Are you becoming a professional procrastinator? SMART goals may help move you forward

It seems as though there is no such thing as perfect timing. We often wait to go on a vacation, start a new project, begin something that we have wanted to do for years, get fit, change jobs, etc. And while we wait, time does not, which may make us feel as though life is being lived without us.

If you are waiting for the right time, consider your delay. What about the activity that you want to do, is stopping you? How can you rebalance your intention with your motivation to take action?

One great way to get the ball, or time, rolling in the right direction, is to create smaller goals to help achieve your greater goal. Smaller goals seem less daunting, and more achievable. SMART goals help us stay on task, and on track towards our greater goal.

Try turning your goals into SMART goals by using the acronym below:

1. SPECIFIC - Write down your intention. What do you intend to accomplish? Is it specific? Specific goals help us to determine what it is that we really want to achieve. If we know what it is that we are trying to achieve, we will have a direction to move towards, and we will know when we have achieved it.

2. MEASURABLE - Being able to know when we have achieved our goal means that we need to be able to measure it. Measurable goals have some means in which to objectively assess our strives.

3. ACHIEVABLE - Is your goal achievable or is it just a dream? If there is no way that you will be able to reach your goal, there is no sense in making it your goal. Redefine your goal to ensure that it is achievable.

4. RELEVANT- Is your goal relevant to your greater goal or are you just creating goals for the sake of having them? Ensuring that your goals are relevant to what you want to achieve will drive you to take action towards achieving it.

5. TIME SENSITIVE - Just as we need to measure our goal, we also want to apply a due date. Keeping one eye on the clock ensures that time does not escape us.

Good luck with your goals! If you would like to speak to someone about an important goal in your life, feel free to reach out to a professional. That's what we are here for!