Today’s Leadership Play of the Day from the Ripken Playbook will show you how good leaders create various plans of action to stay focused, motivated, and goal oriented. Today you will create a plan using the S.M.A.R.T. goal strategy for a 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. day to complete one large task or multiple smaller ones.
What is the SMART Goals acronym?
Specific (simple, significant, clearly defined) -- Clearly defined goals will keep you on task and focused.
Measurable (meaningful, motivating, easy to measure progress/results) -- Actively measuring your results will keep you motivated by receiving real feedback you can analyze.
Attainable (achievable) -- Make sure your goal is something you can achieve with the resources you have available.
Realistic (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based) -- Make sure your goal something you can realistically achieve in the time frame you set. For example, building a house in one day would not be a realistic goal, but over many months, it is possible.
Timely (time-based, time limited, time-sensitive, set deadlines for yourself) -- Being on time is important in every sector of life. By setting timelines for yourself, it forces you to stay on task throughout the duration of your goal.
Time Management Challenge
Materials
- Planner (or paper to make your own)
- Pen or pencil
- Coloring materials (optional)
Let’s Begin
- First, identify one large task or multiple smaller tasks around your home that need to be completed. These could be homework, weeding the yard, organizing a room, cleaning the garage, etc.
- Next, fill in your planner with a component of your larger task you wish to accomplish each hour of the day.
- Break your day down into sections with the SMART acronym. For example, if your task is cleaning the garage, you could designate 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. to removing the excess trash, 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. to organizing the shelves, and 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. sweeping the floor, etc.
- Be sure to keep an eye on your time so that you can successfully complete each task within the allotted time frame.
Share a photo of your completed task with us on social media! Did the hour-by-hour plan of action you created help you more easily complete this task? Share with us!