SMART goals

What It Means

SMARTSave More TomorrowA savings plan by Richard Thaler and Shlomo Benartzi in which you agree now to raise your retirement contribution each time you get a pay raise. See more goals are goals written so they pass five tests. The common reading today is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. A SMART goal says exactly what will happen, how you'll measure it, why it's within reach, why it matters, and by when. The idea comes from a 1981 article by George T. Doran in Management Review, where the letters stood for slightly different words.

How People Say It

• "Is that goal SMART, though?"
• "Put a number and a date on it."
• "Get healthier by when, and by how much?"

The Breakdown

What each letter asks

How to write one

1. Start with the loose version: "read more."
2. Narrow it down: "read novels before bed."
3. Add a number: "read 12 novels."
4. Test whether it's achievable: one a month fits around work.
5. Confirm it's relevant: you want less phone time at night.
6. Give it a date: "read 12 novels by December 31."

Examples (Buhata's own)

Where It Comes From

George T. Doran introduced SMART in "There's a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management's goals and objectives," published in Management Review in 1981 (volume 70, issue 11). His letters stood for specific, measurable, assignable, realistic and time-related, with assignable meaning naming who will do the work. Later writers swapped in achievable and relevant, the words most guides use today.

Good to Know

Versions differ a little depending on who's teaching them, so you may see realistic for R or time-related for T. Buhata's financial goalsFinancial goalsSpecific targets for your money, such as an emergency fund, paying off a card or a down payment, each with an amount and a date. See more page covers the version the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau uses for money goals, and the KPIKey performance indicator (KPI)A measurable number a team tracks against a target and a deadline because it shows progress on something critical to the organization's goals. See more page uses the same test for business targets. SMART checks how a goal is written; it can't tell you whether the goal is the right one, so decide what matters first.

Related Terms and Categories

• OKRs

  Objectives and Key Results: a goal-setting method that pairs a clear objective with a few measurable results showing whether it was reached, usually set each quarter.

• Key performance indicator (KPI)

  A measurable number a team tracks against a target and a deadline because it shows progress on something critical to the organization's goals.

• Financial goals

  Specific targets for your money, such as an emergency fund, paying off a card or a down payment, each with an amount and a date.

• Savings goal

  A specific amount you plan to save by a set date for one purpose, which turns into a monthly or per-paycheck amount to set aside.

• WOOP method

  A four-step goal method from psychologist Gabriele Oettingen: name a Wish, picture the Outcome, name your inner Obstacle, then make an if-then Plan.

Productivity methods and focus