SMART Targets
SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time bound. This is a really useful way of setting goals as it encourages the person setting the goals or targets to really examine the goal they are setting themselves in terms of its relevance and achievability, while also setting a frame of measurement for its achievement by specifying a method of measuring the goal and a time scale for its accomplishment.
I am setting myself two SMART targets as part of my personal development.
1) Achieve 75%+ overall grade for 2nd year
This goal is specific and measurable as it is numerical.
I believe this goal to be achievable based on past experience: I achieved 72% as my average grade for 1st year, and am currently averaging 74% for 2nd year based on my Semester A results. This is a slight increase on what I have achieved in the past as an average, but I believe it is achievable as I frequently gain marks of 80-90% and let the occasional poor mark drag my average down. I feel the first semester of this year was a bit of an under-achievement on my part, due to being under a lot of stress due to family illness. I am currently seeking help to support my academic work throughout this time which will hopefully allow me to do better this semester.
I think this target is very relevant to my long-term goals – I intend to go on to study for a PhD and getting a good degree classification is key to allowing me to study at a good institution in the future.
This goal is time bound by the academic calendar.
2) Gain 100 hours of canine work experience by September 2018
Including a specific number of hours make this goal specific and measurable, as opposed to simply saying “gain more canine work experience” – I can log the number of hours I accrue to measure my progress towards achieving this goal. I could make the goal more specific by specifying what type of experience I’m looking to get, but this is dependent on where I am able to find work experience.
I have given myself several months to gain this work experience, making it more likely to be an achievable goal.
I believe this goal to be relevant as additional experience with dogs is always useful in the context of my degree – even if it is not in a therapeutic setting, it will provide me with additional experience in handling dogs of different breeds with a variety of temperaments, which will in turn make me more knowledgeable and better able to advise clients in my future career
By adding an end date to this goal, I have made it time-bound. This should help to motivate me to apply to different places to gain work experience, while also allowing me sufficient time to gain the number of hours I have specified.
