Firstly, it is important to remember habits are the car driving you and your goals are the pins in the map that help you navigate. Atomic Habits by James Clear (https://amzn.to/3He11xi) is a great book which we highly recommend if you want to introduce lasting changes to your habits and make meaningful transformations to your life.

Secondly, it can be really effective to partner with someone, so you hold each other to account and encourage each other to stick to the goals.  

The SMART acronym is a useful model to use when setting goals and helps to make sure that your goals will be effective and to avoid disappointment. SMART Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound/Sensitive:

1. Specific

Your goals should be specific.  This means you should be able to clearly articulate each goal so that it can be easily understood. A useful practice is to imagine you need to explain your goals to a young child.  The underlying principle is that, vague goals are difficult to focus on and also challenging to know when you have achieved them.

Example: Your goal may be to improve your health. This is very broad, and it may not be clear what success looks like, more specific goals could be eating more fruits and vegetables, exercise twice a week or lose 10 pounds.  

2. Measurable

Goals should be measurable. This ensures you can track progress and that you remain motivated. Being able to measure progress helps you to stay focused and remain enthusiastic about reaching your goals.

Measuring your goals means you can clearly set out how the goal will be accomplished (e.g. deciding how much, how far or how many).

Example: Your goal could be to progress to a certain role or position at work.  A measurable goal for this would be that you will have completed any required training courses within a defined period (e.g. 2 years).

3. Achievable

Your goal also needs to be realistic and something that is attainable. Goals should be challenging and push you but need to remain in the realm of what is possible. Setting unrealistic goals can lead to disappointment and apathy.  

Don’t put limits on yourself, but remember, it can often be necessary to break long term goals into smaller manageable mini goals. Setting goals that are too ambitious can give you a sense of excitement in the short term, but if not achievable will ultimately lead to disappointment if you do not follow through (we’ve all been there!).

4. Relevant

You should always consider why the goal is significant to you, how achieving it will help you, and how it will contribute toward your other long-term plans and goals. Far too often our goals arise out of other people’s ideas rather than our own (e.g. wanting to pursue a career to please our parents).

5. Time-bound

Goals should have a clear target date so that you have a deadline to focus on and something to work toward.

Having a target date also allows you to assess progress and make action plans to achieve your goals.

Example: Having a goal to lose a certain amount of weight e.g. 12 pounds can be time bound by amending to lose 12 pounds in 12 weeks. This would allow you to create a program to lose 1 pound a week. If you reach week three and you have only lost 1 pound you can assess and re-evaluate your action plan.

As always, have fun setting your goals and whether you aim to get fitter, be more organised, save for the dream holiday or just stick to your 8 glasses of water a day Turn Down the Volume wish you the very best for the New Year!