“The tragedy in life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.”

Benjamin E. Mays

When we talk about goals in life, two scenarios may come to the stage: Some people are super goal-oriented and drive themselves harshly goal after goal. Others live in static and dullness with no goals to reach. In this article, I tend not to address the adverse effects behind both but emphasize a healthier and more scientific approach for goal setting and reaching in life. That is the SMART Goals.

The Definition of SMART Goals

You may have heard of it multiple times but are still confused with the interchangeably used definitions. Despite those slightly different interpretations of this acronym, the most well-recognized version of the SMART Goals criteria is the one popularized by Professor Robert S. Rubin in Saint Louis University:

• S - specific
• M - measurable
• A - achievable
• R - relevant
• T - time-bound

Each step is essential for overall success. I’ll explain them specifically in the following with some tips and examples of SMART Goals to help you understand them better.

S - specific

This simply means that a goal has to be clear and well-defined for more effective planning. Most of the time, one’s failure of reaching a goal can be largely attributed to the ambiguity of his/her objective. The more vague the goal is, the less clear our mind will be, and the less likely we will be goal-driven. Therefore, start by narrowing down an ambiguous statement and making it something more specific and that can be executed. 

Example: 

An ambiguous goal: “I want to be a social influencer.”

A specific goal: “I want to be a social influencer with a not-so-big size of the audience in the make-up field on Youtube.”

Tips:

• Use adjectives and adverbs to describe and define your idea.
• Ask yourself the classic 4W questions: what, why, who, and where.

M - measurable

A smart goal also has to be measurable, which means that some metrics are set beforehand and can be used to evaluate whether the goal is met and progresses along the way. 

Example: 

“I want to be a social influencer with a not-so-big size of audience in the make-up field on Youtube.” Define the promising result “a not-so-big size of the audience” and make it more specific with a number, e.g. 20k subscribers. 

Tips:

• You can also have multiple layers to indicate the outcome: When your subscribers reach 20k, that would be an A result. B=80%, C=60%, etc.
• Replace KPIs with OKRs to objectively measure results and work towards the goal.

A = achievable

An unrealistic goal is set usually because of the blind optimism we have on the ability of our future self, according to some psychological studies. We also tend to experience an instant adrenaline rush when a goal we’ve set is ambitious because it seems exciting enough even just thinking about the time the goal is met and our beautiful future life after that. This is what makes setting an achievable goal not easy as being said. 

Tips:

• Apply a 30% discount to your expected results when setting a goal.
• Visualize the process of doing something instead of the outcomes.
• Do some research and take more inside and outside factors into account. For example, if you want to be a make-up YouTuber in the example, ask yourself at least those questions: “Do I have enough time to do that?” “Do I have enough make-up skills?” “How will I learn video shooting and editing?” “What is my special style compared with other competitors?” “Will there be any costs?”

R = relevant

This metric suggests you consider your goal from a broader perspective. Does the goal align with your life purpose or other long-term pursuits? Will the accomplishment of it be a stepping stone for you to achieve bigger goals in the future? Is it the right time to do that now? What will I gain and sacrifice and is it worth doing? Does it match your skill set?

Example:

Before you determine to be a make-upYouTuber, you may need to consider whether it suits your situation. If you happened to quit a job recently with some savings and are good at make-up techniques, and developing a side business on social media is a long-time dream of yours, you may find this goal is relevant to yourself from many different angles. 

Tip:

• Consider opinions from people you trust as well because they can sometimes provide you with more objective thoughts.

T = time-bound

Time-bounding your goal is the last but not the least. Why?

Having a specific time frame for your goal can increase your motivation. If there is no end date, most of us would be prone to procrastinate because we know something is still far away, which means the reward of it is also far away.

Having a time-based goal can also help you prioritize tasks because you have a deadline to focus on and always know what to do next. This can increase your efficiency and thus the possibility of reaching your goal.

Example:

Think about what you can do tomorrow, one month from now, and within a year. Sketch a roadmap with a clear timeline of what you do to become a make-up YouTuber with 20k fans. On the roadmap, there should be different stages, within which tasks are scheduled to be checked off one by one.

