get s.m.a.r.t.

Overview

Ok. It’s time for a bit of a heads up. Up to this point we’ve done the easy part. It can be a bit of a challenge the first time you go through it. It gets easier and quicker each cycle because you don’t have to start from scratch each time.

Now we’re going to get our hands dirty and dig really deep into a few of our goals.

This is the point when many people often get overwhelmed with the idea and all that is required to do to accomplish each goal.

I’m going to urge you to stick with it. If you can get through this part the rest is just a matter of taking at least one step each day.

Now we’re going to get our hands dirty and dig really deep into a few of our goals.

This is the point when many people often get overwhelmed with the idea and all that is required to do to accomplish each goal.

I’m going to urge you to stick with it. If you can get through this part the rest is just a matter of taking at least one step each day.

Break it down

Step 1: Write down the initial idea

Write down one of your ideas from your Top 5 Ideas.

Yup, that’s it.

Example

For the following steps we are going to use "Learn Spanish" as our working example.

Step 2: make it specific

Your goals need to be specific. Did you know there are more than 5 different ‘flavors’ of Spanish?

US English, Castilian, Andalusian, Murcian, Canarian, Caribbean, Rioplatense, and Equatoguinean Spanish are the 8 main ones.

Which one are you wanting to learn?

Example

Learn Caribbean Spanish

Step 3: Make it measurable

It’s important to be able to measure your goal in order to know when you’ve achieved it. Vague goals that can’t be measured tend to get neglected after time.

Having a finish line is important if you want to win the race!

Example

Learn 300 words of Caribbean Spanish

Step 4: Make it achievable

We want to make sure our goals are realistically achievable within a reasonable time frame. Some people like to set massive goals with the understanding that they won’t achieve them. Their primary desire is to get as far as they can as fast as they can.

Setting huge goals can work, under the right conditions, for the right people. Not for most.

Make your goals reasonable. You can always set another goal to build upon the original goal. That is one of the key concepts of The Happiness Plan. Small, incremental improvements that build upon the success of previous improvements.

Example

- Become fluent in Caribbean Spanish. Is this reasonable? Maybe. It fails the measurable test.
- Learn 40,000 words of Caribbean Spanish.
Is is specific? Yes. Is it measurable? Yes. Is it realistic? Maybe.
- Learn 300 words of Caribbean Spanish.
Specific? Yes. Measurable? Yes. Realistic? Absolutely!
Once we learn the 300 words we can reevaluate our goals and extend it to more words as needed. We don't get locked in to some humongous trek when a series of short walks will accomplish the same result.

Step 5: Make it relevant

We want to ensure that the goal is relevant to us at this time in our life.

Here are a few questions you can ask yourself in order to determine the relevancy of your goal:

– Does this seem worthwhile?

– Is this the right time?

– Does this match our other efforts/needs?

– Am I the right person to reach this goal?

– Is it applicable in the current socio-economic environment?

Example

Learn 300 words of Caribbean Spanish for my trip to Puerto Rico

Step 6: Make it time-bound

Here’s where The Happiness Plan deviates from traditional S.M.A.R.T. goal planning just a little bit. There’s a few reasons for it, but it all really boiled down to keeping things simple.

The primary question you want to ask is if this goal can be achieved in 12 weeks or less.

If the answer is yes, then the goal will fit into The Happiness Plan quite nicely.

If the answer is no, it’s not a problem. There’s just one major thing you’ll want to put into consideration…

If ALL your goals will take longer than 12 weeks, you should really consider adjusting them so they will take less than 12 weeks.

The primary reason for this is the overwhelming effect it has to be working on 2 or 3 long term goals at the same time. After a while you might start to feel like you’re not making any progress even with the Weekly and Monthly reviews.

The whole idea behind The Happiness Plan is to make small, incremental improvements vs everything is moving mountains.

Example

Learning 300 words of Caribbean Spanish before my trip to Puerto Rico in January.

Step 8: write down your S.M.A.R.T. goal

Now that you’ve taken your idea from a simple brainstorm spark of a concept and converted it into something that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound… It’s time to write it down in all it’s S.M.A.R.T. glory!

Example

Learning 300 words of Caribbean Spanish before my trip to Puerto Rico in January.

Step 9: Repeat

Repeat steps 1-8 for the remaining Top 5 Ideas on your list.

Psst… It gets easier. I promise!

Step 9: Give yourself a huge HUG!

You’re doing AWESOME! If you’ve made it this far you’re doing better than some of the professional ‘project managers’ I’ve worked with over the years.

Seriously, I questioned the qualifications of some of those people… And I’m not the only one. Except for Anne! She WAS THE BEST!

At this point I usually take an extended break. If you’re starting this from scratch, this is a great time to put it away and go have fun.

Get a good nights rest. You’re going to need to be both physically and mentally ready for the next part. It’s where the majority of people drop off and quit… But that won’t be you. I have faith in you!