Conquering Stressful and Time-Consuming Work

            Make your goals SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely):

• Specific: be sure to not make your goals too general, like “I want to be a millionaire” because frankly, that’s just wishful thinking without clear steps to achieve it. Yes, everyone wants to build wealth, but what are the specific steps that you need to take to achieve? Some can benefit from acquiring a degree, others from better investment and financing decisions.
• Measurable: attach some kind of measurement to goals (numbers, competition time, etc.) so you can pat yourself on the back. For instance, for the millionaire example, you can start by chasing a 5% increase in your salary coupled with a certification that will allow you to attain a promotion.
• Attainable: again, on the millionaire example, let’s say you concluded that you needed a degree to reach your goal, can you afford to go to university? Do you have the time and energy to do so? If not, sometimes a compromise would be doing a part-time degree, but for some that would be too long. Sometimes, the compromise would be learning a new skill that is sought after in the workplace like machine learning, data analytics, web design, or trades, which can increase your chances of reaching your targeted goal.
• Relevant: is your goal relevant to reach your overall goal? For instance, your goal is to become a millionaire, buying the newest cellphone every year might reduce your chances of saving money and achieving your goal.
• Timely: give yourself a timeline to accomplish your goals, but make sure it’s a realistic timeline. Not too long, not too short. For instance, to learn a new designation, research how long people require on average to study and set up a plan to accomplish it.