The SMART rule helps you set goals and limits for yourself to manage and organize your life effectively.
Specific – Think very specifically about your goals
Measurable – Set measurable goals
Attainable – Set higher goals to develop yourself
Relevant – Set relevant goals
Time-bound – Set a timeline for you to complete your goal
The five elements above will help you set out a specific plan to accomplish your goals.
Photo: Pexel/Nataliya Vaitkevich
Specific – Specificity
Answer questions like:
Who: Who will participate in this plan?
What: What do you hope to achieve?
Where: Where do you want to achieve that goal?
When: When do you want to do it?
Which: What are the disadvantages for you?
Why: Why must you achieve this goal?
By asking yourself these questions, you will determine what you need to do and what tools you need to achieve your goals.
Measurable – Can be measured
Before starting work, slow down and ask yourself: `How can I achieve this goal?`.
Attainable – Feasibility
Sometimes, the goals you set may be too far away from your current capabilities.
For example, you set a goal to type 50 words faster per minute.
Photo: Unsplash/Dane Deaner
Relevant – Related goals
Related goals have a direct impact on the technical skills you want to improve.
Time-bound – Time limit
Set a deadline, a certain amount of time to complete your plan.
Photo: Unsplash/Paige Cody
The SMART rule can be applied to help you make plans to improve your life, from work to eating and resting habits… You can take advantage of this rule to make plans for every goal you want.
1. Use SMART to improve work efficiency
Goal: You will redesign your company’s homepage before August 21 to attract more customers.
(S) Specific: Website design must be completed before August 21
(M) Measurable: You will have to hire two graphic designers and one website software engineer.
(A) Attainable: You must spend 5 hours/week to implement this plan and ensure the website is completed before launch date.
(R) Relevant: Redesigning the company’s website will be the first step in the plan to promote and enhance the company’s image.
(T) Time-bound: You must complete this plan in 3 months, which means you must spend about 60 hours working on this project.
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2. Practice the habit of eating fruits and vegetables with SMART
Goal: By June 30, you will have the habit of eating at least 300 grams of green vegetables and 100 grams of fruit in your daily meals.
(S) Specific: By June 30, you will eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day.
(M) Measurable: The goal is to go shopping once a week and stock up on enough food to portion out enough portions.
(A) Attainable: You make preparing your own meals a daily habit.
(R) Relevant: Adding vegetables and fruits helps you build healthy eating habits and save money.
(T) Time-bound: You will eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables in your daily diet when the deadline is June 30
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3. Improve your exercise habits
Goal: You exercise at least 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week, before July 15.
(S) Specific: You perform gentle exercises for 20 minutes/day, 3 days/week.
(M) Measurable: Track your exercise progress with calendars and health tracking applications, ensuring that you have completed the full 20 minutes of exercise.
(A) Attainable: You schedule practice time on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
(R) Relevant: If you consistently exercise for minutes/day for 3 days/week, you can begin to challenge yourself with more intense exercises, increase your endurance and can maintain it as a habit.
(T) Time-bound: You will practice at least 20 minutes/day, 3 days/week before July 15.
Photo: Pexels/Mikael Blomkvist
4. Practice meditation using the SMART rule
Goal: You will meditate for 20 minutes every morning.
(S) Specific: You will start by meditating for 10 minutes, then gradually increase to 20 minutes, finally, you can meditate for 20 minutes every morning.
(M) Measurable: The goal is to practice the habit of meditating for 20 minutes over 3 weeks, then you will try to maintain this morning meditation habit every day.
(A) Attainable: Track your meditation process with a meditation support application. You start by meditating for 10 minutes, then continue to gradually increase to 20 minutes.
(R) Relevant: Practicing meditation brings you many mental benefits, improving mood, clarity, health and flexibility.
(T) Time-bound: You wake up at 6 a.m. every day, relax your shoulders and back to get ready to meditate.
To achieve the best results using the SMART planning rule, you need to maintain your determination and self-discipline.