Setting a SMART Goal

“Goals without a plan is a wish.”

January is the time of month where goal setting is widely discussed! Goals are applied to a variety of different situations. Whether it’s eating healthier, reading more, not procrastinating… people are always setting goals. We hope that all of our students are thinking about goals they want to achieve musically this year. However, if they’re struggling create a goal, the acronym SMART can help! SMART stands for: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. Learn more about each letter below!

S: Specific. It’s hard to know how to achieve goals when they are vague! In regards to music, the goal, “Play better on the piano” is vague compared to, “To get better at the piano, I’ll practice 15 minutes each day”.

M: Measurable. A successful goal needs to be able to be measured! Give yourself specific tasks to accomplish each day, such as “Learn one line hands together each day”.

A: Attainable. Your goal also should be something you are able to reach! Challenge yourself, but don’t expect more of yourself than you have the skills to accomplish.

R: Relevant. Your goal should also be something relevant to what you’re currently working on. Goals that are musically related are totally relevant to our students because they come to piano lessons every week and strive to become better!

T: Timely. The final part of any successful goal is to have a deadline/finish date! Without a deadline, goals could last for years before someone got around to achieving them. The end of the month or end of the semester are a few examples of great deadlines!

Hopefully these aspects can help you be successful in setting and achieving your goals! Feel free to share your musical goals with us, we’d love to hear them!