It’s that time of year… time to make goals for 2018. If you’re anything like me, you might set your sights a little too high. But this year will be different, this year I’ll switch up how I set my goals. My goals will be SMART {like really SMART}.
No more, ‘I will eat healthy and go to the gym’ as a resolution. Nope, bye. I will not make resolutions that I cannot stick to and that are stupid {the opposite of smart}. This year, my resolutions will be…
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Timely
You weren’t expecting that were you! Instead of saying, I’ll eat healthy and go to the gym, think of what that will look like, exactly. You can’t measure progress if you don’t know what you’re measuring. Let’s look at the number one resolution made by Americans. In 2018, I will workout or lose weight. How can we make this a SMART goal?
Specific: In 2018, I will workout 3 days a week for 30 minutes each session.
When making your goal specific, think of the Who, What, Where, and When questions.
I will workout with my gal, Tricia {workout buddies help make it more fun}, 3 days a week for 30 minutes. We will workout at Gym {insert your current/new gym here} on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays after work.
Measurable: When you set how many days and for how long, that’s when you can begin to measure your goals. Try out apps like HabitList to see your progress over the course of the year {this is a fun one if you like checking things off your list too}.
Achievable: Are you a newbie to the workout and gym world? Yes? Welcome! No, welcome back! Either way, if you set your goal to workout 5 days a week when you are currently working out zero days a week, that’s going to be a big change. Most likely, that drastic of a change is not achievable {unless you have some other drastic life changes happening too}. Also, don’t overload on the resolutions that require physical action. If you have one or two that require a big time commitment, that should be enough. Feel free to throw in some other resolutions like being present or practicing mindfulness. This leads us to be realistic…
Realistic: Your goals can change throughout the year, maybe you start off with the goal of working out 2 days a week and build to 5 days. Is this goal helping to lead you to a bigger goal you are looking to achieve? Always check your small and big goals {or resolutions} against the other. Is your small goal to workout two times a week, but your bigger goal is to lose 100 pounds? Will your hitting the gym two times a week help you get to that big goal, or is your big goal too big? Do you need to add a goal about your nutrition to help you get to the big goal?
And finally, timely…
Timely: What is your timeframe for your resolutions? Is 2018 too long of a timeframe to look at for rocking your resolutions? Break down your year into days, weeks, months, whatever works for you to hit your goals. Check in on your goals each week or month for a recharge.
Need a planner to keep you on track, check out my favorite one, the Simplified Planner from Emily Ley. Kick butt in 2018 and be SMART with your resolutions.
