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SMART GoalsThe five-word filter for any goal

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Skills for Life0088

SMART Goals

The five-word filter for any goal

A goal written so that anyone could tell whether it was met.

II · The World37 / 53

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0088 · The Primer37 / 53

Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound. "I want to get fit" is a wish. "I will run 2 km three times a week for two months" is a SMART goal. The difference is that the second version tells you when you have succeeded. The frame turns a feeling into a plan.

  • Apply the five words to any goal you set. If the goal fails any of them, rewrite it until it passes all five.
  • Write your goal down. Research shows written goals are achieved at a higher rate than goals kept in your head.
SourceDoran (1981), SMART criteria
Goal-setting research, Locke and Latham

Guide · GKL 0088

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Getting Things Done

Pick the goal, sort the work, protect the hour, keep going.

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