When setting a SMART goal might be counter-productive
By Lindsay Ryan, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
A SMART goal is a method of goal setting that was created in 1981 for the purpose of project and program management and has made its way into therapy practices, especially therapy modalities that focus on changes in behaviour.
If you have been in therapy for a while, or even immersed yourself in self-help books or professional development, you may have come across the term “SMART Goal”. Using SMART goals has been validated in studies as a way to boost self-efficacy which can also lead to building self-esteem. It makes sense that so many therapists use SMART goals in their work and that many clients benefit from using the SMART goal approach.
What even is a SMART goal?
The acronym SMART stands for:
Specific – What is the precise thing you are attempting to do?
Measurable – Can you tell if you have achieved it? What metric do you use?
Attainable – Can you actually do the goal? Are there any barriers?
Relevant – Does this goal make sense in the context of your life? Do you want to work on it?
Time-bound – When is the deadline for doing the goal? Even in ongoing routines, it is good to set a long-term deadline, such as doing it for 3 months.
A benefit of SMART goals is that the structure of the goal allows it to be clear when you have achieved the goal and therefore you can tell you have been successful. If goals are too loose it can be hard to tell if you achieved them and therefore it can seem like you are constantly trying to improve yourself and never succeeding.
Here’s an example of putting a goal into a SMART goal format
Imagine a client says that their goal is to “go to the gym more”. This statement is too broad to fit a SMART goal template, so a therapist may ask the client to break it down further. Here is an example of what that could look like:
S – I want to go to the gym and use the elliptical machine
M- I want to do this 3 times a week and for 30 minutes each time
A-There are some barriers I could face in attaining this goal, like my work and personal life. 30 minutes also seems like a long time since I am new. I will be happy if I do it 1 a week and I will be satisfied if I can do anywhere between 15-30 minutes.
R- This is relevant to me because it is important for me to build healthy habits
T- I am going to attempt this routine for 1 month and then check back in with myself.
Now that you know what a SMART goal is, I want to talk about when a SMART goal may not be the best way to goal-set.
If you are neurodiverse or are otherwise struggling with executive functioning – like recovering from burnout, a SMART goal like the one set above can be really difficult even if you have assessed it as attainable. But why is that? When you struggle with executive functioning and working memory, a task like “going to the gym” is more than 1 thing, it is a lot of little things. For me the idea of going to the gym breaks down into various smaller steps. Here are the steps I can think of, other people may have a slightly different list:
· Sign up for the Gym
i. Research gyms near me
ii. Practice to see if I can get to my gym
iii. Do a gym tour
iv. Decide on a gym
v. Check to see if I have money for the fee
vi. Register
vii. Pick up card/ key/ fob for access to gym
· Get Gym Attire/ Stuff
i. Check if I have running shoes
ii. Check if I have athletic clothes
iii. Buy missing apparel
iv. Launder gym clothes (multiple steps in itself)
v. Get a gym lock
vi. Decide what to wear to get to and from the gym
vii. Find or buy a gym bag (sometimes they come with registration, yay)
viii. Find or buy a water bottle
ix. Find or buy hair ties
x. Find or buy headphones
xi. Charge headphones
xii. Find work-out music or create playlist
xiii. Pair headphones to phone
· Plan Workout
i. Decide what to do at the gym
ii. Learn how to use the equipment
iii. Learn what to do if the equipment I want is taken
As you can see, before even starting a workout, I have already assessed I will need to do 21 steps. What does that mean? For me, and some others, this can feel huge and insurmountable. So, what can we do?
One thing you can do is to still use the SMART goal technique but breakdown the goals even smaller and smaller. Maybe my very first goal can be the very first task I listed – research gyms near me. That can be its very own SMART goal. By chunking things into smaller goals, with only one or two tasks involved, it can be easier to attain them. Make sure to think about any barriers you may have to attaining your goal. Sometimes removing the barrier is the first task you have to do and therefore is the first SMART goal.
For some of you, this still might sound very demanding. We already live in a world where we have a lot of demands on us. Some of us may have demands on us at work, within our relationships, how we spend our free time, and internal demands. And sometimes some of us have something called demand avoidance. When you have strong demand avoidance, SMART goals may not work for you because they essentially create too much demand and you rebel against it and avoid doing the thing, or actively be destructive against it.
So what are some other goal-setting options?
What has worked for me is to create a framework for my week that includes my personal goals in a flexible way. This way, when I wake up, each day I have a loose goal to meet for that day that contributes to my overall sense of well-being, but I don’t feel trapped by specificity.
Here is an example:
Monday - eat balanced
Tuesday - move body
Wednesday - professional development
Thursday - move body
Friday - restore
Saturday -socialize
Sunday - restore
Flexibility can exist in each the days you do the goal, but also what the goal means to you. For me, ‘eat balanced’ one week meant having a kale shake for breakfast, sandwich and salad for lunch, and chicken and broccoli for dinner. Another week, I was really craving salty and sugary foods. On that day, eating balanced meant finding some chips and chocolate and eating that along with my other foods. Another week, I had a lot of client sessions and I was really tired. On that day, eating balanced meant ordering in because I was too tired to cook, but I still needed to feed my body.
The same for ‘move body’. Sometimes that means doing a yoga session, sometimes for me that means throwing on some music and having a solo dance party. Other times it could mean a walk around my neighborhood. Likewise, socializing could mean that I go out with friends and do something extravagant and possibly costly, or it could be talking to a friend on the phone while I am in my pajamas.
Building these kinds of flexible goals is a way for us to move with more ease into our goals. It makes room for the way we wake up as different people each day with different levels of energy and with different feelings about what is important to us that day. When you set a goal in this way, you are asking yourself to practice mindfulness and awareness of what your needs are that day. This can be a way of rebuilding a relationship with yourself as you listen to and then meet those needs and intentions.
The flexibility of my goal setting lately has allowed me to meet myself with self-compassion, and has helped to dismantle some of the unhelpful stories I have about ‘being productive’.
Looking for some support?
If you have been struggling with setting goals, or finding motivation you could benefit from talking to a therapist.
When you’re ready, we can help.
Book a free 30 minute consultation and let’s talk about it.