SMART

I had a really enlightening conversation with a friend this weekend. I was lamenting the closing of yet another month, as it certainly means that I won't have achieved all I'd hoped to achieve during said month. For the past five months, I've felt the same way - bummed that the month is over, because I'd entered the month with a list of goals and hadn't crossed them all off. My assumption has always been that I spend too much time in front of the tv, or reading, or sleeping, and that if only I weren't so lazy I'd be able to accomplish everything on my to-do list.

And then my friend suggested something that really is pretty obvious. Maybe it's not me. Maybe I'm not really that lazy. Maybe, just maybe, I set unachievable goals. She's working with kids in the public school system who have IEPs - individualized education programs. Here in New York, they use SMART IEP goals:

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time Limited.

Duh! What a revelation. Instead of deciding that in the month of May I will take care of all the flower beds, I will now say things like:

On Saturday I will expand the front bed and put in plants from the neighbor.

I'm such a prolific list-writer, but I never seem to get everything on the list done.  My hope is that a new approach to making these lists will help me feel more productive and accomplished, and less annoyed that the months are going by so darn quickly.