3 Reasons SMART Goals Work for Writers

Now that it’s the second half of 2020, you might be thinking about your goals. I know I am! It feels like last time I blinked I was setting my ORIGINAL 2020 goals. 

Unbeknownst to all of us, this year has been a wild ride! 

We’ve had a pandemic, killer bees (for a hot minute), and the quick growth of a major social & civil movement.

While the whole world has been at home for 5 months, our priorities have shifted, to say the least.

While the whole world has been at home for 5 months, our priorities have shifted, to say the least. We’re living in a different world than we did at the beginning of this year, so it makes sense that we might need to adjust our goals now so we can finish out the year with some semblance of sanity.

At least that’s how I feel at this point.  

How do you feel? Are you ready to think about how to set achievable goals for the rest of this year? Heck, maybe even the rest of this month? 

SMART Goals definition

What is a SMART Goal?

Last time I talked about setting goals was way back in January when I told you I don’t set resolutions. Since we’ve had all of these changes, I’m sure glad I didn’t! 

But while I talked about how to set goals, I didn’t include the SMART system. I typically like to be a little more holistic with my goals, but under the present circumstances, the SMART goal is pretty dang appealing. 

Here are the elements of a SMART goal:

SMART Goal Element 1: Specific

Make your goals simple, specific, and clear. 

To help you be specific, remember the 5 “W”s (and an H) most of us learned in writing class all those years ago: 

Who needs to be involved to make the goal happen?

What do I need to achieve? 

When do I need to complete this goal? (More on this in the time-bound step.)

Where do I need to be to complete the goal? (i.e. Do I have to be in a specific place?)

Why is this goal important to me?

How will I complete the goal? Will I have to contend with limited resources?

SMART Goal Element 2: Measurable

Make sure your goals are measurable - that you actually have a way to tell when you’re making progress and when it has been completed. 

Ask yourself questions like: 

How will I be able to tell I’ve made progress? 

How will I know the goal is achieved? 

SMART Goal Element 3: Achievable

This part is super important - we don’t want to set goals we can’t complete! Your goal should test your limits, but should be something you can actually achieve. 

Ask yourself questions like:

Do I have limited resources to achieve this goal? For instance, money or time.

What are the concrete steps I need to take to make this goal a reality? 

SMART Goal Element 4: Relevant

This goal isn’t going to be the only one in your life, so it’s important it relates to other things you’re working on, too.

For instance, you don’t want to set seemingly opposing goals like “I want to learn to relax more” and “I want to get a second job to make more money.” It’s probably going to be hard to relax more if you’re also working more.

Ask yourself questions like:

Does the timing of this goal fit the other needs in my life?

How does this fit in with the other goals in my life? 

SMART Goal Element 5: Time-Bound

For most of us, our natural instinct is to do things “when we can,” but this is not a great mindset for achieving goals. In order to make progress and achieve our goals, it’s important to set a deadline for ourselves so we actually work on it. 

Ask yourself questions like: 

What can I start doing today to work on this goal?

When will I work on this goal every week/month/quarter? 

When do I want to have the goal completely accomplished? 

The foundation of the SMART goal system  was developed by many talented individuals in the organizational performance field.

The foundation of the SMART goal system  was developed by many talented individuals in the organizational performance field; however, George T. Doran was the first one to name the SMART & write it down as such in 1981.

Can we take a moment to say thank you to George and those before him who developed these ideas?!

The particularly appealing parts of SMART goals, for me, are the measurable & time-bound pieces. It can be hard to quantify our creative life using these parameters, but it’s also incredibly doable and empowering!

What’s the Difference Between a “Regular” Goal & a SMART Goal?

Before we dive into why SMART goals are a fantastic tool for writers, I wanted to touch on what makes a SMART goal different from a “regular” everyday goal. 

The things that are most different between goals and SMART goals:

Specific

No one means to set a vague goal, at least not most people. But because the SMART goal asks you to be hyper-specific, it means that you can actually see progress and that you can actually accomplish the goal. 

Instead of a goal like “I want to be a better person,” which is good but vague, a SMART goal might say something like “I want to volunteer at lthe local food bank to become a more helpful citizen in my community.”

Measurable

It’s great to have big goals - I preach that over and over! - but it’s less of a goal (and more of a dream) when you can’t measure what’s happening. 

We need that deadline to encourage us to actually do the work and get the goal completed. 

Using the same example from above, “I want to be a better person,” a SMART goal would be more measurable if it said, “I will become a more helpful citizen in my community by volunteering at the local food bank so I can meet people with different life experiences and learn from them.”

The SMART goal here can be measured by the hours volunteered and the amount the individual purposefully interacts with the people s/he is serving. 

Time Element

The time element is probably the most helpful part about SMART goals, at least for people like me who struggle to balance all the priorities life has in store for us. We need that deadline to encourage us to actually do the work and get the goal completed.

In the example above, “I want to be a better person,” the SMART goal with a time element might look like, “I will volunteer at the local food bank once a week for the next 6 months so I can meet people with different life experiences and learn from them.”

