A Smart Way To Set Goals In 2019

Happy New Year!

Hopefully the festivities didn’t get too lost in hazes of memory, and whatever recovery was necessary went smoothly!

But WOW, where did time go? I feel like 2019 just snuck up on me, and 2018 is already in the rear-view mirror! Regardless, 2019 is here! Obviously, with it being a new year, we all get super-motivated to do better than we did last year.

I’m sure you’ve been been thinking about the new year, and perhaps you’ve already been thinking about your new year’s resolutions. I have! Granted…a lot of that thinking happened on December 30-31, but whatever!

Deep down, I know we all want to do better. A new year means a fresh start and inspired motivation!

For most of us, this means coming up with new year’s resolutions. I bet most of them look like:

• “Lose weight”
• “Save money”
• “Get a new job”
• “Travel places”

…Uh oh, I think I just gave you my personal list…yikes! haha!

Anyway, behind these resolutions above are good intentions and the desire to be the best version of yourself.

However!

There’s a problem with these resolutions as they’re currently written.

They’re vague.

They’re not actionable.

They don’t give feedback on how you’re progressing.

I think a better way to do new year’s resolutions is to set goals!

In fact—forget doing resolutions!!!

Set goals, instead! 🙂

Why set goals?

A resolution, especially in the context of the transition between December and January, is an interior act of the will to do be better. The potential problem is that resolutions don’t give you a good indication of when you have achieved said resolution.

A goal, on the other hand, lets you know whether you have achieved it or not.

For goals to give you meaningful feedback, you have to set them smartly!

One way to set smart goals is the SMART method.

What is the SMART method?

SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

When setting a goal, follow this mnemonic or checklist of sorts so that your goal is concrete enough for you to achieve. I’m borrowing it from lessons I’ve learned in my career in engineering. With a SMART goal, you should be able to answer the question, “did I achieve this or not?”

Specific

Be very specific about your goal. Keep it simple but with enough detail to ensure that you know exactly what you’re going for.

Measurable

Choose or write the goal in such a way that suggests some sort of metric. What can be measured? What’s the quantity?

Achievable

Make sure your goal is, in fact, achievable by you. Evaluate your time, effort, money, etc and work within those bounds.

Relevant

Set a goal that actually matters to you. Do you really have a personal stake or desire in this goal?

Time-bound

Put a date or time on when you want your goal to be achieved.

I hope that you’re able to see that coming up with resolutions as SMART goals allows your resolutions to be better formed so that you can take solid actions on them.

Keeping Track of Your Goals

Setting SMART goals is a useful skill to have, and I think it only serves you well when you write them down or type them.

You can use a good old-fashioned notebook. I know many people like having that tactile writing feel. But of course crossing out a goal or checking a checkbox with a pen is oddly satisfying!

Of course, you can also use electronic notebooks. I use Evernote as my note-taking app/software of choice for everything. In fact, not only are my SMART 2019 goals in an Evernote note, but I’m also drafting up this blog post in one, too!

Maybe using spreadsheets is your thing. I have a travel bucket list of sorts (written SMART-ly, mostly!) in an Excel spreadsheet. The nice thing about spreadsheets is that you can easily put down dates like date due and date completed. Doing so lets you easily calculate the difference between the time you intended to complete the goal and the actual time it took you to complete it.

Or you can kick it old-school and write your goals on a piece of paper, and display it somewhere where you can easily review it.

Another thought is to share your goals publicly, whether electronic or in print. This adds more of an accountability aspect to your goals to make sure you’re on track!

Lastly, and I feel like this is very important because I know I need to improve in this area–you need to review your goals periodically. Since you have written them down or typed them up, you should have easy access to review your goals. Maybe take a look once a week or once a month. See if you’ve made any progress or not. Maybe you have new goals or need to edit. You can do what you need to do when you review your goals.

Example SMART Goals for the Pilgrim

Because this blog is about pilgrimages, naturally we need to come up with some SMART goals specific for pilgrims!

Here are a few examples:

• “Save $500 by March 31, 2019 in order to book airfare for a pilgrimage to Washington, DC’s basilicas, shrines, and monasteries in July”
• “Go on one silent retreat in July 2019 at a retreat house across town with the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth”
• “Drive to Hanceville, AL one weekend in November 2019 to attend Mass and Adoration at the Most Blessed Sacrament Shrine”
• “On Memorial Day, go to Daily Mass and visit a local National Cemetery to pray for fallen soldiers”
• “During my one week vacation in Sydney, Australia in October 2019, go to Confession once at the cathedral or other local church”
• “Attend Mass each day at a different church during my week-long Hong Kong trip in January 2019”

Bottom Line

Resolutions have the tendency to be vague, and sometimes they don’t really indicate whether they’ve been achieved or not. Instead of coming up with resolutions, try coming up with goals instead. Not just any goals, but SMART goals!

Setting good, SMART goals is conducive to being more intentional about where you spend your time. Should going on more pilgrimages be part of your goals for the new year, hopefully setting your other goals smartly helps you achieve them so that you have more time/money for those pilgrimages!

Question for you—what are your (SMART) goals for 2019?

Featured Photo by Tirachard Kumtanom from Pexels