2011 Was My Year to Remember
2011 was the most successful year of my life and I couldn’t be more excited about 2012. While flying from Los Angeles to New York City on Christmas Day in 2011, I took time quietly reflect on 2011. I wrote down what worked and what didn’t and set goals for 2012. One of the key ingredients to a successful year in 2011 was getting into the habit of setting SMART goals. After reading this article, I invite you to leave your feedback below.
What it Means to Be SMART
According to Wikipedia, the earliest known use of the term “SMART goals” appeared in the November 1981 issue of Management Review by George T. Doran. SMART is mnemonic for the criteria that any goal you set must meet. A SMART goal must be:
- Specific
- Measureable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time Specific
I use Lifetick (affiliate link) for creating S.M.A.R.T. goals in all areas of my life.
What’s Important to You?
Once you begin using Lifetick (affiliate link) you have to start by defining your values. As easy as this might seem, you have to take time to reflect on what’s important to you in life. After you list your values, you can view them on one screen. Here are my core values:
Thinking Through Each Goal
When you set each goal you must go through the following process:
- Define your goal.
- Give it a short nickname.
- Explain why you want to achieve the goal.
- Set a date for achieving your goal.
- Determine which of your core values this goal is in alignment with.
- Determine whether this is a high, medium, or low priority goal.
- Determine whether or not your goal is truly a SMART goal.
The Steps to Success
Once you establish your goals, you need to list the tasks to complete each one. Remember that excellence is in the details. Here are the steps I need to take to transcribe the drum parts to every song from the Stevie Wonder album, Songs in the Key of Life. I’m excited about this goal!
It’s OKAY to Still Be a Dreamer
There is a difference between dreams and goals. Dreams are more vague and goals are about action. In addition, goals allow you to take steps to fulfill your dreams. Lifetick (affiliate link) has a process for fulfilling your dreams:
- Define your dream.
- Determine which of your core values this dream is in alignment with.
- Determine the likelihood of this dream being fulfilled.
- Schedule a date in which you’d like to be reminded about this dream.
- Explain why this dream is important to you.
Staying On the Right Track
Lifetick (affiliate link) has 3 ways of keeping you on the right track.
- It allows you to get an easy overview of how you’re doing on all of your goals.
- It syncs ALL of your goal tasks with your Google Calendar or iCalendar.
- It sends you emails each day to remind you if something is not achieved. (NOTE: This is so annoying, but so helpful.)
Here’s to Your Success
According to Albert Eistein, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. For many of you, this might feel incredibly uncomfortable. If you haven’t been achieving your goals, this will help you create a new level of accountability to yourself. I encourage you to try Lifetick (affiliate link) and set SMART goals for yourself.
What goals are you working on?
(please scroll down and answer below)
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