Why Do SMART Goals Work So Well for Writers? 

First of all, are you as excited about SMART goals as I am? I hope so! If not, that’s okay, too. That doesn’t mean they aren’t incredibly helpful for writers just like you!

Why does this system work for writers? 

First, you can actually see progress as you write because the goals are measurable. As you’re working on your writing goals and doing the writing, you can see your progress on the page.

Setting a deadline creates the kind of pressure that encourages you to finish your epic fantasy novel at all instead of just letting it sit in a file cabinet by your desk.

Second, you’re creating accountability to yourself. By setting a deadline, and maybe telling someone about it, you create a situation in which you need to be accountable to actually doing what you set out to do. You also know going in that your goal is achievable, which makes checking your progress pleasant instead of something you dread.

Finally, setting a deadline and having measurable progress creates a little pressure! Not the kind that says you have to finish your 1,000+ page epic fantasy novel in 90 days, but the kind that encourages you to finish your epic fantasy novel at all instead of just letting it sit in a file cabinet by your desk.

How Can Writers Set SMART Goals? 

The first time I read about SMART goals I was not sold on how this could relate to anything creative because at first glance it doesn’t seem like it leaves a lot of room for creativity. 

But the more I read about them, and the more goals I set, SMART and “regular,” the more I’ve realized SMART goals are DEFINITELY the way to go with writing! 

The more I read about them, and the more goals I set, the more I’ve realized SMART goals are definitely the way to go with writing! 

If you, like me, are wondering what that looks like, I wanted to walk through an example because it can be tough to see how creativity can be measurable or relevant when you’re first starting out. 

I also created a worksheet to help you out! I figured since I muddled through it I could make it easier for you. You can get that by clicking here.

So, let’s start with the basic goal of “starting and completing a writing project” and walk through the steps to make it SMART. 

Writing SMART Goal Step 1: Specific

Starting: Starting and completing a writing project

SMART: I will start brainstorming and completely finish the first draft of my YA novel.

Writing SMART Goal Step 2: Measurable

Start: I will start brainstorming and completely finish the first draft of my YA novel. 

SMART: I will start brainstorming and completely finish the first draft of my YA novel by creating an outline and writing one chapter at a time.

Writing SMART Goal Step 3: Achievable

Start:  I will start brainstorming and completely finish the first draft of my YA novel by creating an outline and writing one chapter at a time.

SMART: I will start brainstorming and completely finish the first draft of my YA novel by creating an outline and writing one chapter per week.

Writing SMART Goal Step 4: Relevant

Start: I will start brainstorming and completely finish the first draft of my YA novel by creating an outline and writing one chapter per week.

SMART: I will start brainstorming and completely finish the first draft of my YA novel by creating an outline and writing one chapter per week, which will allow me to still have time to spend with my family and work on other creative projects. 

Writing SMART Goal Step 5: Time-Bound

Start: I will start brainstorming and completely finish the first draft of my YA novel by creating an outline and writing one chapter per week, which will allow me to still have time to spend with my family and work on other creative projects. 

SMART: I will start brainstorming and completely finish the first draft of my YA novel within the next 6 months by creating an outline and writing one chapter per week, which will allow me to still have time to spend with my family and work on other creative projects.

Do you see how SMART goals could help you with your writing?

Do you see how SMART goals could help you with your writing? It seems like it would be counter intuitive to structure your creativity, but as it turns out, having deadlines and being able to see progress is actually a huge and positive game-changer.

Next steps

Next Steps

Now that you know why SMART goals work for writers, what are you going to do with that info? 

There are multiple steps you can take: 

1.Download the free Writing SMART Goals Worksheet! It’s almost always helpful when someone else builds a fill-in-the-blank worksheet to help us take action, and I’m so excited to give you another tool! It’s a pretty sweet setup, if I do say so myself, and I am going to be using it to set my own SMART goals this month as we finish out 2020. 

If you want the SMART goals worksheet, click here or fill out the form below to get your worksheet for free right now. What’s the worst that could happen? 

2. Set Some SMART goals Take some time and use the worksheet to set brand new shiny SMART goals! Or, take your goals from the beginning of 2020 and revamp them SMART style. 

3. Practice Being Accountable Once you’ve gotten your SMART goals written (and posted where you’ll look at them every day), practice making measurable progress on them every day/week/month. Whatever goal you set, keep showing up to do the work and being accountable to yourself. 

4. Get Help if You Need It If you are struggling with setting goals for your writing, or you just want some help, I can be that person for you. Click here to read more about how I work 1:1 with writers like you to set goals, strategize, and be an accountability partner for their writing projects. 

My challenge to you is to take action today. Get the worksheet and take a few minutes TODAY to set a SMART goal for your writing. 

Have you heard of or used SMART goals before? Did you use the worksheet to set new SMART goals? I’d love to hear about your goal-setting process! Find me on social media, drop a comment below, or email me at rachel@capturingyourconfidence.com! 

Let’s chat because you, my friend, are on your way to great writing.