Tips:

• Always time-bound your tasks, every little one. You can learn more about the Time Blocking method (the most popular time management skill used by Bill Gates)!
• Use a simple calendar and to-do list app to manage tasks and make schedules. Let TickTick help!

The Science behind SMART Goals

The benefits of goal-setting have been pointed out by many psychological researchers before. Just to name one, having a goal to achieve can enhance our self-awareness due to the continuous reality check and self-evaluation. Then, what are the extra benefits of using the SMART framework? Why can it be effective in goal setting and reaching? Let’s dive into it.

Specific: The more specific the goal is, the more we will be able to notice the resources that help us get to it or things associated with it. This is because it has been brought to your attention and thus stimulates the “Reticular Activating System” (RAS) in our brain.

Measurable: Being able to see the milestones that indicate our progress along the way contributes to the final success. It also shapes our behavior and keeps us on track. Those stepping stones are also strong motivators that will keep us in a good momentum.

Achievable: This is the easiest to understand, because the more attainable the task is, the less execution power it will involve. Conversely, if a goal is too unrealistic or big,  we tend to put it off and off again as we know it requires great effort and commitment.

Relevant: Keeping a relevant goal involves our core values since we have to analyze our strengths and weaknesses to go with it. We also need to ensure it’s relevant to our life purposes. Therefore, it can increase our self-understanding and also help us reach it.

Time-bound: As being said, having a deadline can be the most direct way to motivate ourselves because we tend to avoid the mental suffering caused by missing deadlines. It reminds us of the completion of tasks and regulates our behaviors by creating a limited timeframe.

Final Words

Understanding the basics of SMART Goals and the science behind the criteria, it's the right time to take these tips and set a smart goal NOW!

In a Nutshell: Nearly everyone in the U.S. is juggling multiple bills each month from internet services to credit cards. And, if you’re like me, occasionally a bill slips past you, and you forget to pay it. TickTick helps to eliminate these occasional flubs and keeps the rest of your to-do items, appointments, and reminders in one convenient place. The app shines with its powerful calendar and scheduling features and generally helps people stay organized and free to focus on other things. The company also values input from its users and makes it a priority to continually refine and improve the TickTick experience.

Between credit cards, utility bills, a mortgage, streaming services, and other monthly bills, it can be challenging to keep up with due dates and payment amounts. Sure, many companies offer automatic payment options, but personally, I prefer to make the payment myself to have a better understanding of where my funds are going each month.

The consequences of missing a payment can vary widely. A missed cellphone payment may result in a $5 late fee; no big deal. But a missed credit card payment can end up costing the cardholder access to special interest rates and eventually even impact credit scores.That’s why an app like TickTick can be extremely useful when it comes time to pay those bills.

TickTick is like the ultimate digital planner, with a number of valuable features that we’ll dive into below. But first, a bit of background information on the company itself.

“The predecessor of TickTick is an app called GTasks,” according to the company. “This was something that happened 10 years ago. As early as 2010, TickTick’s founding team has been dedicated to the field of time.”

GTasks is an Android app that syncs with Google Tasks. At the time, the app was listed as one of the best to-do list apps in the Google Play Store.

“In 2013, we officially launched TickTick. This new app derives from GTasks, but has a lot more functionalities and can sync across multiple platforms,” according to the company.

A To-Do List and Powerful Scheduling App

A TickTick representative recently spoke with us about the value of the scheduling app and how it is so much more.

“The market need is the underlying power to push us forward,” according to TickTick. “We aim to lucubrate in the realm of time, empowering everyone the ability and peacefulness to stay organized, stay creative.”

The app is one of the first to-do list apps that creatively integrates features such as Calendar, Pomodoro Timer, Habit, and Markdown into one functional app, the company stated.

TickTick aims to help users become more organized so they can focus on being more creative and productive.

“The Calendar feature is among the ones that are most popular among TickTick users,” according to the company. “It is common that we combine tasks, to-dos together with calendar events to arrange schedules. TickTick is more than a to-do list, but also a powerful scheduling app to help us take control of the calendar.”

