Have big dreams but struggle to turn them into reality?
We all have dreams that we would love to live, but, sometimes, knowing how to set the goals needed to do so can be daunting.
Whether it’s mastering a new skill or finally achieving that dream job, goal-setting is an essential skill that can help you achieve anything you want in life.
Today, we’re going to learn the 7 best goal-setting techniques to help you take control of your life and live your dreams in no time!
What are the best goal-setting techniques?
The best goal-setting techniques provide you with a structured way to think through what your goals involve and what you want to achieve. With one-word acronyms, they make it easy to remember the steps you need to take on the path of your goal-setting journey. They each embody the principles of effective goal-setting, which you can learn more about below the list.
Without further ado, here are the seven best goal-setting techniques:
- SMART goals
- DUMB goals
- STAR goals
- HARD goals
- WOOP goals
- PACT goals
- OKR goals
Now that you’re familiar with the list, let’s dive into the details of each.
1. SMART goals
SMART goals are the most well-known goal-setting method. SMART is an acronym that stands for:
- Specific,
- Measurable,
- Assignable,
- Realistic, and
- Time-Related.
When creating a SMART goal, you should consider each of these five criteria.
Goals should be specific and clearly defined so that you know precisely what it is you need to do to reach your desired outcome.
They should also be measurable so that you can track progress as you move towards your goal.
Your goals should be assignable. While you can assign it to yourself, you don’t always have to be the one to make your goal happen.
Your goals should be realistic. You should be able to reach successful achievement within your timeframe with achievable steps that can be taken along the way.
Lastly, your goals should be time-related. That is, they should have a timeline driving them so that there is a sense of urgency and motivation when working toward them.
Bonus! SMARTER goals
You can turn your SMART goals into SMARTER goals by taking time to Evaluate and Revise them periodically.
2. DUMB goals
DUMB goals remind you of your motivation while achieving your objectives. This acronym stands for:
- Dream-Driven,
- Uplifting,
- Method-Friendly, and
- Behavior-Driven.
When using this method, your goals should be based on your big dreams. Imagine the thing that seems so amazing to you that it may feel unreachable and make that your goal. Use that dream to provide a sense of purpose and inspiration to keep striving toward success.
Your goal should be uplifting so that it motivates you with positivity.
Your goal should be method-friendly, meaning that it allows for the use of a repeatable process or set of tasks to make progress. This will help you work on it consistently because you’ll know what to do.
Finally, your DUMB goal should be behavior-driven so that working towards it becomes part of your routine. Think Atomic Habits here… Stack the method that you are using to work toward your goal alongside something else that you do consistently so that you remember to do it.
Read more about DUMB goals.
3. STAR goals
STAR goals are another effective goal-setting process. This one is similar to SMART goals. The acronym stands for:
- Specific,
- Timely,
- Achievable, and
- Relevant.
In this method, goals should be specific so that you know exactly when you have achieved them.
They should have a structured timeline so that progress can be tracked along the way.
Your goals should be achievable – setting unrealistic expectations will only lead to frustration and failure.
Your goals should also be relevant to whatever overarching purpose or dream you may have in life. You don’t want to put in the work to achieve your goal and then realize that it doesn’t actually take you where you want to be.
4. HARD goals
When it comes to setting successful goals, HARD goals are a powerful tool. The acronym stands for:
- Heartfelt,
- Animated,
- Required, and
- Difficult.
Your goals should be heartfelt, focusing on the emotional aspect of goal-setting. They should be set from a place of authenticity and internal motivation.
Your goals should be animated. They are dynamic objectives that have room to grow and evolve along with you throughout your journey.
Your goals should be required. They should be essential to reaching your bigger picture of success to create a sense of accountability and urgency.
Finally, your goals should be difficult to achieve. They should provide an opportunity for growth and resilience; these objectives may take longer to reach but will ultimately lead to a stronger you.
5. WOOP goals
WOOP is a simple yet effective tool that sets us up to achieve success. It can be used for all types of goals; from personal projects to professional endeavors. WOOP stands for:
- Wish,
- Outcome,
- Obstacle, and
- Plan.
Your goal should be focused on a wish that you have and the positive outcome it will bring when you achieve it.
Your goal should account for the obstacles in your way that may prevent you from achieving it.
Finally, your goal should include a plan with clear steps on how you can overcome the obstacles and grant your own wish.
6. PACT goals
PACT goals are more about the process of achieving goals rather than the structure of the goal itself. This acronym stands for:
- Preparation,
- Accountability,
- Commitment, and
- Trajectory.
The first step is to prepare yourself for the goal you’re setting; this involves gathering all the relevant information and creating a plan of action with realistic steps.
Next, find ways to create accountability to stay on track; whether it’s through external motivation from a friend or family member or internal motivation from within yourself.
Once you’ve set your goals, it’s essential to commit to them wholeheartedly to achieve results.
Finally, identify what trajectory your goal-setting leads you down; get curious about the possibilities, and don’t be afraid of potential failure as it is only an opportunity for growth!
7. OKR goals
OKR goals are a great way to measure and track progress toward success. OKR stands for:
- Objectives and
- Key Results.
The goal with this one is to set objectives that will help you reach your desired outcome and key results that measure your progress toward achieving these objectives.
In this model, each objective should be measurable and ambitious but achievable, while the key results should be both time-bound and measurable.
It’s important to ensure that your objectives and key results align so you can prioritize tasks that have a direct effect on reaching the greater goals.
Read more about OKR Goals.
What is goal-setting?
As I mentioned earlier, goal-setting techniques are structured ways of thinking about what you want to accomplish when you set out to do something. A good goal-setting technique incorporates the five principles of successful goal-setting:
- Commitment
- Clarity
- Challenge
- Complexity
- Feedback
Commitment
Commitment is all about how badly you want to achieve your goal. If you don’t really care about it, then you won’t be very committed and probably won’t work very hard to achieve it.
Clarity
You need to be clear on what you want to achieve. If you aren’t, you either A) won’t know when your finished or B) won’t have achieved the outcome you wanted when you think you’ve finished.
Challenge
What you’re trying to do should require you to grow and learn new skills. If it’s too easy, you’ll get bored and likely stop working on it.
Complexity
The complexity of your goal and the tasks you need to complete to achieve it should be right-sized so that none are so complicated that they prevent you from completing them.
Feedback
It’s important to provide yourself with feedback or get it from someone else. If you are working toward your goal but not evaluating your performance and progress, you won’t know if you’re off-track until you’ve put in a lot of extra time and energy.
How can you benefit from using these goal-setting techniques?
When you decide to do something, whether you do it consciously or not, you are setting a goal. Goal-setting techniques provide you with a structured way of defining those goals.
If you think through what you are trying to achieve in a structured way, you will more clearly understand what your end state is and will be more likely to achieve goals.
Wrapping Up
In conclusion, goal-setting methods are essential tools to help you achieve success. It is important to be committed and clear about the goals you want to reach, as well as make sure that they challenge your current skillset and provide feedback for improvement.
Whether you’re motivated by logic and prefer SMART, STAR, PACT, or OKR goals or driven by your heart towards DUMB, HARD, or WOOP goals, one of these methods will work for you!
Pick one to try today and impress yourself with the progress you make!
