Setting golas for both your personal and business life is something that everyone knows they should be doing. There is an endless supply of information available on the subject of goal setting. However are you setting SMART goals? Goals that are are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time Related?

Specific goals are clearly stated; that is you have written down exactly what you want and have a set time frame; a goal that has a deadline attached to it. For example saying that you would like to work from home is not a specific goal. However when written with a clear intention such as, "I want to be earning $300 per week within 90 days" is a specific goal.

Measureable goals make tracking yoru progress a breeze. Without a measureable goal it is quite difficult to assess even if, let alone when the goal has been achived.

Attainable goals are goals that you know you can realistically achieve. An attainable goal can however still be a challenging goal. For example if we continue to look at the example of earning $300 per week working from home that we mentioned above. By allowing yoruself 90 days to achive the goal rather than 30 days you are amking the goal more attainable for yourself.

Realistic goals need to be set otherwise you may find yourself never achieving any of the goals you have written down. If we continue on with our example once again and had said that we wanted to earn $300 per week within 14 days rather than the 90 day deadline we wouldn't have chosen a very realistic goal, especially if we are starting out with nil weekly earnings.

Time Related goals aren't just a wish! A well defined deadline for your goal will keep your focus and motivation. With no deadline it is much easier to procrastinate over working towards the goal.

So next time you sit down to set some goals be sure that they are S.M.A.R.T goals.