Determine Your Academic Goals: The "S.M.A.R.T." way

From Paul J. Meyer's "Attitude Is Everything."

S.M.A.R.T. goals are a method for planning how you will achieve what you want to do. It stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound.

Specific - A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six "W" questions:

• Who: Who is involved?
• What: What do I want to accomplish?
• Where: Identify a location.
• When: Establish a time frame.
• Which: Identify requirements and constraints.
• Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.

Measurable - Establish concrete criteria and numbers for measuring progress towards the goal you set and measuring your outcomes. When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and stay motivated by your progress. To determine if your goal is measurable, ask: How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?

Attainable - Attainable goals are realistic; something which you are both willing and able to work towards. When you consider restrictions such as workload, skills, interest, and your schedule, do you believe your goal can be accomplished? Ask yourself: Have you accomplished anything similar in the past? What conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal? Am I prepared to make the commitment and changes to reach my goal?

Relevant - A goal should be relevant to you, not something that another person wants you to do. A relevant goal is something that will make a difference in your life and be rewarding. It is relevant if it is important to you and supports your values.

Time-bound - You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Any goal you set should have a timeline, deadlines or a date for completion. Without a time frame, there is no sense of urgency to accomplish the goal. Deadlines reinforce the seriousness of your goal, and can motivate you to take action.

Examples of S.M.A.R.T. goals

Goal = I want to get good grades.

S.M.A.R.T. Goal = In order to qualify for the Math Department scholarship next year, I want to improve my grades from the current 2.0 average to a GPA of 2.5 by the end of this semester. To help me achieve better grades and GPA, I will schedule appointments with the MATH Tutor for help when I have difficult math assignments. I also plan to reduce the number of hours I work during mid-terms and finals to 5 hours or less so I have more time to study. In addition, I will meet with each of my teachers near the middle of the semester to talk about my progress and grade.

Goal = I want to take better care of myself.

S.M.A.R.T. Goal = Over the next six months, I want to get more exercise in hopes of reducing my stress and improving my sleep quality. My goal is to increase my walks from 2 times a week to 4 times a week and keep the distance the same and I will add a set of ten basic stretches to the end of each walk. I will keep track of my walks in my journal. Using a scale of 1-5, I will also record how I feel each week, my daily stress levels, and how well I sleep each night.