SMARTER Semester

How to Start and End each Semester SMARTER?  

With over ten years of teaching undergraduates, graduates, professional students, and myself,  I often see the same aspiration for a successful semester by turning homework on time, preparing for exams (weeks in advance), and making plans for the study group. Then, somehow, during the mid-semester, life happens, or one just realized that life has been happening.

In my course, Principles of Public Health Management, I teach students how to develop strategic SMART goals, which was developed by experts in business and management.

Make your goals:  Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timed. (SMART). 

Here is an example of a SMART goal:  This semester (realistic), I will study biology (specific) for 25 minutes (measurable) every day after class before lunch (attainable) for the next 15 weeks for Fall Semester (timed).

However, even with SMART goals, many failed to follow them, ignored them, and sometimes, just don’t like their SMART goals anymore. Why is that?

I’d like to add my own twist to it – how about making your goals SMART-ER, where ER refers to adding the “Enthusiasm and Reason (ER)” to your SMART goals. Without some enthusiasm, excitement, and energy to creating your goals, you’ll lose steam quickly in continuing your plan (when the going gets tough).  Without a reason, you won’t hold yourself (or others) accountable to achieving this goal.

Let’s revisit the same example:
This semester (realistic), I will study biology (specific) for 25 minutes (measurable) every day after class before lunch (attainable) for the next 15 weeks for Fall Semester (timed) because (reason) I love learning about the family history of my genetics (enthusiasm) so I can be better prepared about my health.

Begin and end this semester with SMARTER goals:

Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timed, Enthusiasm, Reason. (SMARTER)!