SMART Goals: How to Set Goals That Actually Stick (Even When You Get Bored)

Hey friend,

I've never considered myself bad at setting goals. Actually, I'm probably the opposite.

Give me a big goal - something I really want - and one of the first things I'm going to do is write about it. I'll journal the idea, figure out what needs to happen, make a plan and genuinely believe I can get there.

And usually, I do.

There's something about putting a goal on paper that makes it feel possible to me. Once I can see it, think through it and start figuring out the steps, I'm pretty convinced I can make it happen.

It's the regular-life goals that get me.

Working out. Eating better. Keeping up with some new routine I've decided is going to become part of my life forever.

Oh, I can start. For about three months, I am excellent. I've got the routine. I'm consistent. I'm motivated. I'm wondering why I didn't start sooner.

And then?

I get bored.

Not necessarily tired. Not incapable of continuing. Just... bored. And I think that's the part I haven't always accounted for. I know how to set a goal. I know how to start. I can even be incredibly consistent for months.

What I haven't always planned for is what happens when the plan itself stops holding my interest.

And maybe part of the problem is who I'm making the plan for.

When I decide how I'm going to reach a goal, I tend to picture the best possible version of myself doing it. The version who wakes up motivated, follows the routine, never gets tired of it and apparently has no need for variety whatsoever.

In other words, I make the plan for Fantasy Me.

The problem is, Fantasy Me is extremely easy to make goals for. But Fantasy Me and Actual Me don't always want the same things six months from now.

Fantasy Me Apparently Never Gets Bored

Fantasy Me finds a workout routine she likes and happily does it four mornings a week until the end of time.

Fantasy Me meal preps every single Sunday, without fail, and never once thinks, I don't feel like it this week, I could use some rest.

Fantasy Me discovers a morning routine and never needs to change it.

Fantasy Me has the same enthusiasm in month six that she had during week one.

Meanwhile, Actual Me likes some variety.

And once I know that about myself, I can stop treating boredom like evidence that I've failed at the goal.

Maybe I don't need a completely new goal.

Maybe the goal can stay while the way I reach it changes.

That's a very different way of thinking about consistency.

SMART Goals Still Help Me Get Clear

This is where I still think the SMART goals are useful.

SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound.

I don't think of it as some magical formula that guarantees I'll stick with anything forever. What it does really well is force me to take something vague that I want and turn it into something I can actually do. Instead of memorizing definitions, I think about it as five questions:

Specific: What exactly am I trying to do?

Measurable: How will I know I'm actually doing it?

Achievable: Does this make sense for my life right now?

Relevant: Do I actually want this—or do I just think I should?

Time-Bound: When am I starting, and when will I check in with myself?

Take something as simple as:

I want to work out more.

That's an idea, but it doesn't give me much to work with.

A SMART version might be:

For the next month, I'm going to move my body for at least 30 minutes three times a week.

Now I know what I'm doing. I know how often. I know how long I'm trying it before I check in. But here's the part I think I was missing before: The workout itself doesn't have to stay the same.

I can walk.

I can lift weights.

I can find a class.

I can dance around my house.

I can decide I'm completely over whatever I've been doing and find something else.

The goal is movement.

The method is negotiable.

Maybe We Confuse Consistency With Sameness

I know I did.

If I decided I was going to work out three days a week, somewhere along the way the routine itself became part of the commitment. Same workout. Same schedule. Same approach. So when I stopped wanting to do that, it felt like I was losing motivation for the entire goal. But those aren't necessarily the same thing.

Sometimes I don't want to quit the goal. I'm just tired of the way I've been doing it.

That's useful information.

If I've been eating the same healthy breakfast for three months and suddenly can't stand the sight of it, I don't need to abandon my intention to eat well. I need another breakfast.

If my evening journaling routine starts feeling like another chore on my list, that doesn't necessarily mean journaling isn't useful to me anymore.

Maybe I journal in the morning for a while.

Maybe I use prompts.

Maybe I write one sentence.

Maybe I skip the journal altogether for a few days and come back when I actually have something I want to say.

The bigger intention can remain intact while the details change.

Some Goals Need a Finish Line. Others Need Room to Evolve.

I think this is why my bigger goals have always felt different to me. There's somewhere I'm trying to get. I can write the goal down, work backward, figure out what needs to happen and keep moving toward it. There's a destination.

But “eat well” doesn't really end.

Neither does taking care of my body, managing my money, keeping my home the way I want it, writing regularly or any of the other things I might want to continue doing for years.

Those aren't really finish-line goals.

They're ways I want to live. And I don't think it's realistic to expect the exact same routine to keep me interested forever. So now, alongside the SMART questions, I think there's another one worth asking:

What will I do when this starts to bore me?

Not if.

When.

Maybe I'll need a new routine.

A different schedule.

A new challenge.

A smaller commitment.

A bigger one.

Or maybe I'll realize the goal doesn't matter to me anymore.

That's allowed too.

Changing your mind isn't automatically the same thing as giving up. Sometimes you've simply learned enough to make a different decision.

Because I've realized I don't need to become someone who never gets bored. I need to build goals that leave enough room for me to get bored, and change something when I do.

The goal can stay. The method is allowed to move.

Until next time,

P.S. Now I invite you to take these thoughts to your journal and explore what they mean for you.

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Today’s Reflection

Notice

Think about a goal or habit you were once really consistent with but eventually stopped.

Before deciding you “fell off,” think about what actually happened.

Did you stop caring about the goal?

Or did you get tired of the way you were trying to reach it?

Explore

What part still matters to you?

If you removed the routine, schedule or rules you originally attached to the goal, is there another way you would want to approach it now?

And if the goal no longer matters to you at all, what would it feel like to admit that instead of continuing to carry it around?

Carry Forward

Choose one goal you've been meaning to “get back to.”

Don't automatically restart the old plan.

Change one thing about it first.

Try a different time. A different method. A smaller commitment. Something new enough to make you interested again.