Setting SMART goals for the school year

If you’ve read my blog long enough — * waves to long time readers * — then you know I like to set school goals every year. I don’t always hit the mark (I’m really terrible at Math!), but I think making goals keeps me a little bit more focused.

That said, I had a GIANT Summer To-Do and I didn’t quite finish everything on it. (Maybe it's because I wasn’t making SMART goals.)

Not SMART in the “intelligence” way. S.M.A.R.T is an acronym for goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based. Get it? SMART. I know it sounds complex, but let’s take a look at my summer list. Sure I had some specific goals, and most of them were relevant (it was about having fun, right?) but I fell apart at time-based. There’s NO WAY I could have crammed everything I wanted to do into two months.

Just like, getting 100% in Math is NOT achievable for me.

That doesn’t mean I’ve failed though. It just means I have to think…SMARTer.

Keeping that in mind, here are my S.M.A.R.T. goals for school this year:

1. I will increase my Math mark by 10%. (Specific, right? Also…measurable!)
2. I will read 8 books by the end of the school year.
3. I will go for an afternoon run five days a week, no matter how busy I am.
4. I will volunteer for one school committee. I have NO idea which one yet, but it will be something meaningful. (This is obviously measurable — and achievable!)
5. I will use my ENTIRE notebook before starting a new one. Okay, this sounds easy, but I LOVE starting a new notebook. There’s something exciting about the first page. I can do this — I just might need to write MORE to fill up the pages. Which, ironically, is another of my school goals this year.

These are my Top 5. What are some of your school goals this year? Are you being SMART?

Gotta jet! Have a great weekend.

~ Chase Superman Duffy