An action plan needs to be SMART!
S – Specific
What are you going to do?
A specific behaviour or activity you are committing to doing. For example, doing is not “I’ll get fitter” but it could be a specific activity like “I’ll do stretching exercises”
M – Measurable
How much? For example, 5 minutes or 3 different stretches. How often?
For example, this could be 3 times. It is usually better not to plan for every day as it is easy then to have something intervene and then you may feel disappointed that you have not achieved your plan. If you plan to do it less often, you can always do more on a good week and feel good about exceeding your expectations.
A – Appropriate
Something you want to do.
Ask yourself, how important is doing this action plan to me? What is its importance rating to me? Very, fairly or not at all.
R – Realistic
How confident are you about achieving the plan?
How confident am I that I can carry out my plan in my life this week?
T – Time – based
When will you do it?
What days, or time of the day is right for me?