What's Better Than SMART Goals?
I am not a machine, or a robot. I am creative. I like to explore. I enjoy the journey as much as the destination. I don't like to be constrained.
One very well known tool for clarifying goals is the SMART technique. This mnemonic states that goals should be:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
This popular management technique has been around since the 1980s. Lots of people love it and find it really useful. I can't stand it.
The reason for this is to do with my personality. Something about SMART goals always feels a bit robotic, mechanistic and fixed. In part, that's the point. Specify your goal precisely and you are more likely to hit it.
But I am not a machine, or a robot. I am creative. I like to explore. I enjoy the journey as much as the destination. I don't like to be constrained. I like to run down a path and decide on route which way to turn. (That's literally how I do training runs. Vaguely wandering across paths and fields, following my curiosity.)
And so I have a different way of writing goals that I have found much more effective. This is the EXACT technique which says goals should be:
- Explicit
- eXciting
- Assessable
- Challenging
- Time-framed
There is a subtle difference in emphasis with this technique. It allows a more exploratory approach to growth.
It also works well for both professional and personal goals. I've used it for major business goals and fitness goals really effectively.
So, if you have any big goals in your mind right now, can you rewrite them as EXACT goals?
Feel free to share them with me if that would help.
Have a great day, Stephen
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