SMART Goals

Purpose: A tool to empower your clients to make planful and positive changes to achieve their goals and objectives.

Please note: The PDF is attached below. 

Clients may choose to print the form and write answers by hand, or they may choose to fill out the form digitally (by typing in the answers).

When our clients feel overwhelmed it is often difficult for them to express what, exactly, they want to do or to change. Knowing where to begin can be daunting. SMART Goals provide a framework for thinking things through one goal at a time.

SMART is an acronym for Specific (i.e., What do I want to accomplish? What is the specific goal?), Measurable (i.e., How will I assess my progress?), Attainable (i.e., How will I work toward my goal? What are the steps?), Realistic (i.e., Is this a good time to move forward? Do I have the necessary resources?), and Time-Bound (i.e., What is my deadline? How long will it take to accomplish my goal? When will I work on this?).

We invite you to use our SMART Goals template (attached) to help your client identify one goal at a time and articulate the steps needed to accomplish it. Here is an example:

 SPECIFIC: What is the specific goal? What do I want to accomplish?
Not specific enough: "I want to lose weight."
Better: "I want to lose 20 pounds by Labor Day."

 MEASURABLE: How will I measure and track my progress?
Not useful: "I will lose the weight over the summer."
Better: "I will weigh myself each Friday and record my weight in an Excel spreadsheet."

 ATTAINABLE: Is it possible? How will I do it? What are the necessary steps?
Not useful: "I will exercise more often and lose 5 pounds every week."
Better: "I will run 1/2 mile each day in weeks #1 and #2 increase to 1 mile each day in weeks #3 and #4, and then cap it at 2 miles each day for the remaining weeks."

 REALISTIC: Is this the right time? What tools do I have to help me reach my goal?
Not useful: "I will eat only 800 calories/day and shed the weight quickly."
Better: "In addition to my running schedule I will not take seconds at mealtime. I will ask my partner to help me stick to this plan."

 TIME-BOUND: How long will it take? When (specifically) will I work on this?
Not useful: "I will start next week."
Better: "I will speak with my partner on Wednesday and outline my plan. It will begin on Thursday and conclude on Labor Day with weekly weigh-ins in between."

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Looking for more advice about how to use this tool? Drop a note in the #general channel on Slack to see what your Boon colleagues have to say, or join us for Office Hours. Looking for additional support? Please email [e-mail] and we will get you squared away!