal is relevant :
- A1: Losing weight will help me be healthier and more energized. As a result, I’ll be more confident.
- A2: Considering that I personally really feel that losing weight would benefit me (either because my weight is affecting my health, or because the doctor ordered it), it’s worth my time.
- A3: Considering that the holiday feasts are over and that it’s time to implement the New Year’s resolutions, it’s time to lose weight.
Questions for Time-bound goals
To make a time-bound, i.e. timely goal, answer the questions:
- Q1: When will I achieve the goal?
- Q2: When will I carry out the activities that will bring me to my goal?
- Q3: When can I expect the first outcomes?
Examples of answers that prove the goal is relevant:
- A1: I’ll set February 20th for my end deadline.
- A2: Every day after work, I’ll go to the gym for 1 hour. I’ll make a clear meal schedule that will include breakfast, lunch, dinner and healthy snacks, and I’ll stick to it. I’ll weigh myself every Sunday afternoon, leading up to the 20th of February.
- A3: The first outcome I can expect should be 3 lbs less by the end of the first week.
2. Assign people to help you with your goals
Sometimes, you can’t achieve results or accomplish your tasks without the help of others. In the example above, it is possible to lose weight on your own, but it will be much smarter if you pay a gym membership, and let a professional fitness coach or a nutritionist help you in that process. It’s easier and safer if you listen to professionals who possess the right skills and knowledge to carry out tasks.
You’ve probably heard about the “Boomerang effect” on gaining weight back quickly after losing it. This usually happens because people starve and lose a lot of weight in a short period of time. Not only do they lose weight quickly, but muscles as well. This leads to metabolism slowing and regaining weight again.
Therefore, assigning the right people for the job can result in faster and higher-quality results.
3. List the tasks that need to be done
Now that you elaborated your goal in more detail and assigned the right people to assist you, it’s time to focus on those smaller components, i.e. tasks that need to be done to achieve the ultimate goal.
In the case of our example above, to lose 12 lbs, you’ll probably need to complete tasks like:
- Go to the gym every day after work
- Put aside money for the gym membership and nutrition consultations
- Weigh yourself each Sunday afternoon
- Eat nutrient-rich foods
When you break your goal into more manageable components, you have a holistic view of what needs to be done, and the possibility to achieve your goal increases. For that purpose, you can create a hands-on To-do list that can help you keep track of all your tasks in one place.
4. Make a workable schedule
To make sure you accomplish your SMART goals even more successfully, make work time estimates for each activity or task that needs to be completed. What’s more, make use of the time blocking technique to organize your tasks into specific blocks of time.
Let’s move back to the weight-loss example again. One of the key things that you need to strictly follow, when losing weight, is to pay attention to when you eat your meals. Even if you are being extremely careful with how many calories you consume daily, eating late at night can decrease your progress tremendously and lead to achieving partial results.
Therefore, to make sure your SMART goal plan runs smoothly, create a time-bound schedule that you are going to stick to. Precisely determine when your breakfast/snack/lunch/dinner is, and you will see the difference (again, make use of the time blocking technique for this).
There you have it. You can use these steps for any type of goal. What’s more, here are the 10 templates that’ll help speed up the process.
SMART Goal Templates
An expertly created SMART goal templates and SMART goal worksheets can serve as your quick and efficient SMART goal generator — they provide the outline for your SMART goal setting and you just need to follow the said outline and fill it out with your own data. It’s a fast and efficient alternative to creating and following your own template or making plans without one.
Basic SMART Goal Template
What’s it about? The Basic SMART Goal Template is divided into 5 sections, each representing a letter of the SMART acronym (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound). Answer 1 or 2 questions for each section to determine whether the said goal is worth your time.
Best for what and who? This SMART Goal Template is perfect for people who want a simple approach to setting their goals.
→ DOWNLOAD: PDF ; Google Docs ; Excel ; Google Sheets
Simple SMART Goal Template
What’s it about? The Simple SMART Goal Template lets you determine why you want to pursue your goal, as well as get started on planning your goal.
Best for what and who? This SMART Goal Template is perfect for people who want to set SMART goals but don’t necessarily want to answer to SMART criteria.
DOWNLOAD: PDF ; Google Docs ; Excel ; Google Sheets
→ Elaborate SMART Goal Template
What’s it about? The Basic SMART Goal Template is divided into 5 sections, each representing a letter of the SMART acronym (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound). Answer a detailed list of questions for each section to determine whether the said goal is worth your time.
