The start of a new school year or a new job is a great time for setting goals. You will want to carry that excitement to the next destination in your career development journey. Goal setting is one great way to help with that.
Why Set Goals?
Goals give direction and guidance and help with motivation. Goals can also help you manage your time and accomplish more.
How to Set SMART Goals
You might already be familiar with the SMART Goal format. Using the SMART Goal template can help you maximize your goal setting strategies and make it easier for you to achieve success and accomplish your goals. When setting a goal check to see if your goal meets the S.M.A.R.T criteria:
Find out more about writing S.M.A.R.T Goals here.
What Goals Should I Set?
You can set goals for anything or any part of your life. Most often goals are related to career development but you can also have personal goals. Goals can be set for the short-term, as in getting a good mark on your next test, or for the medium-term, as in getting a good course grade, or for the long-term, as in earning your degree and graduating from university.
Quick Tips for Goal Setting Success
If you have a major goal try breaking it down into smaller action items and setting deadlines for these items. For instance, if you have a big paper due try setting yourself a certain number of pages to write each day or each week and leave a week to do your proof reading.
Be careful not to set too many goals and become overwhelmed. This will cause you to lose focus on the really important goals and make you feel ineffective. Remember, goals should be somewhat challenging but always attainable.
Always remember to check in with your progress on a regular basis. Give yourself some flexibility and adjust where needed to keep moving forward towards accomplishing your goals. It’s okay to let some old goals go if they no longer serve you or they no longer fit with your career plans any more.
More Resources
Find more great ideas for goal setting here.
Check out this Goal Setting Worksheet to get started setting your goals.