What is the best focus strategy to stay on target if you aren’t good at tracking progress?

Who is good at tracking progress?  Very few of us.  The only focus strategy to stay on target to reach a goal is to first set SMART goals – the quality of the goal is the first key to achieving it. Tracking progress becomes a moot point when each goal is broken down into milestones and daily or weekly actions that become a habit or a practice.

In order for a goal to be effective, it has to meet certain criteria. And, you must have the knowledge, skills, and commitment necessary to achieve the goal. A goal can be a stretch, but it has to be possible!

What makes a goal SMART? In order to have a goal that contains all of the elements of a SMART goal, it should answer the following questions:

• Where am I going and how will I know when I get there?
• Is the goal emotionally compelling?
• Can I reach the goal even if it makes me stretch?
• Does the goal relate to a specific responsibility?
• Does the goal have a start date and a deadline?
• And, finally, how will I know when the goal is achieved?

Each SMART goal should begin with the phrase “I will.” This places the responsibility and the commitment on you—the goal setter. After all, the outcome of a SMART goal must be within your control.

The best focus strategy to set goals is setting goals that truly reflect what you want as an end result. Plus, you may need to reframe a goal to make it motivating to you, while still accomplishing the assigned task. Remember – a goal is not an action item on your to do list. But it can be broken down into action items that become a daily or weekly practice.

Your SMART goals need to be considered in the context of the bigger picture to make sure they are compatible with other SMART goals. And, you should have no more than three to five goals, which are written down so that they can be frequently used to compare actual behavior to targeted behavior.

A SMART goal is a goal statement that meets the SMART criteria.