About this Template.

Feel free to copy this template & add it to your Leebot account. We use this template to support our team with goal aspirations & activity. We also set Due Date / reminders for our team who get assigned. When our team are ready to sign off, they use Leebot's Approval feature to request approval.

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Goal setting is a really important part of your journey if you want to be consistently successful in life, and in business.

The biggest issue I find is people taking too long to define the goals - having a checklist like the one I'm sharing today is one thing, but try to see it as a guide.

You'll know if your goals stacks up just by scan reading the check list - that's not an excuse to spend days fixing the gaps.

Before you start

• Some understanding of Goal setting is better than none.
• You've had ideas before and done them just fine without any goal setting knowledge - so there's nothing stopping you getting on with it while you're trying to improve your idea with these techniques.
• Make the goal to turn this into your natural repetitive behaviours so that you don't have to keep think / over-thinking it.

Goals should be SMART: 

Specific (simple, sensible, significant).

Measurable (meaningful, motivating).

Achievable (agreed, attainable).

Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).

Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).

Specific

Your goal should be clear and specific, otherwise you won't be able to focus your efforts or feel truly motivated to achieve it. When drafting your goal, try to answer the five "W" questions:

• What do I want to accomplish / what is my 'vision' that?
• Why is this goal important?
• Who is involved?
• Where is it located?
• Which resources or limits are involved?

Measurable

A measurable goal should address questions such as:

• How much?
• How many?
• How will I know when it is accomplished?

Achievable

Your goal also needs to be realistic and attainable to be successful. In other words, it should stretch your abilities but still remain possible.

When you set an achievable goal, you may be able to identify previously overlooked opportunities or resources that can bring you closer to it.

An achievable goal will usually answer questions such as:

• How can I accomplish this goal?
• How realistic is the goal, based on other constraints, such as financial factors?
• Have you thought about any negative impacts caused if you fall short of achieving it? How will you mitigate / navigate that?

Relevant

A relevant goal can answer "yes" to these questions:

• Does this seem worthwhile?
• Is this the right time?
• Does this match our other efforts/needs?
• Am I the right person to reach this goal?
• Is it applicable in the current socio-economic environment?

Time-bound

Every goal needs a target date, so that you have a deadline to focus on and something to work toward.

This part of the SMART goal criteria helps to prevent everyday tasks from taking priority over your longer-term goals.

A time-bound goal will usually answer these questions:

• When?
• What can I do six months from now?
• What can I do six weeks from now?
• What can I do today?
• Do I have enough perceived time to facilitate the goal?

Try adding extra structure by adding headers to actions that lead to your goal.

Short

• Actions here / who should get involved. 

Medium 

• Actions here / who should get involved. 

Future (+ What else ideas?)

• Actions here / who should get involved. 

A quick recap:

1. Have specific goals. 

You might say, "I want to be successful." Well, who doesn't? But can you define what success means?

Success to one person may mean becoming CEO of a company while to another person it may mean getting home from work by 6 p.m. every day.

2. Your goals must be measurable. 

Have a timeframe for achieving your goals and a way to determine when you have reached them.

3. Don't be negative. 

Your goal should be something you want rather than something you want to avoid.

It is much better to say, for instance, "I want to improve my skills over the next four years so that I qualify for a better job" than "I don't want to be stuck in this job for another four years."

4. Be realistic. 

Your long-term goals must be compatible with your abilities and skills. Stating "I want to win a Grammy Award" if you can't sing or play an instrument will set you up for failure.

5. Your goal must be reachable within your time frame. 

Break a long-term goal down into smaller goals.

It is better to take baby steps than one big giant leap.

6. Pair each goal with an action. 

For instance, if your goal is to become a writer, sign up for a writing class. 

7. Be flexible. 

Don't give up if you encounter barriers that threaten to impede your progress. Instead, modify your goals accordingly.

Let's say you need to continue working which will keep you from going to college full-time. Although it won't be possible to finish your bachelor's degree in four years, you can enroll in school part-time and take a bit longer.

Flexibility also means being willing to let go of goals that are no longer meaningful and instead put your energy into pursuing other ones.