It’s the 1st of the month!!! First off, can someone please tell me where did 2012 go?? Can you believe it’s already November?? With time flying by like the speed of light, I thought it would be a great idea for me to set some short-term goals for this month. I personally think it’s easier to set small short-term goals that lead into longer term goals. I’ve always heard part of personal goal setting is to write it down. I rarely write down anything and when I do it’s only for my long-term ideas and goals.
In school I learned about this personal goal setting technique called S.M.A.R.T goals.
S- Specific
M- Measurable/Maintainable
A- Attainable
R- Relevant
T- Time Specific
Apparently good goal setting should have all 5 of these characteristics.
Sometimes I get overzealous with ideas and want to do too much too soon. What generally happens is I start off full force and then with the weight of all my ideas, I stop after about a week. I hate that! This month I have 4 goals that I think are realistic and challenging. The great thing is I have someone working on the same goals as I so he’s acting as an accountability partner for me. It’s always so much easier when you know someone is watching you and will hold you responsible for flaking out!
Ok, so here are my personal goals for November:
- No eating out unless it’s free. Believe it or not this may be the hardest goal to follow through on. Between my schedule and sometimes sheer laziness, relying on someone else to cook is just easier and super convenient! The problem is, it cost to have the convenience and as I looked at my 3 month spending trend I see that is an area I can really cut back on.
- No alcohol. Not too much of a challenge. The only hiccup is this month I have some birthday celebrations and of course Thanksgiving. Also, sometimes it’s nice to come home from work and relax with a nice glass of wine. Oh well, not this month!
- Go vegan for 1 week (week before Thanksgiving). I’m actually pretty excited about this one because I’ve never done it before. I’ve done the vegetarian thing but with vegan I’m taking out all animal products. The only thing I will miss out on is my coffee! I’ve looked online to see what other vegan options there are as an alternative to coffee. Haven’t really found anything yet but I’ll keep you updated!
- Work out 5 days a week for at least 20 minutes. This month I really want to work on strength to tone up. Why wait for New Year when I can start my resolution NOW!?
I actually have a bonus goal. In my post, “What My November Budget Looks Like” I mentioned I wanted to decrease my household monthly budget by 4%. I have to find areas in my budget that I can cut back onto cover that 4%. I know I have some expenses that are simply not necessary so this goal should be doable.
All goals are specific that I can realistically maintain (Specific and Measurable). I believe they are all attainable- nothing unrealistic on the list. Every item on the list is definitely relevant. It’s about doing something for an entire month that is out of my norm; stepping out of my routine. Last but not least all goals have a specific timeframe of 1 month.
There you have it!! All of my goals follow the S.M.A.R.T guidelines!! What are some of your best goal setting techniques?
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