Seven Days of Strategic Planning: Day 5 Specifying

Day 5 of Strategic Planning.

Choosing the goals to focus on for the year can be a difficult challenge, mostly because everything on the list is something we desire to accomplish or plan to in the near to distant future. Following career planning and goal setting, its easy to be fueled and ready to accomplish anything and everything, but with a running start out the gate, its easy to get burnt out quick.

Pick no more than 10 goals. Approximately 3 large year long or project orientated goals. And balance out your remaining year with 7 smaller goals. Have some goals easier to accomplish than others, once you start achieving goals that feel “easy,” the harder goals don’t seem so big and scary. Also make sure you have goals from a variety of goal categories. See Day 3 of my Seven Days of Strategic Planning.

Once you have your ten goals picked, make them SMART goals.

S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Attainable

R – Realistic / Reason

T – Timely

So for example, I am interested in creating a vision board. On my list of goals I brainstormed it says, “vision board.” While I understand that it is a goal of mine to physically make a vision board, I need to make my statement a bit more strategic. By applying SMART to my goal of creating a vision board I can make it more specific my deciding if it is a digital or hand crafted vision board. I can also say how its made.

I am going to handmake a vision board out of collected and cut imagery and photographs.

I can make it measurable by deciding the size or scope of the project. I decided that multiple and smaller vision boards are better suited to people first tying to create one than just one large over view. So I can add to my statement above:

I am going to hand make 3 vision boards out of collected and cut imagery and photographs.

 Ask yourself is this an attainable project that you can physically, mentally or emotionally do or attain? If so, possibly reconsider different approaches to reaching your goal.

Reaching goals tend to be more successful when we have time applied. This is our light at the end of the tunnel factor. When should or do you want this goal achieved by. Sometimes the deadline is already set for certain projects. Other times we need to stick our foot down and tell ourselves when the deadline is. Step up and be your own boss. As you work through your goal, adjust time as needed but make sure you are not just pushing back time because you arn’t actively working towards your goal.

I am going to hand make 3 vision boards out of collected and cut imagery and photographs by the end of July 2012.

Most places you will hear that the ‘R’ stands for realistic. Is your goal realistic? I believe that this is extremely important to ask yourself but it does go hand in hand with attainable. So I like to replace realistic with reason. Having a reason or a purpose to your goal helps reinforce yourself why it is important to continue to strive towards your goal.

I am going to hand make 3 vision boards out of collected and cut imagery and photographs by the end of July 2012 so I can begin to apply my vision board to my career.

Come on back tomorrow for more about my Seven Days of Strategic Planning! Day 6 here we come!