Do SMART Goals Make You Yawn? Are We Getting It All Wrong With Goal Setting? + Worksheet

I remember when I first heard the term SMART goal. I was sitting in a start your own business course over ten years ago about to embark on my life as a business owner.

After that I kept hearing it. I heard it at events, at lectures on courses.

If you search the internet for ‘Goal Setting’ SMART dominates.

But there has to be a better way.

Because I’ve found a problem with SMART goals:

It’s the ‘A’

How do you know what an attainable goal is?

If you set your goal too high, you feel like a failure and give up

If you set it too low, you achieve it and then lose motivation.

What is a SMART Goal?

Just in case you’ve avoided the term until now, here’s a quick explanation.

SMART is an acronym for:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Time Specific

If your goals contain each of these elements, they should be easier to fulfil… according to all those courses and articles.

The A

You know I have a problem with the ‘Attainable’ bit. But last year at the Learn Inbound conference in Dublin I found a solution.

Tiffany DaSilva suggested instead of a solid goal you should have a Report Card, with grades, just like in school.

And it works. 

‘C’ grade would be your best guess at an attainable goal

‘B’ grade 1.5x your C target

‘A’ grade 2x your C target

‘D’ grade 1/2 your C target

And a fail… you can decide what figure represents that

With a report card in place you never (or rarely) fail and you will stay motivated to continue if you hit your goal early.

No failure for you

Real life example

I want to grow my email list by 100% by the end of the year. That’s my C grade goal.

B would be 150%

A would be 200%

D would be 50%

A fail… anything less than 50%

I’m hoping for an A but would be satisfied with a C. Now I know my goal I can plan strategies to grow my list.

Goal Setting Worksheet

It makes sense right? So what’s the next step? Grab your report card goal setting worksheet.

Are you ready to set your goals for the year? Go grab my goal setting worksheet and let me know how you get on.