Making SMART Goals for the New Year

I wrote this for the gym's January newsletter (I do a small article each month as the Fitness Director). Since it's all about being SMART, I'm working smarter and sharing it here too! Go set some SMART goals!

I love the gym in the New Year. Really, really LOVE it! As someone who has worked in fitness for 20 years, this is the most exciting time for me. People are motivated. They are willing to try something new. They will make resolutions, promises and goals. Health and fitness are on everyone’s mind! 

I’m sure you’ve heard of SMART goals. This acronym has been around forever in hopes of helping people make solid goals that can be followed. I challenge you, whether you are new to the gym or have been coming for years, to make at least one SMART goal for your health and fitness this year. 

Follow these guidelines:

1. S-Specific: Be clear about your goal. “Getting healthy” is a pretty broad goal; but saying you want to lose weight, exercise more, drink more water, or keep current on well visits with your doctor are all more specific tasks.

2. M-Measurable: To add more clarity, make your specific goal measurable. What is “more”? How about adding a numeric value to know when you hit that goal. Lose 10 pounds. Exercise 5 days a week. Drink 50 ounces of water a day. 

3. A-Attainable: Being realistic is key. Don’t set yourself up for failure or disappointment. Losing 30 pounds in January won’t happen (at least not in any sort of healthy way). 

4. R-Relevant: A goal is only good if it’s important to you. This time of year, many people focus on improving their health, and if 2020 taught me anything, it’s that our health is really the most important thing.

5. T-Time-Bound: Add that time stamp. Give yourself a deadline. Write it in your planner or put it on your digital calendar (I’m a paper planner girl; don’t try and change my mind!).

If your goal is BIG, like for the whole year big, make smaller benchmarks along the way. I’m always in this with you, so here’s my big goal for the year: I will run 2021 miles in 2021. It’s specific (just about running) and relevant (I love to run). It’s time bound (I have 365 days to do it) and measurable (I’m tracking miles on my watch). Attainable? Well, that’s still unknown, and to be more realistic, I’ve actually set 2 goals: 1021 miles & 2021, because I wanted an A-goal and a B-goal. 

Share with me! What’s your goal for 2021? Make it BIG! Make it a little scary. But most importantly, make it SMART!