Can You Measure Your Goal?

Regardless of the method used for goal setting, there is a basic check list for proper goal setting. If steps are laid out in advance, it's easier to connect individual dots. The problem goal setters have, is making measurable goals. Is your goal measurable? How will you know if you're moving toward the goal?

Many goal setters get carried away and blurt, "This time next year I'll have a web site that makes $50,000." That could happen. The question is, what completed tasks will lead to the goal?

A goal is attached to multiple tasks. Take the example of going to work. The night before you say to yourself "I am going to work tomorrow." That statement results in tasks. The goal is achieved when the tasks are finished.

What clothes will you wear? You might think about your breakfast. You'll have to know what time to leave the house. The more you know, the faster and easier your progress will be.

We'll use an example that requires more complexity to complete the goal. Let's expand our website idea and keep track of each step to measure.

Turn your idea into a goal.
I want to build a website is a general idea. If the idea is to be turned into a goal, we must know the tasks to complete. A yardstick, to measure our progress by, is critical.

Drill down
We can ask questions about the website. What is the website about? Let's make it about dogs. Now we are closer to a measurable goal. What dog breed should be the focus of our website? Dachshunds, they're cool. What are our goals so far?

Build a website about dachshunds.

What is the focus of our website about dachshunds? Should it be about the history of the breed? Would dog training be a good focus? Would people like to know how to buy a dog? The point, is to ask as many questions as possible. For our purpose of goal setting, let's choose how to buy a dog as our focus.

Step two

Decide what information is important for the website users. Would potential buyers like a show puppy or a family dog? Let's build the website around how to buy a show puppy.

Now we know our ultimate top level goal, how to buy a show dachshund. We have fulfilled the prime requirement of goal setting, make the goal measurable. Before any information is written for the website, we will ask, is this about how to buy a show dog? If the answer is yes, we are on track. If the answer is no, the information will not lead us to our goal. The answer can be easily measured against the yardstick.

In part II of our series, Can you measure your goal? we'll begin the process of how to measure each subcategory of our ultimate top level goal.

Sources
goal-setting-guide.com/smart-goals.html