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What Does SMART Mean? <br />SMART is an acronym that you can use to guide your goal setting. <br />Its criteria are commonly attributed to Peter Drucker's Management by <br />Objectives concept. The first known use of the term occurs in the November <br />1981 issue of Management Review by George T. Doran. Since then, <br />Professor Robert S. Rubin (Saint Louis University) wrote about SMART in an <br />article for The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. He stated <br />that SMART has come to mean different things to different people, as shown <br />below. <br />To make sure your goals are clear and reachable, each one should be: <br />• Specific (simple, sensible, significant). <br />• Measurable (meaningful, motivating). <br />• Achievable (agreed, attainable). <br />• Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results -based). <br />• Time bound (time -based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time - <br />sensitive). <br />Professor Rubin also notes that the definition of the SMART acronym may <br />need updating to reflect the importance of efficacy and feedback. However, <br />some authors have expanded it to include extra focus areas; SMARTER, for <br />example, includes Evaluated and Reviewed. <br />How to Use SMART <br />Paul J. Meyer, businessman, author and founder of Success Motivation <br />International, describes the characteristics of SMART goals in his 2003 book, <br />"Attitude Is Everythin1j: If You Want to Succeed Above and Beyond." We'll <br />expand on his definitions to explore how to create, develop and achieve your <br />goals: <br />1. Specific <br />Your goal should be clear and specific, otherwise you won't be able to focus <br />your efforts or feel truly motivated to achieve it. When drafting your goal, try to <br />answer the five "W" questions: <br />