How to Achieve Any Goals (+ Downloadable SMART Goals Worksheet)

Ever made a goal, and you fell flat on your face?

It’s not you.

It’s the lack of direction in goal-setting.

Fortunately, the days of coming up short on your goal are over.

In this guide, I’ll show you how to turn your dream into reality using the SMART goal approach.

Ready to make this your best year? Then let’s do this.

What’s a SMART goal?

A SMART goal helps you accomplish your goal over a time frame.

It’s more effective than a fluffy one-line goal, as it includes a set of criteria that help you stay on the right track.

These criteria make up the acronym SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.

Let’s look at what these initials stand for.

1. Specific

Fluffy one-line goals are just that.

‍Fluffy.

To make your goal work, address the nitty-gritty. Get as specific as possible.

By narrowing down your goal, you’ll gain clarity and feel motivated to focus on your efforts.

• Who: Who needs to be involved?
• What: What do you want to accomplish?
• When: When should you complete this goal? Note: We’ll take a closer look at this in Timely.
• Why: Why are you creating this goal? Why is it important?
• Where: Where is this goal located? Heads-up: You don’t always need to answer this question. For example, if you want to hit $10,000/month in your online business, ignore it.

Do this now: Edit your current goal to answer these five questions.

2. Measurable

Measurable goals include a way to track progress.

These key metrics tell you how close (or far off) you are to achieving your goal.

• How much do you want to make every month?
• How many cold emails do you need to send a week?
• How many clients do you need to work with to hit your monthly income goal?

Do this now: Set a benchmark (e.g., $40,000 in monthly sales, onboard a new client every month) that you can use to measure your progress.

3. Attainable (or achievable)

Far-fetched goals set us up for disappointment.

As you set your goal, remind yourself there’s a fine line between setting a challenge and setting yourself up for failure.

Ask: Is your goal attainable? You know it’s the right goal when it pushes your skills and it’s possible for you to achieve it.

‍Imagine you’re a new freelance web designer. Which of these sounds more feasible?

‍Goal A: Send five personalized cold emails every day.

‍Goal B: Send 100 personalized cold emails every day.

Does Goal B fill you with dread? You’re not alone. Even for new freelancers with time to spare, sending 100 personalized cold emails a day is a next-to-impossible task.

Whereas for Goal A? It pushes your abilities without stretching you to your limit.

‍Do this now: Review your goal to ensure you can achieve it.

4. Relevant

Relevant goals work because they align with your objectives and they create benefits for your business.

Here’s a personal anecdote to illustrate what I mean.

Last year, I wanted to create a case study for a successful content strategy project. But there was a problem: I was burnt out, and I didn’t want to work on strategy projects for the time being.

What I wanted to focus on was writing.

If I'd kept working on the case study, I'd end up attracting unfit projects... which wasn’t my goal in the first place.

‍Do this now: Align your goal with your business objectives.

5. Timely (or time-bound)

It’s not a goal if it doesn’t have a deadline.

If it’s a simple one-time goal, just a target date will suffice.

What if it’s a larger goal (e.g., onboard three new clients every month)? Create smaller milestones and set key dates for these different phases.

• When’s the deadline?
• What can I do right now?
• What can I do X days/weeks/months from now?

Do this now: Set a deadline and key milestones for your goal.

4 SMART goal examples (featuring freelancers, marketers, founders, agencies, and small business owners)

You’ve learned the theory. Now’s the time to put it into practice. In this section, you’ll learn how to transform a fluffy one-line goal into a SMART goal. Let’s dive in!

SMART goal example 1: freelancer

Imagine you’re working a 9-5 job and running a writing business on the side.

You plan to leave your current job for good and write full time, so you jot this goal in your planner.

‍Fluffy goal:

“Pursue my writing business full time.”

Vague, isn't it? Let’s see how we can refine it using the SMART goals approach.

‍Specific:

"I want to earn more money in my writing business because I want to quit my 9-5 job and pursue freelancing full time.”

Measurable:

"I want to earn $5,000 in my writing business every month because I want to quit my 9-5 job and pursue freelancing full time. To meet my goal, I need to work with at least five clients in my ideal industries: B2B SaaS, ecommerce, and technology.”

Attainable:

"I want to earn $5,000 in my writing business every month because I want to quit my 9-5 job and pursue freelancing full time. To meet my goal, I need to work with at least five clients in my ideal industries: B2B SaaS, ecommerce, and technology. To find these clients, I will send five cold emails every day for the next month.”

Relevant:

"I want to earn $5,000 in my writing business every month because I want to quit my 9-5 job and pursue freelancing full time. To meet my goal, I need to work with at least five clients in my ideal industries: B2B SaaS, ecommerce, and technology. To find these clients, I will send five cold emails every day for the next month. This creates an opportunity to start a conversation with prospects and get my name out in the industry.”

Timely:

"I want to earn $5,000 in my writing business every month by Q3 of 2022 because I want to quit my 9-5 job and pursue freelancing full time. To meet my goal, I need to work with at least five clients in my ideal industries: B2B SaaS, ecommerce, and technology. To find these clients, I will send five cold emails every day for the next month. This creates an opportunity to start a conversation with prospects and get my name out in the industry.”

