How to implement SMART goals for stay at moms: A step-by-step

 If you’re a stay-at-home mom, you know how hard it can be to stay motivated.

Between the constant demands of your children and the time-consuming nature of the work that needs to get done around the house. It’s easy to feel like there’s just no time left over for yourself, let alone some legit goal planning.

I’d definitely rather be binge watching Netflix, but alas someone has to be a responsible adult.

But if you want to make sure that your goals get done—and that they get done well—you need to set SMART goals.

SMART goals will help you stay organized amiss the chaos of motherhood and will help you achieve your goals.

What is a SMART goal?

SMART goals are those that are specific, measurable, achievable, Realistic (relevant), and timely.

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic (relevant)
• Time-bound (timely)

• Specific: The goal should be specific enough to be measurable. It should also be defined in such a way that it can be easily understood by those who are involved in achieving it.

• Measurable: The goal needs to have a way of measuring its progress towards being achieved. This could be numerical (e.g., “I want to lose 20lbs ”) or qualitative (e.g., “I want to feel more confident about myself”).

• Achievable: The goal needs to be something that is achievable with reasonable effort, given the resources available and the person’s abilities, skills and knowledge at this point in time. (e.g., I can lose 10 pounds in three months by exercising three times a week).

• Realistic (relevant): The goal should align with the person’s values and beliefs so that they are motivated by it, rather than feeling like they have been forced into achieving it against their will or against their better judgment.(e.g., My goal is to lose weight and improve my health)

• Time-bound: The goal needs to have a time limit attached to it so that there is an endpoint when the achievement will be measured against the original intention behind setting out on this path in the first place. (e.g., I will lose 10 pounds in three months by exercising three times a week)

In other words, they are goals that are well-defined and attainable.

Many businesses use SMART goals to help them focus their efforts and track their progress.

The acronym SMART has been around since the early 1990s, and it is a popular way to set goals in both the business and personal sphere.

What are the benefits of using SMART Goals for stay at home moms?

Here are a few benefits of using SMART goals for a stay at home mom:

1. You’ll be more organized and efficient
2. You’ll be able to better prioritize your time
3. You’ll be more likely to achieve your goals
4. You’ll feel a sense of accomplishment
5. You will stay accountable to yourself
6. It will help break your to-do list into smaller more manageable chunks.

Why should busy moms implement SMART goals?

Why should busy moms implement SMART goals, you ask?

First, because it will help you focus on what’s important.

Secondly, because SMART goals help you break down your goals into smaller- bite-sized pieces.

And third, because they provide a clear timeline for when you want to achieve your goals.

Questions to ask yourself when creating SMART goals

So you want to set a SMART goal?

Well, before you do, ask yourself:

• What am I trying to accomplish?
• Why do I want to accomplish it?
• How will I know when I’ve accomplished it?
• What resources are available to me?

Measure your SMART goals by asking yourself the following questions:

1. Are you setting a goal that is specific? (e.g., I want to lose 10 pounds)
2. Is it measurable? (e.g., I will lose 10 pounds by exercising three times a week)
3. Is it attainable? (e.g., I can lose 10 pounds in three months by exercising three times a week)
4. Is it relevant? (e.g., My goal is to lose weight and improve my health)
5. Is it time-bound? (e.g., I will lose 10 pounds in three months by exercising three times a week)

These questions are the best way to ensure that your goal is achievable and realistic, and that you’ll be able to recognize when you’ve achieved it.

How can busy moms implement SMART goals

First start with these main categories; feel free to add or reduce this list to your specific needs.

As a stay at home mom, you may not be thinking about a “career” at the moment, but it’s important to self-reflect and evaluate what you may want to do later down the line.

You do not have to come up with goals for each category and you do not have to focus on all of them at the same time. Choose what is reasonable for your season of life.

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• How to avoid “Depleted Mother” syndrome.
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• How to find your passion and purpose as a Christian stay-at-home mom

1. Set your goals

Choose what area of your life you would like to focus and zone in on, it can be anything. Think of what you want your dream life to look like and start there:

Examples of goals

• I want to lose 30 lbs
• I want to declutter my house
• I want to become debt free
• I want to start a profitable blog

2. How to set your goals

Take a look at your current life and lets do a quick assessment. 1-being awful and 10- being perfect. How would you rate these areas of your life?

• Self-care (mental and physical health)
• Parenting
• Marriage
• Finances
• Spiritual
• Career (personal development).
• Relationships (family and friends)

Which areas scored the lowest? Those are the ones I want you to focus on.

If you have a category not listed above, feel free to add that as a goal too.

3. Plan and write your goals out

For easy wins, let’s plan for your SMART goals to coincide with the 12 week year.

If you have not heard of the 12 week year (its based of a book), it’s basically where instead of focusing on 12 months out of the year.

You set your goals every 12 weeks for at total of 90 days, or 3 months.

Cutting goals into small chunks like this will help you see the end results better instead of getting burnt out.

Examples of SMART goals for a stay at home mom

SMART goals are a great way to keep track of your progress and ensure that you’re moving in the right direction.

Here are some examples of SMART goals for stay-at-home moms:

• Specific: I will read at least one book a month.
• Measurable: I will spend at least an hour reading every day.
• Achievable: I will choose books that are educational and entertaining at the same time.
• Realistic (relevant): Reading is fun so it should be enjoyable as well.
• Time-bound (timely): I will complete 1 book every last Sunday of the month.

More examples of SMART goals for moms

For the entrepreneurial spirited mom, here is a good example of a SMART goal.

• Specific: I want to make $1000 a month on Etsy
• Measurable: I will sell 10 products a month at $100 each.
• Achievable: If I sell to my email subscribers, blog readers, and Youtube subscribers.
• Realistic: I have 1000 email subscribers and will market to my list.
• Time-bound: I want to earn $1,000 every 30 days

Setting SMART goals for stay at home moms can be hard, but if you take the time to plan out your goals carefully, there is no limit to what you can accomplish! You’ve got this, mama!

Let me know in the comments below what kind of SMART goals you want to implement?