It is NEVER a bad time to create goals and a plan to accomplish them. Want to change the world? Want to change ANYTHING?! SMART Goals will get you there! What are SMART goals?
These types of goals are an excellent tool to teach your tweens and teens; a skill that will travel through time with them, allowing them to go farther, faster! And if you happen to live with a teen who lacks inspo, or can’t quite get on board the mom train, having them set their own goals using this method might just be the thing! Together, let’s walk through what makes a goal SMART so that you can impart this simple, but powerful skill, to your teens!
To create S.M.A.R.T. goals means to create goals that are:
SPECIFIC
Creating crystal CLEAR goals means you know exactly what you want to accomplish.
MEASURABLE
How can you measure this goal? I like to start with where I am and create a path that will get you to that goal. Other people like to start at the end and work their way backward. Whichever way helps you create measurable steps for your goal – do it!
ACTIONABLE
Accomplishing ANYTHING takes action, so just consider this part of the process of creating your awesomeness. Take each step on the path towards reaching your goal and create an action plan for it.
REALISTIC
It’s important to have goals that are realistic enough to be achieved. Unrealistic goals, by their very nature, are going to be impossible to reach. Teens, in particular, might not have the life experience necessary to know what goals are realistic or not. It’s good to dream, but when it comes to goals, realistic goals will allow the goal setter to hit the mark!
TIME BOUND
Lastly, put deadlines on each step of your path. For all of the procrastinators out there – having deadlines will keep the wheels turning. Some people love completing tasks right before they are due. Not gonna lie, I kind of give myself an invisible shiny star when I meet my deadlines.
Attain Your Goals With These FREE Printables
We created a worksheet for your teen to work through. State the basic goal idea at the top, go through defining parts of their goal and then at the end, they rewrite the goal using the information they added with date and time for their stated, time bound goal.
Keeping an eye on your goal helps you stay focused on what you are trying to accomplish.
Once your teen understands these types of goals, have them complete the worksheet. When it is complete, have them put their S.M.A.R.T. goal where they will see it everyday.
Accomplishing goals doesn’t have to be a daunting task. In fact, sometimes creating new goals is a matter of finding clarity on what you are truly striving for.
Teens are developing adults and one of our goals is for them to have self agency- the ability to start and complete a goal on their own. Learning the fine art of goal settings, particularly SMART goal setting, is one giant leap towards maturing as a young adult!
Goal Setting – Dreaming
Before we can set goals, we have to dream a little; giving time and space to our hopes. Setting SMART goals will be a great reality check for your teens as they’ll have to create actionable steps to reaching and achieving their hopes and dreams. The very act of creating these types of achievable goals will help them develop Critical Thinking Skills!
And while some teens have specific and clear plans about where they want to head and how to get there for most, it’s probably a bit more vague. For those teens, check out our New Year’s Teen Reading Challenge. We’ve curated twenty-four great books that will equip your teens academically, scholastically, spiritually, and socially-emotionally and created a fun Bingo Challenge that they can use for a month, or the year! These books will equip and encourage your teens, building their skill-set muscles!
Practice Setting Goals
The BINGO Reading Challenge is a fun opportunity for your teen to practice setting goals in the new year while gaining skills and information from the books on the BINGO list.
Download and print the challenge out. Your teen might want to take this challenge with a homeschool group, co-op or their friends.
Need Help With Goal Setting?
Not sure how to get started with dreaming big and creating SMART goals for your homeschool? Our Academic Advising team to the rescue! Our experienced Academic Advisors understand the challenges and benefits of homeschooling and are ready to help you create an actionable, personalized smart plan for your teens high school career and beyond, saving you time, money and frustration!
We hope you find the resources here on the True North Homeschool Adventures Blog helpful – please let us know if you do!
