Why Pros Write SMART
The dog days of summer are upon us with the back-to-school hustle in full swing. I hope each of you is heading into the fall season with the wind at your back; if not, I hope the wind will pick up.
I was reminded today that often what determines our success is how we show up when we don’t feel like it. It’s easy to show up when we are feeling great, but those days can be few and far between.
I love what Steve had to say about this. He responded to last week’s email with what was holding him back: He needs to get back on the wagon after vacation, dropping his kids off at college, and navigating an unexpected homeowner's claim. His goal is to have 55,000 words for a manuscript by September 13th.
It sounds like Steve is navigating life. Each of us has our own list of things that are vying for our attention and pulling us away from our writing.
What I love about Steve’s goals is that they’re SMART. Are you familiar with SMART goals? SMART goals are a framework for setting effective objectives. The acronym SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This framework helps ensure that goals are clear, trackable, and attainable, leading to increased success in achieving desired outcomes.
I know, I know – you became a writer to try and avoid acronyms that are used in corporate offices. But I often see the difference between people who find success and those who don’t is that the former have clearly defined goals. Professionals use tools like these to help improve; amateurs shrug them off.
I challenge you this week to think through your goals using the SMART goals framework. And then send them to me. I’d love to hear what you are working on and your goals for those projects.
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