Studies show that when you put your SMART goals in writing and review them regularly, you will increase your chances of success. Writing your SMART goals helps you to clarify exactly what you want to achieve, which helps guide your daily actions toward achieving your goals. Written goals are more powerful than the goals you keep floating around in your head. When you take the time to write out your SMART goals, you are creating a plan to take action. When you take the time to review them regularly, it will keep you on the course so you can make progress towards your goals.
How Writing Your SMART Goals Helps You Succeed
A psychology professor, Dr. Gail Mathews, at Dominican University, did a study on goal setting with 267 participants. She found that people are 42% more likely to achieve their goals just by writing them down. In fact, writing your goals as you set them helps your brain encode the plan, which solidifies your goals. The act of writing an idea down makes it more likely you will remember it. Many students learn better when they write notes from lectures or their studies. The same can be said about business meetings. It’s a simple fact that taking notes increases your probability of remembering the information. It makes sense that writing down your SMART goals helps you to remember them.
Why Reviewing Your SMART Goals Regularly Helps You Succeed
After writing your goals, place them somewhere you will see them easily and often. Place them on your refrigerator, your bathroom mirror, or your desk. You can even write them on your phone and make them your background or screensaver, so you see them often when you look at your phone! Seeing those words you wrote out serves as a daily reminder and motivation for you to keep working toward your goals. In fact, frequently reviewing your written goals will also help you to remember the “why” you wanted to achieve them, which boosts motivation to keep going.
How To Actively Review Your Written SMART Goals
The daily reminder of seeing your written goals is a great start, but it doesn’t end there. It’s too easy to look at your written goals and put them off another day, especially if you are busy. Make the time to review your written goals actively. Put it on your calendar with a reminder, so you don’t forget. You can review your goals weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Do what works best for you.
An active goal review should include contemplating the reasons behind the motivation of the goal, otherwise known as your “why.” Intentionally thinking about why you set the particular goal will boost your motivation by reminding you of why the goal matters to you. Reviewing your goals will result in renewed purpose and incentive, increasing your likelihood of success.
Celebrate Your Success Regularly
Don’t forget to celebrate your small successes along the way! Reviewing your SMART goals regularly will allow you to see how far you have come on your journey toward achieving your goal. Celebrating each small victory will help motivate you to keep working toward your goal.