Get SMART about your plans for 2021

Be SMART about the goals that you want to achieve for the new year

• Getting fit
• Eating more fruits and vegetables
• Saving money

These are popular new year resolutions, that most people try to set at the start of the new year. Personally, I am not a big fan of setting New Year resolutions but setting Goals and Plans for the year I can get fully onboard with that. However, don’t set any goals for the year be SMART with them. When you’re SMART with your goals its only then you can make lasting behavioural changes in your life.

So, what is it …

SMART is an acronym, which is very popular in the world of work when we want to measure the success of our goals but in this instance we are going to use it to help you set your Goals and plans for 2021. Because let’s be honest 2020 was not easy for most of us.

So, in order for your goals to be successful you need to do understand the following when you’re trying to set them

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time bound

I am sure you’re thinking that’s great but how is this relevant to me

Don’t worry help is available

1. Specific

Your goal needs to clear and specific, there is no point having a goal which states that you want to eat healthy as that really doesn’t mean anything. So, think about what is it that you to achieve by the end of it. Be precise as possible at this will help you, use numbers to guide you. For example, my goal this year is to lose 5kgs of weight- by adding the number of kg I want to lose it will help me focus as I go on my weight loss journey throughout the year.

2. Measurable

It’s important to break your big goals into small actions so that you can track your progress and stay motivated. You want to know how far away you are from achieving your goals. You want to think about what evidence will you need for yourself in order to feel confident that you have achieved your goal.

3. Achievable

This is so so important, don’t be unrealistic in the goals that you set yourself. If your goals are not attainable then you can’t achieve them and you just end up being disappointed with yourself when you don’t meet them. It is better to give yourself room to exceed your goals then never being able to achieve them. I know I am not going to lose 5kg in a month as it wouldn’t be realistic for my body, so I don’t that pressure on myself to do something that I know I won’t be able to achieve.

4. Relevant

This is about making sure that your goals matter to you and you’re not doing them because everyone else around you is. I know there is a lot of temptation at the start of the year to eat healthily but realistically if your diet is balanced then that should be good enough. Ask yourself is does this goal seem worthwhile to me? Is this the right time for me to do this?

5. Time bound

There is nothing worse than having a goal without some time period attached to it and then it just becomes this thing that you have to do on your never ending to-do list. By making it time bound you can track if you are on the right pattern to your goal. Ask yourself how long am I going to give myself – be realistic about this. If we go back to my goal of losing weight, I have made sure that I know when I want to lose it by and how much I want to lose each month.

Try it yourself

So, instead of setting yourself New Year resolutions make sure you set yourself a SMART goal/s.