Have you ever decided to change a habit or set a goal for yourself, only to have it fall through after a few days?

Yeah. We’ve all been there. Looking back at that goal you set for yourself, where did you go wrong?

Did you forget? Was it too hard? Did you find excuses for why you couldn’t do it?

Regardless of your reason, I have a solution for you: SMART goals.

SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. It’s a research-backed method for setting and achieving goals. Keep reading to learn how to go about your SMART goal setting, and to grab a free SMART Goal template.

Groundwork: First, figure out your values

Before we get started with SMART goals, I’m going to ask you to do a little soul-searching. I wrote a blog post on this, and I highly recommend you read that one first before continuing here. But, we’ll go through the cheater version anyway.

Start by figuring out why you want to build this habit. It involves asking yourself that simple question:

Why?

Why do I want to exercise? Why do I want to eat better? Why do I want to improve my sleep?

Keep asking yourself why until you come to a value. Let’s go through an example:

1. I want to sleep better because it’s important to me.

Technically, we’ve reached good sleep as a value, but we can go further. We want something really deep. So, let’s keep going.

2. My sleep is important to me because I’m more focused when I’m well-rested.

Okay, why is it important for you to be more focused?

3. Being more focused allows me to work quickly, which gives me more time to spend with my family.

We are almost there.

4. I want to spend more time with my family because they are my biggest priority.

We’ve made it! You value your family, so you want to sleep better. Sometimes, the connection between your small goals and your values isn’t obvious. It’s why asking yourself these questions is important: you can get really clear on why these goals are meaningful to you.

Keep that value in your back pocket. We’re going to save it for later. Now, onto your SMART action plan!

Before we get to goal-setting, figure out your values. They’re your core reason for change, so they’re important to have ahead of time.

Specific

To make your SMART goal Specific, you need to map out exactly what you plan to do. “I want to eat better” is too vague. What changes will you make? If you’re not specific enough, it might be hard to commit to the change, because you’re not entirely sure what you’re aiming for. The more details you can come up with, the better.

For the example of eating better, you might choose to lower your sugar intake. Or, maybe you want to eat more veggies. These are both a good start, but let’s go further: How much sugar will you allow yourself per day or per week? What veggies will you add? How many? A specific veggie goal might be: I will add one serving of carrots to my lunch.

A Specificity Tip:

Avoid falling into the trap of setting a specific goal because it’s what you feel like you “should” do. For example, some folks decide to have salads because it’s what they imagine healthy people eat. This is fine if you like salads, but it’s awful if you don’t. Remember, this should be something you’re comfortable doing.

Measurable

By making your goal Measurable, you can keep track of your progress. Ask yourself: how much? How many? Going back to the sleep goal, you might make the decision to go to bed earlier. Okay, how much earlier? “I am going to aim for a 10 PM bedtime” is measurable. You’ll know whether or not you’ve met your goal simply by knowing whether or not you made it to bed by 10 PM.

Achievable

This might be the most important part: Your SMART goal needs to be Achievable. In other words, it needs to be realistic. If you’ve been drinking three sodas a day, going cold turkey is a stretch. Your body would probably have a hard time adjusting. Aiming for one less a day is probably more doable. If you’re unsure what a realistic goal would be, you can check your confidence.

Confidence check: On a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being least confident and 10 being the most confident, how confident do I feel about following through with this goal?

If you answer anything less than 5, it’s probably a good idea to re-evaluate. If you’re around a 7 or 8, think about what would make you feel more confident. When I ask my clients this question, many say that they just need to follow through once to feel more confident. My response is usually to have them set a goal of just once, then. It’s okay to start really small and to be gentle with yourself. Habit change is really hard!

Relevant

This is where I’m going to ask you to really dig deep. The question here is: Is this small goal relevant to my overall big-time goals? On the surface level, this might look like setting a running goal if you’d like to exercise more. However, I encourage you to make sure that this goal fits with all of your values, goals, and plans. So, let’s go deeper.

Let’s say your overall big-time goal is to exercise more. But, why do you want to exercise more? Do you want to be able to run faster on your club soccer team? Do you want to be strong enough to lift your grandchildren? Do you want to gain muscle mass? These reasons are important because they indicate how you should exercise. If your small goal doesn’t line up with this deeper reason, go back to Specific, and re-do that part so it fits with your deeper reason.

Let’s say your reason for exercising more is to gain muscle mass, and you choose running as your small goal. That doesn’t quite fit - running is a great form of exercise, but its benefit is increasing your endurance. If you want to gain muscle, you’d be better off choosing something like weightlifting or Barre classes.

Time-Bound

To make your SMART goal time-bound, you need to set a time frame. This could look like:

I will skip the soda 3 days a week
I will make it to the gym 10 days a month
I will add one vegetable to one meal a day

You can do even better by deciding what days, meals, times, etc for more accountability and structure. This is really important if you’re someone who forgets things that aren’t scheduled, or if you procrastinate. Doing this looks like:

I will skip the soda on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.
I will make it to the gym on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and every other Sunday.
I will add one vegetable to my lunch every day.

Putting it all together

Let’s go through some examples of fully-fledged SMART action plans:

Exercise SMART Goal:
“I will run at the track next to my house for 30 minutes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I chose this goal because I want to run faster when I play soccer. I can do this because I already run one day a week.”

Specific: Running at the track
Measurable: 30 minutes, 3 days a week.
Attainable: I already run one day a week, so adding two more isn’t too hard. I also chose to run at the track, because it’s easy for me to get there.
Relevant: I want to get faster when I play soccer. Running will help me get closer to this bigger goal.
Time-Bound: Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Diet SMART Goal:
“I will add carrots to my lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I chose this goal because I want to eat more fiber to improve my gut health. I can do this because I like carrots, and I already pack my lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Specific: I’m adding carrots to my lunch.
Measurable: Two days a week, one meal a day.
Attainable: I already pack my lunches on Tuesday and Thursday, so adding carrots shouldn’t be a challenge. I like carrots, too. It’s not a chore for me to include them.
Relevant: Carrots are a good choice for fiber, which is my main reason for eating more vegetables.
Time-Bound: Every Tuesday and Thursday.

Sleep SMART Goal:
“I will set a phone reminder for a 10 PM bedtime at least 5 days a week, Monday through Friday. I can do this because I already do this most nights for an average of 4 days a week. I’m being gentle with myself because goal-setting is hard for me. I chose this goal because I want to get up earlier.

Specific: A 10 PM bedtime with a phone reminder.
Measurable: 5 days a week.
Attainable: I already do this 4 days a week.
Relevant: This will help me get up earlier.
Time-Bound: Monday through Friday.

I made a freebie SMART goal template for you. Take a screenshot with your phone, and type out your own SMART goal.

And, there you have it. That’s the SMART goal method of goal setting! Take some time to write out your SMART action plan, just like the examples above. Stick it somewhere you can see it for extra accountability (And so you don’t forget it).

If you feel like you need more accountability and support with SMART goals, feel free to set up a free first coaching call with me to see if we’d make a good team.

How to use SMART goals to change your habits for a lifetime