DNAproximity Teaches - S.M.K.

Goals/Objectives

What is S.M.K.?

A hybrid between S.M.A.R.T. and OKRs to obtain an objective.

S = Specific: Meaning ensuring that an objective is to the point in what is being asked of someone who, or something that, is being asked to deliver a result that builds upon a previous achieved outcome, or is to be the basis of a new outcome with which to build upon.

M = Measurement: Meaning qualitative or quantitative means of measurement to analyse and ascertain a result, or set of results.

K = Key Factor: Meaning requirement of a critical detail, an essential part, a fundamental aspect, an important consideration and a crucial element at the start of an activity, including at the end of an activity. A Key Factor needs to be distinctive to an operation.

Broad guidelines that can aid you to set effective, achievable objectives.

#	Activity	Meaning / Significance
1	State each objective as a positive statement	Express your objective positively with the use of positive language. For instance, the phrasing used for an objective is important. Take for example: "Execute this method well so that you can see that the..." is a much better phrase for an objective than "Do not make yourself look foolish in doing this stupid mistake that..."
2	Be precise with the objective	Set precise objectives, putting in actions, activities, amounts, dates and times so that you can measure accomplishment at each stage. For it is when you do this, you will know exactly when you have achieved an objective and can take sheer contentment from having achieved it.
3	Set priorities for the objective	When you have several objectives, give each a priority. This helps you to avoid feeling overwhelmed by having too many objectives that you may belief need to be accomplished all at the same time. It is helpful to direct your attention to the most important objective and benchmark each objective thereafter to assist your journey of revelation.
4	Record an objective (Write it down)	By writing down an objective you allow your intentions and activities to crystalise each one with an operation / schematic attribute which also gives them more focus.
5	Keep operational objectives small and manageable	Keep the low level objectives that you are working towards small and achievable. In a similar instance, when an objective is larger and cumbersome, then it can feel that you are not making progress towards it when it is held within a similar time frame as a small objective. Keeping an objective small and incremental gives an insight as to what is and is not working, as well as seeing potential benefits and opportunities.
6	Set performance objectives	You should take care to set objectives over which you have as much control as possible. It can be quite discouraging to fail to achieve a personal (or even social or professional) objective for reasons beyond your control. For instance, if you are working in Pharma Discovery and are set an objective to measure blood cell counts within the remit of your work, you may well need to collaborate with a medical doctor to achieve a specific objective. In the corporate world of business, having external controlling factors within an objective could be ill advised/toxic business environments, as well as unexpected effects of a government policy. In sport, the controlling factors could include poor panels of judges, bad weather, injury, or simply a set of unforeseen instances that have impacted upon the operation of participating in a sport at the highest level. If you base your objectives on personal performance through the soft, academic and professional skill sets that you have attained, then your ability to maintain a level of control over the achievement of the objective(s) and subsequently draw a knowing from the objective(s) is further in your favour. One thing to be aware of here is that a colleague or line manager may well want to divert the objective in a particular direction, even though the evidence collected thus far in your knowledge shows the evidence moving in another direction through the expert steps that you have taken. Be aware of colleagues that want to take credit of your work through the objectives. Plus those that have ulterior motives to see you fail in given objectives.
7	Set a realistic objective	It is crucial to set an objective that you can achieve. All sorts of people (e.g., partners, workers, parents, media, or society) can set unrealistic objectives for you on your life path. They will often do this in ignorance of your own level of competencies and abilities, whilst focusing more on their own connotations, ideology, desires and ambitions. It is worth bringing to light here that it is possible for you to set yourself an objective that is too difficult to complete because you may not adequately comprehend the level of challenges in the way, or take on board quite how much skill you shall need to develop, in order to achieve a particular level of performance.

Achieving Personal Objectives

When you have achieved an objective take the time to enjoy the satisfaction of having done so. Take in the skills that you have used for the achievement and success of the objective. Observe the progress that you have made towards other objectives in your life. Have an awareness of their build in your life and the development of you as an individual.
When an objective was a significant one, had you rewarded yourself? All of this helps you to build the self confidence that is inherent within you yet on some level remains dormant for whatever reason.
With the experience of having achieved an objective, take the time to assess your professional, social and personal objectives. For example:
1. If you achieved the objective too easily, make your next objective a tad challenging to take you to a next life level.
2. If an objective took a depressingly long time to achieve on your own, perhaps make the next objective that you work on alone a bit easier to accommodate by ring fencing a boundary of time to accomplish the steps that you need to take within a given timescale. Place yourself first. Keep everyone/everything else not connected to assisting you with the objective as secondary/pending outside of the ring fencing.
3. If you learned something that would lead you to change another objective, then take this learning into consideration.
4. If you noticed a shortfall in your skill set despite achieving the objective, decide whether to set another objective to fix this.
Feed lessons that you have learned, back into the process of setting your next objective. Remember that an objective will have changes as time goes by. Where apt make adjustments to objectives to reflect growth in your knowledge and experience. When an objective no longer holds any benefits to hold your attraction, consider letting it go.

Example Of Personal Objectives

For her New Year's Resolution, Gwendolyne decided to think about what she really wants to do with her life.
Her lifetime objectives consist of the following:
1. Career: "To be the Editor-in-Chief of the publication that I work for."
2. Creativity: "To keep working on my illustration skills. Ultimately I want to have my own work shown within a city centre/hip urban gallery."
3. Physical: "To run a city marathon."

Now that Gwendolyne has listed her lifetime objectives, she then breaks them down. Each objective taken as small manageable bite sizes.
Take a closer look at how Gwendolyne might break down her lifetime career goal. That is, becoming Editor-in-Chief of the publication that she currently works. Take a look at the following:
1. Five year goal: "Become Managing Editor."
2. One year goal: "Volunteer for projects that the current Editor-in-Chief is instigating."
3. Six month goal: "Go to university and complete a Publication degree that incorporates journalism, creative arts; photography/illustration and media studies."
4. One month goal: "Talk to the current Editor-in-Chief to determine what skills are needed to do the job."
5. One week goal: "Book a meeting with the Editor-in-Chief."
As you can see from this example of Gwendolyne’s, she is breaking down a large objective into smaller objectives that can be better managed. Thus, making it easier to see how her objective(s) have the potential to get accomplished.

Key Points
Setting an objective and having at least one viable method for attaining can aid you to:
1. Decide what you want to achieve in your life.
2. Separate what is important from what is a distraction, or is irrelevant, to you.
3. Motivate yourself.
4. Build your self confidence, by utilising achievements from other objectives that you were integral to.

Set your lifetime objective first.
Then, set a five year plan of smaller objectives that you need to complete if you are to reach your lifetime plan.
Keep the process going by regularly reviewing and updating your objective.
Never forget to take the time to enjoy the satisfaction of achieving your objective, particularly when you achieve the steps within the objectives.

If you have not already set lifetime objectives, starting doing so now. As you make this proficiency part of your life, you will find your life journey accelerating in empowerment. You will praise yourself for having started the journey to betterment within your life, plus you will meet like-minded people along the way that will be able to assist you, as you assist them on their life journey.