This time of year many people are thinking about New Year’s Resolutions.

Resolutions are goals that we set for ourselves and (in some cases) actually keep through the year. I don’t know about you but when I set out to do something, I’m much more likely to succeed if I have a goal.

But why do so many people fail at achieving their resolutions?

Whether you are creating New Year’s Resolutions or you’re developing some business goals for the year, you will be more likely to reach your goals if they contain these 5 attributes:

• Specific: Your goal needs to be stated in a way that is clearly defined. Saying “I should work out more� is not a resolution that is going to be kept easily. However, saying “I am going to work out three times per week� is a goal that is much clearer and specific.

• Measurable: This is closely related to the above attribute except that it also includes a way to make sure you are on track. A classic New Year’s Resolution is to “lose weight� which is not specific enough. Sure it’s better than saying “I don’t want to get fat� but it would be far better to say “I want to weigh…�

• Actionable: This means that your goal should be something that you need to do yourself in order to accomplish it. If you want to increase your income this year, it’s not realistic to say “I’m going to win the lottery this year� because you have no control over whether you will win the lottery or not. However you might say “I’m going to increase my sales efforts� which is something you can take action on yourself.

• Realistic: If there’s one thing I’m guilty of it’s creating unrealistic goals. Goals that are actually achievable are much better and far more motivating. You’ll feel better about yourself when you do hit goals than if constantly shoot for them and fall short. Realistic goals should not be so easy that you hit them every single time but should not be so hard that you never reach them at all.

• Time-oriented: Similar to the measurable attribute, your goal should have a timeframe for you to accomplish it in. Deadlines help people achieve their goals. If you anchor your goal to a time, you’ll be able to watch your progress. Many New Year’s Resolutions are related to the year they’re made but some are not and if you make business or personal goals through the year they may be tied to the week, the month, or the quarter.

You can remember this with the acronym “SMART� so that when you’re creating goals, you can create better goals for yourself. This is a popular goal-setting acronym in business, although occasionally the words are changed slightly to reflect the needs of the business.
Once you have created your goal, you should state it in a way that you are reminded of the attributes. One way to state your goals is in this format:

“I will ----- by ----- as measure by (or against) -----.�

For example three New Year’s Resolutions might be:

“I will lose 20 pounds by March 31st as measured against my current weight of 235 pounds.�

“I will get into the top ten sales rankings at my work by the end of the second quarter as measured by the regional ranking chart.�

“I will exercise 3 times a week by January 31st as indicated on my workout calendar.�

These goal-setting techniques will serve you well in your business and personal life. In the next issue we’ll talk about making them a real part of your time management schedule.

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