And voilà, you’ve created a SMART goal for your writing business.

SMART goal example 2: marketer

Picture it: You’re a marketer at a B2C health startup.

While experimenting with social media, you discover your best-performing platform: Twitter.

And with that, you set a new goal.

‍Fluffy goal:

“Improve follower growth on Twitter.”

And the fluffiness strikes again. Let’s see how we can tweak it.

‍Specific:

“I want to grow our company’s Twitter followers because it’s the most successful platform to acquire new users.”

Measurable:

“I want to grow our company’s Twitter followers by 50% because it’s the most successful platform to acquire new users.”

Attainable:

“I want to grow our company’s Twitter followers by 50% because it’s the most successful platform to acquire new users. This will be accomplished by Twitter Ads campaigns and collaborations with micro-influencers.”

Relevant:

“I want to grow our company’s Twitter followers by 50% because it’s the most successful platform to acquire new users. This will be accomplished by Twitter Ads campaigns and collaborations with micro-influencers. The increase of followers will lead to more users using our product and more profit.”

Timely:

“I want to grow our company’s Twitter followers by 50% (by Q3 2022) because it’s the most successful platform to acquire new users. This will be accomplished by 10 Twitter Ads campaigns and 20 collaborations with micro-influencers in Q2 of 2022. The increase of followers will lead to more users using our product and more profit.”

With a “meatier” description like this, you’re more likely to stay on the right track and meet your goal.If you’re looking for a tool to grow your Twitter audience, we have just what you need: Zlappo.

Create your content and schedule it ahead of time.

Zlappo automatically retweets your best-performing Tweets to drive more engagement.

Don’t be surprised if you wake up to more likes, replies, and sales.

SMART goal example 3: small business/agency owner

Now let’s imagine you’re a small business or agency owner.

In the first two years of business, you discovered professional networking attracts the best clients.

There’s no way the pandemic is going to stop you from meeting prospects, so here’s the goal you set for the new year.

‍Fluffy goal:

“Attend more online events.”

*yawns* Let’s add details to our goal!

‍Specific:

“I want to attend online business events to meet potential clients.”

Measurable:

“I want to attend one online business event every month to meet potential clients.”

Attainable:

“I want to attend one online business event every month to meet potential clients. I will participate in the networking sessions and connect on LinkedIn with the people I spoke to.”

Relevant:

“I want to attend one online business event every month to meet potential clients. I will participate in the networking sessions and connect on LinkedIn with the people I spoke to. By doing so, I’ll have more collaboration opportunities and grow my network. I aim to attract two new clients each month.”

Timely:

“I want to attend one online business event every month in 2022 to meet potential clients. I will participate in the networking sessions and connect on LinkedIn with the people I spoke to. By doing so, I’ll access more collaboration opportunities and grow my network. I aim to attract two new clients each month for the entire year of 2022.”

No one should go to networking events unprepared — yes, even when it’s an online event, and you’re attending it from the comfort of your home.

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SMART goal example 4: startup founder

In our final example, let’s pretend you’re a startup founder.

Imagine feeling worn out from doing it on your own. While reviewing your product and business model, you realize you could use a fresh pair of eyes to see if you’re heading in the right direction.

On your sticky note, you wrote:

‍Fluffy goal:

“Get feedback on ideas.”

You know the drill. Let’s turn this fluffy goal into a great one.

‍Specific:

“I want to get feedback for my early-stage startup so I can validate my MVP and work out what’s the best way to market it.”

Measurable:

“I want to get feedback for my early-stage startup so I can validate my MVP and work out what’s the best way to market it. To do this, I’ll meet a new founder every week and explore ideas.”

Attainable:

“I want to get feedback for my early-stage startup so I can validate my MVP and work out what’s the best way to market it. To do this, I’ll meet a new founder every week and explore ideas. We’ll discuss three ways to reach my goal.”

Relevant:

“I want to get feedback for my early-stage startup so I can validate my MVP and work out what’s the best way to market it. To do this, I’ll meet a new founder every week and explore ideas. We’ll discuss three ways to reach my goal. This helps me to experiment with growth hacks, get a different perspective, and get the emotional support I need.”

Timely:

“I want to get feedback for my early-stage startup so I can validate my MVP and work out what’s the best way to market it. To do this, I’ll meet a new founder every week and explore ideas in Q1 of 2022. We’ll discuss three ways to reach my goal. I estimate I’ll have my MVP and marketing plan ready by early Q2 of 2022. This helps me to experiment growth with hacks, get a different perspective, and get the emotional support I need.”

Running a startup is an emotional roller-coaster ride.

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Set your medium-term goal and gather new perspectives on your startup.

Rewrite your goal and download your free SMART goals worksheet today

There’s a lot that goes into a successful goal.

By now, you have a clearer picture of how SMART goals work and how to use them in your business.

Need a refresher? Here’s what you should do:

• Start with your fluffy one-line goal. Make sure it answers the five questions (Who, What, When, Why, Where).
• Set a benchmark that you can use to measure your progress.
• Review your goal to ensure you can achieve it.
• Align your goal with your business objectives.
• Set a deadline and key milestones for your goal.

We want to help you make 2022 your best year, so we’ve created a SMART goals worksheet to guide you along the process.