Why do people set goals?
Focus & Direction
Maybe you feel a bit like a ship in the middle of the ocean without a compass. Or like you’re standing in the kitchen, waiting for someone to tell you what to do, or to ask for help.
Goals can help you pick something to work on, such as building a compass, or assessing the state of dinner prep. Or deciding to go get to level 90 in WoW because someone else has it covered.
Priorities & Managing Time
As we become more senior, even if that’s making the transition from co-op to full time, we get more responsibilities, especially if we work on a live product, and with other people and disciplines.
Having goals can help make it easier or more obvious to choose what the best thing for us to work on is at the moment.
Fulfilment
Everything is going great, people are telling you you’re steady and dependable, but maybe you feel bored. Setting goals can be a good time for introspection into what we want to be doing, and can be a great motivator to get out of our comfort zones and go do those things.
SMART Goal Setting
- S = Specific: The target must be defined precisely and clearly
- M = Measurable: The target must be measurable
- A = Accepted: Target must be acceptable to recipients
- R = Relevant: The target must have a reason to exist.
- T = Time-bound: The target’s schedule, beginning, and end should be clear
A goal must meet all of these criteria to be considered a SMART goal. Let’s explore that.
Goal : “I will become one of the top players of World of WarCraft”
S = Specific
The target should be defined as clearly as possible. The goal should be concrete, and there should be no undefined details. To determine these details, the following questions should be asked.
- What needs to be accomplished?
- Who’s responsible for it?
- What steps need to be taken to achieve it?
Goals should be clearly stated first. For example, “I will reach level 90 of World of WarCraft in 30 days”
M = Measurable
If the goal is to be transformed into a smart goal, it must be measurable. By using numbers, progress towards the goal can be tracked, and motivation can be maintained.
- How much?
- How soon?
- How will I know if I am successful?
Let’s add measurability; “I will achieve level 90 of World of WarCraft in 30 days, to do this I will need to gain on average 1093333 XP per day[1] in world of Warcraft”
A = Achievable
It must be attainable for a goal to be a smart goal. You can still challenge yourself, but this is where you get realistic with yourself, and weigh it against your other priorities.
- Is my goal realistic?
Let’s check in with ourselves regarding accessibility; “Is 1093333 XP per day even possible? Do I have time for this? Can I put my social life & sleep on the back burner and focus entirely on WoW?”
Outcomes of this step may be to increase your timeline, or set your goal lower.
R = Relevant :
Here’s where you need to think about the big picture. Why are you setting the goal that you’re setting?
Let’s ask ourselves for relevance
- Why am I trying to reach level 90?
- Will the person I’m trying to impress even care, or would they be equally impressed by the fact that I’ve already completed all of the Final Fantasy games?
- Would I have more fun with my friends by inviting them to play Sea of Thieves instead, where levels don’t really matter?
If it passes the relevance check, continue. If not, start from the beginning!
T = Time-bound
Smart goals must have a deadline, and they should include a calendar. Not setting an end date will make it very hard to prioritise the work you need to do against other deadlines in your life. Setting regular check points for yourself will make it easier to assess if you’re on or off track.
Let’s add the timing: “I will get to level 68 of WoW on day 1, level 80 on day 2, level 83 on day 3, level 87 on day 15, level 88 on day 21, level 89 on day 26, and level 90 on day 30 of World of WarCraft.”
Good luck setting smart goals, and if you want to ask any questions, shoot me an email.
Talk soon,
Meghan