I’ve heard from several readers about how useful Your Best Year Yet! by Jenny S. Ditzler is for evaluating what you’ve accomplished and for setting goals for the coming year or years. The chapter on goals starts with the following, “People who have goals achieve more results in their lives.” But how do you go about setting good goals? For years people have used the SMART system. I can hear you now, “I used that when I worked in the corporate world, but now I’m a quilter.”

The system works no matter what you do because it provides a framework for your commitment. After all, goals are a commitment. Here’s a quick rundown of setting SMART goals.
 
Specific. The goal “work out with a personal trainer three times a week” is much more specific than “start exercising.”
 
Measurable. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. That does not mean that measures have to be in dollars. If your goal is not measurable, however, it’s actually an aspiration, a good idea or perhaps a hallucination. Years ago in the corporate world, I had a boss, who when reviewing generic, immeasurable goals, would ask, “So, how do I know when we can declare victory?”
 
Attainable (or Actionable). When you begin setting goals, you learn a
lot about goal setting and about yourself. Goals that seem like they “stretch” you too much initially seem perfectly reasonable shortly thereafter. Stretch goals engender commitment, activate energetic responses, stimulate the generation of creative action steps and “close the exit doors” on excuses. Make sure that “attainable” becomes more challenging over time.
 
Realistic. This is the first cousin of “attainable.” It’s not realistic to expect to win Best of Show in Houston this year when you’ve only just learned to quilt.
 
Timely or (my preference) time-bound. By when are you going to achieve your goal?  Without a target date, it’s an illusion.

Here are three examples of SMART goals:

• Obtain representation in three new galleries by 10/21/09.
• Produce $250,000 in new business from my online presence by 12/31/09.
• Build longarm quilting business to $5,000 gross per month by 7/15/09.

The Winter issue of The Professional Quilter includes an article on goal setting using the SMART method. If your subscription is not current and you need to renew, or you want to start a new subscription, here’s a link to our order page.