Day 57: Goal Setting

Create a smart goal for each of the eight dimensions of wellness.

Wellness is more than physical health, exercise and nutrition. It is the full integration of state of physical, mental and spiritual well-being.

• Physical Wellness
• Emotional Wellness
• Intellectual Wellness
• Social Wellness
• Occupational Wellness
• Environmental Wellness
• Spiritual Wellness
• Financial Wellness

Make sure it is yours. Write it down. Share it.

Definition of SMART Goals

Have you ever made a goal for yourself only to find that when it came to evaluate your goal, you really did not know if you met it or not? After the holidays last year, I made a goal for myself to lose weight by the spring season. When the calendar turned to May, I asked myself if I met my goal, and I honestly could not give a definitive answer because I had not made a SMART goal.

SMART is an acronym that helps individuals write meaningful and measurable goals. The letters of the acronym stand for specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time-bound. Although SMART goals can be used in a variety of settings (business, personal use, etc.), they are often used in school settings for students. In this lesson, we will take a look at each of the components of the SMART acronym and practice applying the components to goals for students.

Components of SMART Goals

Specific: When writing goals for students, they need to be specific. This means that the goal should be well defined so that everybody on the educational team knows exactly the intended outcome for the goal.

Measurable: Writing a goal that is measurable is essential. A goal that is measurable means that data can be taken on the goal to provide evidence of it being met or not met.

Achievable: Goals for students should also be achievable. This means that the goal will challenge the student, so that it is worthwhile to work on, but that it is also a realistic task for the student to accomplish.

Results-focused: Results-focused means that the goal is measuring an outcome, not an activity or exercise.

Time-bound: A goal should always indicate a timed deadline for its outcome.

Writing SMART Goals

Now that we know the components of SMART goals, let's apply the acronym to an educational goal for a student. Here is a goal for a second-grade student that could use some SMART help!

'Bobby will improve his reading comprehension skills.'

A SMART goal would be written like this: 'Bobby will be able to read a 5-paragraph story written at a third-grade level and identify the story elements of setting, character, and plot in four out of five stories each week for five consecutive weeks by June 1, 2015.'

Do you see why this is a SMART goal? It is specific because it identifies the exact skill Bobby should be working on, much more so than simply stating that he will improve his comprehension skills. It is measurable because a teacher can take data on this goal and track his progress. It is achievable because it will challenge Bobby to read at the third-grade level, but this goal is not impossible as he is currently in second grade. It is results-focused because it measures an intended outcome, and it is time-bound because it identifies a specific date for completion.