Best for what and who? This SMART Goal Template is perfect for people who need more pointers on whether the goal they want to pursue is SMART or not.
→ DOWNLOAD: PDF ; Google Docs ; Excel ; Google Sheets
SMART Goal Tree Template
What’s it about? The SMART Goal Tree Template helps you select and track the main Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that tell you how well you’re progressing with your goal.
Best for what and who? You can use this template to measure success in various business areas, such as customer support, company finance, internal processes, etc.
→ DOWNLOAD: PDF ; Google Docs ; Excel ; Google Sheets
SMART Action Plan Template (+ Action Steps and Responsibilities)
What’s it about? The SMART Action Plan Template (+ Action Steps and Responsibilities) lets you determine the value of a goal by asking you to explain how or why the said goal is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Then, you can add the person responsible for the said goal, and lay out the steps you need to go through in order to reach success.
Best for what and who? Great for teamwork within a project where each teammate has different goals and responsibilities that together tie into one, greater purpose. Also great for goals that imply a specific set of steps (tasks) you need to tackle to reach them.
→ DOWNLOAD: PDF ; Google Docs ; Excel ; Google Sheets
New Year SMART Goal Template
What’s it about? The New Year SMART Goal Template lets you define SMART goals for your Personal Growth, Health, Business life, Family and Friends, Travels, Hobbies, and New Purchases you want to consider pursuing in the new year.
Best for what and who? This template is perfect for carrying out your New Year resolutions.
Basic SMART Goal Template (+ Problems)
What’s it about? The Basic SMART Goal Template is divided into 5 sections, each representing a letter of the SMART acronym (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound). Answer 1 or 2 questions for each section to determine whether the said goal is worth your time. Once you’ve done that, think about the problems you may encounter while working toward the said goal and try to solve them before they happen.
Best for what and who? This SMART goal template is great for forestalling potential problems with your goal (in case you want a simple SMART breakdown of your goal).
Elaborate SMART Goal Template (+ Problems)
What’s it about? The Basic SMART Goal Template is divided into 5 sections, each representing a letter of the SMART acronym (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound). Answer a detailed list of questions for each section to determine whether the said goal is worth your time. Once you’ve done that, think about the problems you may encounter while working toward the said goal and try to solve them before they happen.
Best for what and who? This SMART goal template is great for forestalling potential problems with your goal. (in case you want a more detailed SMART breakdown of your goal).
SMART Goal Template for Project Managers
What’s it about? The Basic SMART Goal Template is divided into 5 sections, each representing a letter of the SMART acronym (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound). You’ll be able to assess each goal you want to assign to a team member, and decide whether it needs redefining, or even whether it’s worthwhile (or simply unattainable by the assigned team member) in the first place.
Best for what and who? This SMART goal template is perfect for managers who are in the process of defining the goals and objectives of a project.
SMART Goals Template (+ Rewards/Motivations)
What’s it about? The SMART Goals Template (+ Rewards/Motivations) lets you assess whether a goal is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Then, you can define the motivations and rewards that stand behind you pursuing the said goal.
Best for what and who? Rewards are important to keep you motivated to pursue a goal — pick this SMARt goal template if you want to define specific rewards that will await you when you reach a goal.
Wrapping up…
The SMART goal criteria gives you an easy way to determine whether the goal you’re looking to pursue is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, and Relevant enough for you to pursue it in the first place. The SMART goal criteria also give you a time frame and deadline you can keep an eye on and use as a point of reference for your plan as you work toward the said goal.
SMART goals are suitable for both personal and business goals — for example, you can implement them with equal justification when you want to lose weight or improve your performance at work. In any case, they’re best used when you want to set and focus on a priority objective in life.
When setting and assessing your SMART goals there are sets of questions you can easily answer, and many examples you can follow and find inspiration in. Whatever SMART goal you pursue, it’s always best that you use a ready-made template to define and track it — you’ll spend less time planning the goals and more time actually working on it.
✉️ How does your goal sound like after integrating the SMART goal criteria in it? Have you found a SMART goal template that works for your needs? Write to us at [email protected] for a chance to be featured in this or one of our future articles.
Marija Kojic is a productivity writer who's always researching about various productivity techniques and time management tips in order to find the best ones to write about. She can often be found testing and writing about apps meant to enhance the workflow of freelancers, remote workers, and regular employees. Appeared in G2 Crowd Learning Hub, The Good Men Project, and Pick the Brain, among other places.
