Developing an action plan for achieving your goals is essential. Here, you'll explore various approaches for creating a plan of action. This can help you break down goals in order to produce actionable steps. An important method to apply on your approach to goal creation is SMART, developed by consultant and corporate planner, George Doran. SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. An example of a SMART goal for an assistant manager might be, be promoted to a managerial role that will provide an opportunity to develop my management skills within the next 12 months. In this example, the goal is clear, measurable, possible, relevant to the individual's current job title, and has a specific timeframe. By writing your goals in this SMART format, you can increase your odds of being successful when developing your action plan. You can use the SMART method to critique existing goals for clarity and specificity, and revise them accordingly. Writing out your goals also allows you to track progress more easily. Most people experience a sense of fulfillment whenever they're able to cross things off a list. Now, let's focus on selecting your approach. The good news is a variety of options exist for goal setting, and many of them share common elements. The traditional approach. In developing a plan, lay out your SMART goals based on a timeline of when you want to achieve them. This means categorizing them as short, mid, or long-term, and then dividing them into actionable items based on that timeline. The division approach. This is helpful for difficult or large goals. Jon Acuff, a motivational speaker and the author of "Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done," suggests creating smaller, more manageable goals instead of overarching goals and prioritizing them to best utilize your time effectively. Acuff also recommends taking your larger goals and cutting them in half. The idea is that by splitting your goals, each one becomes more attainable. This approach was tested on 1,000 individuals who enrolled in one of Acuff's courses. He found that over 60% reported success in achieving their goals when they were reduced to smaller, more manageable ones. Additionally, 90% reported feeling happier about working toward their goals, because they appeared more achievable. The 12-week year approach. This is helpful when you lack the motivation or urgency to get started on your goals. In Brian Moran and Michael Lennington's book, "The 12 Week Year," the authors reject the idea of traditional, long-term goal setting and suggest to focus on setting goals in 12-week increments. Moran and Lennington recommend that people imagine each 12-week period as a year. If you embrace this approach, it's likely you'll develop a greater sense of urgency to complete your goals, because of that 90-day deadline. There is no right or wrong approach to creating a plan of action. What's important is to focus on creating SMART goals, committing to them, and selecting an approach you're most comfortable with.