Why is it important that goals be measurable?
Goals are so important in the road to success, but goals that are not measurable are not going to get you anywhere. In this article, we will explore the importance of goal setting and how essential it is to make your goals measurable.
You know that feeling you get when you set a goal and then accomplish it? It’s a rush ; it feels great knowing that with hard work and dedication, we can accomplish whatever we want in life. The feeling you get when you set a goal, then achieve it and reap the benefits is probably what everyone wants.
What is a goal?
A goal is a desired result or an intended outcome. The word is also used in management, business, and sports to describe a planned or desired condition that a person or organization wishes to achieve. A goal is usually achieved through effort, often with the help of tools and procedures as well as actions.
Let’s get explicit on this definition: A goal is what you want to accomplish (desired result). A goal is what you intend to achieve (intended outcome). A goal is a planned or desired condition. A goal is often achieved through effort. A goal is achieved with the help of tools and procedures. A goal is generally achieved through action.
Why are goals important?
Goals are an essential part of any plan if you want to accomplish something great. Without goals, you will not know where you want to go and what you want to achieve.
A goal can be defined as an intention or a desired end that may spread over the course of several years. It’s important to begin setting goals at the beginning of your road towards success because it provides clarity on how far you have come, how long it will take to reach your goal, and what hurdles need to be overcome along the way. Without goals, it will be difficult to gauge progress and determine whether there is still room for improvement.
A goal is not just a series of steps to follow in order to reach it. It is a well-defined objective with a way to measure progress.
Suppose you want to set a goal of saving $1,000 every month for the next six months. Your ultimate goal could be saving $50,000 by the end of that time frame, or it could be only saving enough money for a down payment on your first house(s). Perhaps you’ll save enough money for an education abroad.
Your goal could be to learn a new language in six months. Your goal may be to become more established in your chosen career or you may simply love doing what you do and not needing the money as much.
Whatever your ultimate goal, it’s important to start with something short-term and simple, so that goal can be achieved before focusing on the longer-term goals.
Goals are essential for achieving success because they give you clarity about how far along the path you are and what you need to do next.
Why is it important that goals be measurable?
Goals need to be measurable in order for you to be able to tell whether or not you have attained them. It is important to set goals so that they are achievable and realistic.
Before setting a goal, make sure that you know exactly what it requires of you in order for you to achieve your goal and ensure that it’s within the realm of possibility. It needs to be something that is challenging enough for you but not beyond your abilities. If it’s too hard, then try your best and don’t give up.
If you have a goal, you will naturally start working towards it. This means that the goal will become your motivation and drive when the going gets tough. If your goals are too far from what you can accomplish, then there is a risk that you will procrastinate and not work at all towards achieving them. You may also feel that achieving your goals is an unattainable dream and that there’s no point in trying.
If your goal is too easy and there are no challenges involved in getting to it, then you will not know what you’re capable of achieving. You may feel that you have already achieved something after almost finishing the goal, when in fact, you could have pushed yourself even further to achieve a more difficult objective.
Experts recommend that when setting your goals, write them down so that they can be read over and over again until they become part of you. As soon as you write it down, it’s real. It’s not just something in your head. This will give you the needed confidence to pursue your goals and empower you with the knowledge that if you keep working towards the target and if you keep trying, then eventually, you’ll reach it and reap the rewards.
How to set measurable goals using SMART goals
A goal is something that should be shared with at least one other person who can support it along the way. You should also have some type of measurement or goal so that you know whether or not you have achieved it. In this example, we will use the SMART model to demonstrate the best way to set a measurable goal.
What are SMART goals?
SMART goals are goals that meet the following criteria: specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and time-bound. The SMART acronym was created by George Doran in 1980 to help managers and business owners formulate meaningful objectives.
Let’s delve into each area:
- Specific
The goal needs to be specific; this means that it should be something that you can identify clearly, like “save $1,000 every month for the next six months.”
- Measurable
The goal needs to be measurable. There are many ways to measure your progress towards your goal but the most common way is with a chart or graph. If a goal is not measurable, then it’s probably not a goal.
- Actionable
The goal needs to be actionable; this means that you need to be able to take the steps required in order to achieve the goal.
- Relevant
The goal needs to be relevant to you and the things that you want to achieve. If it’s not relevant, then it won’t motivate you enough, and if it is too relevant then the goal will take control of your life and become fully imagined instead of something that is real and achievable.
- Time-bound
The goal has a time limit in order to make it more realistic and achievable. Continuing with the example above, if your goal is to save $1,000 every month for six months, then that is an unrealistic amount of money and the goal can’t be achieved because it will take too long. If you have decided on a goal but have no clear time frame or deadline, then use the word “target” instead of “goal. ”
OKR goal setting
OKR’s are another method of setting measurable goals. They are very similar to the SMART goals but require more specific criteria.
The OKR (Objectives and Key Results) method was created by Dr. John Doerr and John Werner in the 1990s. They are used extensively in large corporations such as Google, Linkedin, Yahoo!, and Intel, among many others. Its popularity has been fueled mainly by the success of Google, who called the OKR method “the secret sauce” that drove their massive growth.
The advantage of the OKR method is that it creates a clear and specific objective for each employee. The goal can be made even more concrete by including a key result that can be achieved at the end of each quarter. This is what makes OKRs better than SMART goals when it comes to quantifying your progress towards your goal.
What does a good goal look like?
A good goal should be very clear – it should include measurable criteria which will allow you to tell whether or not you have achieved it. It should also be specific so that you can identify exactly what your expectations are and the exact action you need to take in order to reach them.
It should also be something that you want to achieve and not just something that is given to you or required of you. You don’t have to love it, just make sure it’s something that is meaningful and important enough to work towards achieving. Then, as long as your daily efforts towards it keep growing, then eventually, your goal will become a reality.
How to create your own goals?
You don’t have to use the methods discussed here; you can simply create goals that you think would be useful for you. If your daily goals seem too small, try using the SMART model and see if it works better for you.
If your daily goals are too large, try using the OKR method and see if that works better for you.
Whatever you think will work for you is fine. Make sure you don’t compare yourself to others, because the one thing to remember about productivity and success is that our success is all about how much effort we put in. There is no shortcut to getting the results that you deserve. The only way out of mediocrity is through hard work and determination.
Working smart is not as much about knowing or doing as it is about believing and understanding that your success is entirely in your hands. Take control of your life by making sure that everything you do contributes towards making the choices that will improve it.
Conclusion
Creating measurable goals is so important to your success because it will help you identify the steps that you need to take in order to get what you want. You can easily set measurable goals using the SMART model or the OKR method.
The most important part is making sure that you are committed and fully engaged in taking those daily steps and then measuring yourself against your goal.
If you can do this and follow-through, then you will know whether or not your goal is realistic, achievable, and within reach.
Create a plan that you can check off each day, and then reward yourself for each step that you take towards your goals!