The company provided a rundown of some of the key functions of the Calendar.

“Five calendar views: List, Month, and three timeline views, i.e. day, 3 day, week,” according to TickTick. “You can also zoom to adjust for a better view or adjust to hide a certain time slot, such as 12 a.m. to 4 a.m.”

Calendar also uses natural language processing to add and edit schedules more efficiently.

“Third, Plan Your Day is a combination of calendar and the list of Today to quickly plan the day out,” according to the company. “Fourth, arrange undated tasks: swipe to unfold the Arrange Tasks area. Quickly sort the undated ones by List, Tag, or Priority. Simply drag and drop the task onto the date in the calendar.”

Finally, Calendar subscriptions allow users to display events from or add events to local calendars or other third-party calendars.

Never miss a credit card payment again.

The Importance of Staying Organized

“On the official website of TickTick, we wrote ‘stay organized, stay creative,’” according to the company representative. “This is exactly the reason why we think it’s important to stay organized. An organized plan can free our mind from remembering things, but leaving the space to let us focus on things that really matter.”

The idea is that, by not having to spend mental energy on remembering due dates, appointments, and the like, our brains can ultimately be more productive.

“When things are getting done as planned, we can leave more time to explore things we’re interested in and also to spend more time with our family and friends,” according to the company. “The balance between work and life can in turn give us the energy to discover the beauty of things around us, and have a creative mind.”The company describes its app as an all-in-one task management tool with a focus on simplicity.

TickTick syncs across a wide variety of platforms, including the Apple Watch.

“The app is available for more than 10 platforms, including Android, iOS, Web, Mac, Windows, Apple Watch, Android watches, etc.,” according to the company. “Time is at the heart of TickTick. And it is lightweight. The app’s workflows are carefully designed and optimized.”

For example, users can start by adding tasks and setting reminders. Later, they can use the Pomodoro timer to help them stay focused as they work on those same tasks, or they could punch in daily to develop a task into a habit, according to TickTick.

“TickTick puts you in full control letting you choose to show or hide each of these features in the Tab Bar so you always have exactly what you need, no more, no less,” the company stated.

Another essential part of the app, according to the company, is TickTick’s simple clean-cut design.

“From List to Subtask, each interface is clean and tidy. Unlike to-do apps that are littered with checkboxes, TickTick makes managing tasks a breeze that feels as natural as note-taking,” the company stated.

All-in-one is not only about features, but also the seamless sync across multiple platforms, including mobile and desktop apps, Mac and Apple Watch. TickTick’s R&D team develops each and every application to fit its many platforms.

“Getting things done on every platform you work on has never been so easy,” according to TickTick.

Prioritizing the User Experience and Making TickTick Even More Efficient

“We value our users’ experience, and continuously develop innovative features to make the app ever more stable and smooth,” the company told us. “Users are at our heart, and the inexhaustible source of power to make TickTick grow.”

The TickTick team collects feedback from tickets it receives through the app, as well as through support emails, the TickTick forum, app stores, and social media communities, according to the company.

“We hear feedback about current feature improvement and new features suggested by our users,” the company stated.

And TickTick takes user suggestions and feedback to heart, making sure their ideas are given consideration and included in the company’s development road map.

“In the future, we want to make TickTick smarter. We aim to offer intelligent suggestions to let our users use TickTick even more efficiently. For example, we want to be able to automatically generate available time slots for interviewees and have that shared with interviewers more conveniently.” — TickTick

The folks behind TickTick also value its global audience.

“There will also be internationalization support to better serve our users spreading across the world,” according to the company. “For example, We will enable quick add voice input with different languages. We’re also working on adding more ready-made templates, such as meeting agenda, travel plan, fitness plan, etc.”

Whether you’re scheduling a meeting or you just need a little help remembering to pay that monthly credit card bill, TickTick offers a convenient, simple way to do both and much more.

Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

This article is originally posted on CardRates.com by Matt Walker.