Guide to Creating SMART Goals for Time Management
Dasha Bunks
Liberty University
PSYC 775 - Teaching of Psychology
Dr. Winn
2022
Introduction
SMART goals help individuals plan and achieve goals in a reasonable time frame. It can
also help improve time management in professional settings, such as education and the
workplace. If you would like to manage your time properly, SMART goals can provide guidance
for your objectives and help you create actionable steps to achieve those goals. In this article,
we discuss what a SMART goal is, its benefits, how to create SMART goals for time management
and give examples of SMART goals focused on time management.
Benefits of creating SMART goals for time management
Establishing SMART goals for time management can be beneficial for several reasons. As
you hone your time management skills, you can identify which areas need improvement and
focus on correcting them. Some benefits include:
Tracking your progress throughout the project
Becoming more productive and efficient
Learning strategies to avoid procrastination
Increasing project opportunities
How to create and reach SMART goals for time management
Here is a list of seven steps to help you craft and meet SMART goals to improve your
overall time management:
1. Plan your SMART goal
Using SMART goals to help improve your time management skills is a great way to add
structure to your day because you can clearly define your goals and follow the format to
complete them on time. When planning a SMART goal for time management, try answering the
following questions to help outline the goal:
Specific: What goal do I want to accomplish?
Measurable: How will I know when I've accomplished the goal? What factors are
measurable?
Attainable: Is this goal achievable based on my skills, resources and the amount
of work I have to complete?
Relevant: How is this goal related to my overall priorities?
Time-based: When do I hope to complete this goal?
2. Create a list
Once you've come up with your SMART goal, consider creating a list that can help you
focus on the tasks you need to achieve in order to complete your goal on time. For example, if
your goal's deadline is within a month's time, you can create a step-by-step list with larger
weekly goals so that you have a framework helping you manage each step of the process.
From there, you can create a list of smaller, more attainable goals during each week to
help you achieve the overall goal. To help optimize time management, at the end of each day,
try creating a list of daily tasks that need to be completed the following day. The list may help
keep you focused when starting your day since you've already planned your tasks.
3. Block time on your schedule
After you've created your lists, you can use a program that allows you to block time on
your daily schedule. Blocking time can help keep you focused on your tasks during each hour of
your day and may help you from being distracted by other tasks. It's a practical tool because
you can use the list you created to organize tasks into specific time slots. You may choose to
prioritize the more challenging tasks at the beginning of your day while leaving the less
complicated tasks for the end of the day.
4. Delegate tasks
When possible, delegate tasks to others at work. This may show your colleagues that
you see them as an important factor and that you trust them. It also allows you to use the skills
and abilities of others to help accomplish the work that needs to be done. Delegating tasks to
others can reduce your stress level and allow you to be more productive when completing
other tasks, such as resolving customer issues or submitting performance reports.
5. Take breaks
An important aspect of time management is setting aside time to take breaks
throughout the day. It's important to take time to focus on tasks other than work to avoid
work-related fatigue. Consider adding time-specific breaks, outside of lunch, into your schedule
that give you time to focus on activities unrelated to work. Have a snack, go for a quick walk or
spend some time on your phone. Regardless of what you choose, it's beneficial to the quality of
your work to give yourself a break from strictly work-related tasks.
6. Eliminate distractions
It's easy to get distracted during work, so try to get rid of any distractions that may
hinder you from completing a project on time. Common distractions include using cell phones,
checking unrelated emails, having unrelated conversations with colleagues or streaming music
or videos in the background. Once you eliminate these distractions, it's usually a lot easier to
focus on each individual task. Setting boundaries and eliminating these distractions can help
you become more efficient and effective at work.
7. Focus on one task at a time
Many people attempt to multitask throughout the workday in order to complete tasks,
but focusing on one item at a time allows you to focus completely on that task. Typically,
devoting all of your time and energy to one task at a time improves the overall speed at which
you finish the task and produces higher quality results than focusing on multiple tasks at once.
Examples of SMART goals for time management
Here are two examples of SMART goals for time management:
Example 1
It took Lucy four hours a week to create lesson plans for her sophomore English
students during the first half of the school year. Her goal is to complete her lesson plans in 2
1/2 hours every week during the second half of the school year. To achieve this, she plans to set
aside 30 minutes each day to focus solely on lesson planning and eliminate distractions, such as
using her cell phone or streaming videos during this time.
Specific: Her goal qualifies as specific because she set a distinct objective and has
given herself a fixed time frame to complete the goal.
*Measurable: The goal is measurable because she has determined the time she
is going to work on the plans during the week. She can track the time she is working to
determine if she has met her goal after the third week.*
*Attainable: She has established a goal that is attainable because she plans to
complete a portion at a certain time each day. She also has the resources and skills needed to
complete the task.*
*Relevant: Her goal is relevant because it applies to her career. She has to create
lesson plans each week for her students, and by minimizing the time she takes to complete the
plans, she's giving herself more time to complete other tasks.*
*Time-based: She has given herself the rest of the school year to achieve this
goal.*
Example 2
Ronald's employer has asked him to take training courses related to a new role in the
company in order to be considered for career advancement. Ronald hopes to get a promotion
in the next few months, so his goal is to complete the training courses outside of work in six
weeks. He plans to set aside a specific amount of time before and after work in order to finish
the training on time.
Specific: Ronald has a particular goal set to help him accomplish his goal of
completing the training course in order to improve his chances of receiving a promotion.
*Measurable: He can measure the success of the goal by completing the training
in a six-week period.*
*Attainable: His goal is attainable because he's blocked time each day before and
after work to complete the goal. He's got the technology needed to complete the course and
the determination and skills to complete it.*
*Relevant: Ronald hopes for career advancement and is more likely to achieve a
promotion if he completes the applicable training courses.*
*Time-based: He has given himself a six-week deadline to complete his goal.*
