Setting goals you will actually reach: SMART goals and process goals

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Many goals fail not because people lack effort but because the goal was vague, too big or impossible to measure. A well-built goal tells you exactly what to do this week. Two tools help with that: SMART goals and process goals.

Why vague goals stall

Goals like get fit, save more money or learn Spanish sound fine, but they leave important questions open. How fit? How much? By when? Without answers you cannot tell whether you are on track, and it becomes easy to put things off.

SMART goals

SMART is a widely used checklist for turning a wish into a goal. The letters are most commonly given as:

Specific. What exactly will you achieve? Run 5 km without stopping is clearer than get fitter.
Measurable. How will you know you have done it? Choose a number, a distance, a date or a finished piece of work.
Achievable. Is it realistic given your time, money and current level? Stretch yourself, but do not set something that needs everything to go perfectly.
Relevant. Does it matter to you and fit your wider priorities? Goals you set to impress others tend to fade.
Time-bound. When will you reach it? A deadline creates urgency and lets you plan backwards.

For example, save money becomes put a fixed amount into a separate savings account on every payday for the next six months.

Outcome goals and process goals

SMART goals usually describe an outcome, the result you want. Outcomes are useful but partly outside your control. Injury, illness, a tough job market or bad luck can all get in the way. Process goals describe the actions you control.

Outcome: pass the driving test on the first attempt.
Process: have two lessons a week and practise reversing manoeuvres for twenty minutes after each one.

Process goals turn a distant target into daily behaviour. They also give you a way to succeed every day, which helps you keep going while the outcome is still months away.

How to combine them

Write your outcome goal using the SMART checklist.
List the two or three behaviours that most directly drive that outcome.
Turn each one into a process goal with a frequency, such as three runs a week or 30 minutes of vocabulary every weekday morning.
Track the process, not just the outcome. Each week, note how many of your planned sessions you completed.
Review regularly. Every few weeks, check whether the process is moving you towards the outcome and adjust if it is not.

Plan for obstacles

Psychologists have studied two simple techniques that help people follow through.

If-then plans. Decide in advance what you will do in a specific situation. If it is raining, then I will do my workout indoors. If I miss my morning study session, then I will do it straight after dinner.
Mental contrasting. Picture the outcome you want, then picture the main obstacle inside yourself, such as tiredness after work, and make a plan for it. One version of this approach is known as WOOP: wish, outcome, obstacle, plan.

Common mistakes

Too many goals at once. Two or three serious goals are usually enough. More than that spreads your time and attention thin.
All-or-nothing thinking. Missing a target by a little is still progress. Adjust the plan rather than abandoning it.
Deadlines without milestones. A goal due in a year needs checkpoints every month or so.
Never celebrating. Acknowledge milestones. It makes the next stage feel worthwhile.

A quick template

My outcome goal is to ... by ...
I will know I have reached it when ...
Each week I will ...
If ... happens, then I will ...
I will review my progress every ...

What goal are you working on right now, and how are you breaking it down? Share it in the comments.