In order to develop/improve your creative business, you need goals. But that’s not all. Imagine that your goal is to run your own recording studio, how are you going to achieve that? You will have to break this goal down into smaller and above all clear steps to avoid getting lost in the magnitude of such a venture. The main idea behind goal setting is that setting yourself specific, achievable but challenging goals will help you perform better (Locke & Latham, 1990).
Goal Setting for Creatives
One specific and very useful way to improve your goal setting is through the use of ‘SMART-goals’. In this method you are required to set yourself very specifically defined goals that have to be achievable in a certain space of time. This will help you draft your goals in a more effective and realistic way, making it more likely that you will actually achieve them.
SMART stands for...
• Specific – Define exactly what your focus/goal is;
• Measurable – Make sure your goal is capable of being measured and has a clear outcome described;
• Achievable/attainable – Ensure that your goal is achievable, challenge yourself but be realistic about what you can do in a certain amount of time;
• Relevant – Set yourself a goal that is achievable but which may have some element of stretch and challenge;
• Time-framed – Specify an end date or a date by which the objective will be achieved.
Time for some practise. Below you can find a ‘SMART-table’, made for you to write down all of your dreams and desires, and to split them up into bitesize chunks.
Download and practise with your SMART exercise box
Need some inspiration?
These videos might help:
1. Achieve more by setting SMART-Goals
2. SMART-Goals
3. 6 Secrets of Creative Goal Setting
4. If you want to achieve your goals, don’t focus on them