{"id":465,"date":"2025-10-31T08:58:38","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T12:58:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/stalled\/?p=465"},"modified":"2025-10-31T08:58:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T12:58:38","slug":"smart-goal-setting-4-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/stalled\/2025\/10\/31\/smart-goal-setting-4-5\/","title":{"rendered":"SMART goal-setting (4.5)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019re finding it tough to get everything done, try setting <\/em>SMART goals<\/em><\/strong>. This goal-setting method is very widely used, so you\u2019re likely to encounter it when you join the work force. But it can help you manage your time here at college, too! Goal-setting can help you start SMART!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WHY TRY GOAL-SETTING?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

HOW GOALS HELP.<\/strong> Setting clearly articulated goals<\/strong> helps you manage your time better by helping you think through what you need to do. Having goals also helps make you accountable<\/strong> to yourself, particularly when you use a method like SMART goals which encourages you to make your goals realistic and manageable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT DOES \u201cSMART\u201d MEAN?<\/strong> \u201cSMART<\/strong>\u201d is an acronym to help you remember the qualities of a well-set goal. The acronym stands for s<\/strong>pecific, m<\/strong>easurable, a<\/strong>chievable, r<\/strong>elevant, and t<\/strong>ime-bound. If a goal has all of these characteristics, it\u2019s much easier to know how to work toward achieving that goal.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SPECIFIC.<\/strong> If a goal is too vague, you won\u2019t really know how to reach it. Being specific makes it much more likely that you can develop a clear plan to achieve your goal. For example, \u201cI\u2019ll be a better student\u201d isn\u2019t a very specific goal. A more specific one would be \u201cI\u2019ll visit my professor in office hours to talk about the upcoming exam before I take that exam.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MEASURABLE.<\/strong> You have to know when a goal has been reached, or else you might spend too much time working towards it. So, \u201cI want to get faster at typing\u201d isn\u2019t helpful because it\u2019s not measurable. So, if you measure your current typing speed \u2014 let\u2019s say it\u2019s 30 words per minute \u2014 you can set a measurable goal by aiming for steady improvement. A more measurable goal, then, is \u201cI want to increase my typing speed to 35 words per minute by the end of this semester.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ACHIEVEABLE.<\/strong> Unrealistic goals can be really demotivating, because it\u2019s unlikely that you can actually achieve them. A goal like \u201cI\u2019m going to become an Olympic skier\u201d is out of reach for most people. But an achievable version of that goal could be: \u201cI\u2019m going to ski down Sugarloaf in less than 25 minutes by the time I\u2019m a junior.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

RELEVANT.<\/strong> Your goals should align with the goals of the course you\u2019re taking. So, if a class focuses on skills in a computer language, it\u2019s not really relevant to set a goal for that class in which you improve your typing speed (which doesn\u2019t have any relationship to how well someone learns a new computer language).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TIME-BOUND.<\/strong> Without a clear deadline, most of us will procrastinate. To help avoid that, set a deadline for every goal that you create. Stick to it! It helps to put those goals in your planner or your digital calendar, as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

GOAL-SETTING TIPS<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SMALLER IS BETTER.<\/strong> If your goal is too big, it\u2019s probably not specific enough. If you find that you have a really big goal, try breaking it down into smaller parts. Then, make sure your goal for each sub-part is a SMART goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KNOW WHAT\u2019S ACHIEVABLE.<\/strong> It might not be realistic in some semesters to set a goal of getting A+ in every course. And that\u2019s okay! Knowing what\u2019s achievable can help you focus on getting the most out of each course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TOOLS CAN HELP.<\/strong> Digital project management tools like ClickUP, Trello, or Asana have free plans, and can help you keep track of goals and planning steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FURTHER RESOURCES<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lake Superior State University. SMART Goals Worksheet<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purdue Global. \u201cGoal-Setting Strategies and Worksheets<\/a>.\u201d 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stanford University. \u201cHow to Set SMART Goals for the Academic Year.<\/a>\u201d 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

University of Wisconsin-Madison, University Health Services. \u201cHow to Write SMART Goals That Actually Work<\/a>.\u201d 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FACULTY FAUCET<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s evidence to suggest that goal-setting can help students i<\/strong>n higher education. Outcomes documented in using SMART goals include that they encourage students to start earlier <\/strong>on assignments and report that enjoy their assignments<\/strong> more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like encouraging goal-setting but don\u2019t like the idea of using SMART goals in your courses? Some research suggests that goal-setting of any kind provides the same benefits as SMART goal setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider including goal-setting activities to help students effectively approach their work. Students can set goals for a project, for example, to help them plan more efficiently. The goal-setting taks can be given a \u201ccheck\u201d grade to minimize your grading time, or it can even  be something that\u2019s not graded!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re finding it tough to get everything done, try setting SMART goals. This goal-setting method is very widely used, so you\u2019re likely to encounter it when you join the work force. But it can help you manage your time here at college, too! Goal-setting can help you start SMART! WHY TRY GOAL-SETTING? HOW GOALS […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17590,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[564070],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/stalled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/stalled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/stalled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/stalled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17590"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/stalled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=465"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/stalled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":467,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/stalled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465\/revisions\/467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/stalled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/stalled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/stalled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}