SMART Goals Are Overrated

Today’s edition of Wishful Working is a 2 minute read.

Happy New Year! 🥳

I hope you had a restful and healthful holiday season! I enjoyed lots of fun family time, but I have to admit I’m glad it’s over. I’m a creature of habit and I crave routine, so I’m happy to leave behind the listless late-December days spent slightly nauseated from a glut of holiday goodies and unsure what day it is.

We had a brown Christmas this year, which I’m told is fairly unusual for this part of Saskatchewan. Despite the lack of snow, I experienced a flurry of a different sort, and I’m guessing you did too. 

I’m talking about the massive influx of posts about goal-setting and new year’s resolutions.

Does anyone else have mixed feelings about goals? I mean, I usually do some sort of year-end reflection and planning for the coming year. I often pick a word for the year. I always set a reading goal on Goodreads. But I don’t set a lot of goals, and I don’t have a certain routine I swear by.

Many people recommend following the SMART framework for goal setting. According to the SMART criteria, your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Following these guidelines supposedly makes your goals clearer and easier to achieve…

But I think SMART goals are overrated. 

Just reading the phrase “SMART goals” triggers thoughts (memories?) of the corporate hamster wheel of hustling, grinding, and achieving — a lifestyle I would like to avoid forever. There is something “too much” about it. And I would argue that vague, open-ended goals can be just as good as SMART goals — if not better. 

I heard a great example on the radio this week when a listener phoned the station to share her goal for the new year: Experience more joy. 

🤩

This type of goal is not specific, measurable, or time-bound. It’s more of an intention — an abstract, flexible theme that guides your decisions while highlighting your values.

Even when I set specific, strategic goals, I try to treat them more like intentions. This means I hold them lightly and give myself freedom to change my mind. I also just don’t really care about “failing.” 🤷

Here are some of my vague, open-ended intentions for 2024:

• Leave room in my schedule for personal writing/projects

• Decline projects that don’t align with my needs/interests

• Write more about topics I’m passionate about

• Connect with like-minded others

• Create more art

I’ll also steal that radio lady’s goal:

• Experience more joy

How do you feel about year-end goal setting? If you have mixed feelings, you’re in good company. Consider this your permission to do less. I’m rooting for you.

See you next week,

Kara