How to Set Good Goals

How to Write SMART Goals

Let's work through each component while thinking of an example. 

S: Specific

For a goal to be effective, it needs to be specific. If we don't specify what we're going to do, it's going to be hard to achieve it.

A specific goal answers questions like:

• What do I need to improve?

• What needs to be accomplished?

• What steps need to be taken to achieve it?

When it comes to language learning, there are all sorts of skills we could improve, such as:

• Listening

• Reading comprehension

• Speaking

• Grammar

• Build our vocabulary (both active and passive vocabulary)

• Ability to paraphrase, give opinions, give recommendations, infer information, etc.

• Ability to talk about certain subjects

• Ability to write various types of tasks (essays, formal or informal letters, emails, etc.)

For this example, let's try to focus on our listening. Now we need to figure out what we will do to complete that task. Here's what we could do:

My goal is to improve my listening by watching a TV show.

M: Measurable

Now that we have a specific task, let's quantify it (that means: making sure we can measure our progress somehow). This will make it easier to track our progress to know when we've reached the finish line.

A measurable goal should address questions such as:

• How much?

• How many?

• How will I know when it is accomplished?

Warning: You might think that being able to pass a specific listening test or an exam would be a good measurable goal here. After all, that would definitely show that you've improved your skills, right? However, beware of setting goals that other people have power over. You cannot really control the outcome of an exam, the examiner will do that for you. Unfortunately, we also cannot control how well our brains process and retain new information. Some people learn more quickly than others, and that's just the reality of learning things, especially languages.

Instead, choose something you will have 100% control over. In our example, a good measurable goal would be:

My goal is to improve my listening by watching a TV show five times a week.

Now we know exactly what we need to do in order to meet our objective. We just need to show up and do it. We cannot control how much we'll improve, but we can control how consistently we work at it, and it is highly likely that our listening will improve because of this activity.

A: Achievable

Here, we need to check back in with ourselves and make sure that our goal is realistic and achievable. It's good to have big aspirations, but we don't want unachievable goals here: we don't want to set ourselves up for failure. Your SMART goals should be realistic — not tasks you'll inevitably fail because they are just too lofty, or things you can't control the outcome of (like passing exams). So ask yourself: is my objective something I can reasonably accomplish?

An achievable goal will usually answer questions such as:

• How can I accomplish this goal?

• How realistic is my goal, based on other factors such as my availability and other commitments?

Sometimes, TV shows can be really long. It will be hard for me to watch a 1-hour show, for example, so I think watching a 30-minute TV show will be a better choice since it's not a huge investment of time. However, I think watching five times a week is going to be hard for me - I have some big projects going on at work, I always help my kids with their homework after school and cook dinner... So, I think 3 times a week will probably be better. I can even do it during my lunch break at work so I can fit it into my schedule.

My goal is to improve my listening by watching a 30-minute TV show three times a week during my lunch hour at work.

At this point, I'm also going to outline my strategy so I know exactly what I'll do while accomplishing this task:

I will accomplish this goal by selecting a TV show with 30-minute episodes. I will put this task in my calendar so I can watch during my lunch break at work. While watching, I will note new relevant vocabulary, and after each episode, I will summarize what happened and give an opinion about it out loud.

R: Relevant

This step is about ensuring that your goal matters to you and that it also aligns with other relevant goals in your life. A lot of people set goals based on what others tell them - that they should lose weight, go on a diet, get a new job - but then they fail them because they don't truly have the desire to do them, or because other factors make them hard to achieve.

Make sure your goals are relevant and truly matter to you.

A relevant goal can answer "yes" to these questions:

• Does this seem worthwhile?

• Is this the right time?

• Does this match your needs?

• Do you have the financial resources to do it?

I think my goal is relevant because I know I need to improve my listening -- I've been having problems understanding others during conversations. I also plan to take an exam later this year, and listening will be tested.

To make sure I want to do the task, I will choose a TV show about a topic interesting to me. This will make the task as enjoyable as possible, so I don't quit because of boredom or frustration.

Accomplishing this goal will help me have better conversations with friends in English. It will also help me achieve my other goal of passing an exam later this year.

T: Time-bound

This last indicator is a bit easier to define when doing a project. For example, a different project-related goal could be to do a YouTube channel in English. Here, you could commit to making a new episode every week.

With broader language-learner goals, it's a bit harder to give a concrete deadline. However, we can define how long we will do a specific goal for:

My goal is to improve my listening by watching a 30-minute TV show three times a week during my lunch hour at work for 1 month.

This will also give us an opportunity to measure the success at the end. Should we do this activity for another month? If not, what could we do instead? It gives you some flexibility to adapt your study habits according to your needs.