Setting goals is something you probably already recognize is necessary for success. And you probably have heard your goals should be "SMART" goals.

1. Five Key Characteristics of
Successful Goal Setting

2. Setting goals is something you
probably already recognize is
necessary for success. And you
probably have heard your goals
should be "SMART" goals. But did
you know there's solid research
behind this well-known acronym?
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3. S.M.A.R.T.
 Specific
 Measurable
 Achievable
 Relevant
 Time-bound
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4. S.M.A.R.T.
 These concepts
were born in 1968,
when Dr Edwin
Locke published
his pioneering
article "Toward a
Theory of Task
Motivation and
Incentives.“
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5. S.M.A.R.T.
 Locke's research showed that employees
showed increased motivation when they
had clear goals and appropriate feedback
 Aware of Dr. Locke's work, Dr Gary
Latham, another American researcher, also
studied the effect of goal setting in the
workplace. His results supported exactly
what Locke had found.
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6. Goal Setting
 Together Locke and Latham outlined five
key characteristics of successful goal
setting.
◦ Clarity
◦ Challenge
◦ Commitment
◦ Feedback
◦ Task complexity
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7. Clarity
 When a goal is
specific and has a
definite time set for
completion, there is
less misunderstanding
about what is
expected
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8. Challenge
 Make your goals
challenging, but
well short of
impossible. Seeing
yourself achieve a
lofty goal, and
with it a more
valuable or higher
reward, will
motivate you to do
a good job.
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9. Commitment
 One version of SMART, as used in
manager/employee scenarios, has A and R
standing for Agreed and Realistic instead of
Attainable and Relevant.
 Agreed goals lead to commitment, and both
parties must agree the goal is Realistic.
 But if you’re self-employed, the same
concepts hold true. The harder the goal, the
more commitment is required.
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10. Feedback
 Feedback is
important so you can
adjust goal difficulty
when necessary, and
reward yourself. If it
is taking too long to
reach a goal, for
example, it may need
to be broken down
into more Achievable
chunks.
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11. Task Complexity
 If your goals are highly complex, take care
to ensure that the work doesn't become too
overwhelming.
 Give yourself enough time to meet the
goal, and if necessary, build in extra time
to learn new skills or find required
resources, or chunk it down as above.
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12. Goal Setting
 The whole point of
goal setting is
success. Make sure
the conditions
surrounding your
goals don't keep
you from
accomplishing
them
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of online success at
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