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Use our free printable SMART goals worksheet PDF to ensure that your goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. The SMART goals template will help you ensure that your goal is SMART and thus increase your chances of success. If you want to work on more than one goal, then make a few copies of the printable goal sheets.
This action plan template can be used as a supporting tool to reach the goals in a business or marketing plan. The goal is clearly stated at the top of the template followed by action steps below. This template provides sections to record necessary resources, potential challenges and final results.
Download the Blank Simple Action Plan Template for Adobe PDF. This simple action plan template is the perfect tool to assist you in planning and executing your goals. Start by describing your project's primary goal. Next, list your benchmarks for success and your evaluation plan for measuring achievement. Use the template's Strategic Action ...
Create an action plan to help you achieve your goal by following these five steps: Set SMART goals. Create a list of actions. Set a timeline. Designate resources. Monitor the progress. 1. Set SMART goals Image description Before you start writing your action plan, consider using the SMART outline to set the right goal. Your goal should be:
8. 3-Month Goals Action Plan This PDF template has designated spaces for writing down your major goals for the next three months. Below each goal, there is space provided for listing down the mini-tasks that will help you achieve the month's major goal.
Simple Smart Action Plan Template Details File Format Google Docs MS Word Pages Size: A4, US Download Personal SMART Goal Action Plan arthritis.org Details File Format PDF Size: 154 KB Download Goal Setting & SMART Goal Action Plan leadership.arizona.edu Details File Format PDF Size: 477 KB Download
Templates Planners and trackers S.M.A.R.T. Goals S.M.A.R.T. Goals It's time to set specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based goals using this S.M.A.R.T goals template in PowerPoint. Use this S.M.A.R.T goal PowerPoint template for guidance and printables. Set goals together as a family using this accessible SMART goals template.
S.M.A.R.T GOALS - TEMPLATE _____ SMART goals help improve achievement and success. A SMART goal clarifies exactly what is expected and the measures used to determine if the goal is achieved and successfully completed. A SMART goal may be used when drafting Maintenance or a Growth Goal. A SMART goal is:
Smart Action Plan PDF Setting Goals Is Critical in Achieving Objectives, Whether for Personal or Career. Get Your Smart Action Plan Examples From Template.net. Choose From Goals Examples, Goal Planners, and Goal-Setting Worksheets That You Can Edit Using Excel.
Actions need to be carried out by someone. It is therefore crucial to assign each SMART action point to a specific person. This person can be held accountable for timely implementation of the action point and this makes follow-up easier for the manager. Realistic Setting impossible goals will only end in disappointment.
How do I decide the right scope for my SMART Goals? (How big? How many?) SMART goals are meant to address all of your major job responsibilities. Remember, goals are intended to focus attention and resources on what is most important so that you can be successful in achieving your priorities. SMART Goals are goals for your day-to-day job.
PDF Size: 240 KB Download SMART Goal Action Plan Example mygpslifeplan.org Details File Format PDF Size: 208 KB Download SMART Objectives and Action Planning Example moray.gov.uk Details File Format PDF Size: 551 KB Download SMART Goals for an Action Plan Example hr.virginia.edu Details File Format PDF Size: 8 KB Download
The template is downloadable and editable as a Word, Excel, or PDF file. 11. Colorful Template. This colorful template is pretty straightforward when it comes to helping you plan your SMART goals. It has a number of spaces for different aspects of SMART goal-setting. One goal goes into each sheet of the template.
Download SMART Goal PDF Templates Have a list of objectives you want to achieve? Now it's time to upgrade your goals and write smart goals that will help you set, achieve goals and improve your life. Setting smart goals is easy with the templates.
1. Set SMART Goals. A SMART action plan is never complete without SMART objectives. Referring to the acronym's meaning, you should set realistic aspirations that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound. This means that you have to provide a detailed description of your goals instead of giving a general statement.
An individual development plan is a customized agreement between an employee and their employer that details new skills to be acquired or learned and how performance can be enhanced within a specific time frame. It also includes an action plan for these goals. By creating a documented process, the plan lays out an employee's perceived ...
2. Setting high-level goals. Use SMART goals when you need to focus on high-level goals that involve a number of smaller, specific tasks. High-level goals, such as advancing your career, enrolling in a university, or losing weight, demand a thorough action plan which the SMART goal concept can offer you.
Action Plan . A well-developed goal is specific, measureable, actionable, realistic and time-bound. Complete the template below for each well-developed goal. Be sure to include how you will assess the progress of the goal. If after assessing the goal, you find changes need to be made to the goal or action steps, note these in the alterations ...
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