Be SMART about your recovery goals

As you recover, it's good to set goals to keep you motivated and see improvements as they happen

SMART goals are statements about changes you want to make and ways to fulfill them. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. They can help you focus on the healthy changes you want to achieve.

• Specific: What do you want to achieve? Where? Who is involved?
• Measurable: By how much? How will you know when you’ve achieved it?
• Achievable: Can it be done? How?
• Relevant: Why is it important to you or your health?
• Time-bound: By when? For how long?

For example, if your goal is to increase daily physical activity in order to improve heart health, then you might like to break down the goal like this:

*Example physical activity goal only.

Other examples could be:

• Starting tomorrow, I will add one serving of fruit to my daily breakfast.
• Next week, I will book in an appointment with my doctor and make a plan to quit smoking within the next month.

You can start with a broad goal like quitting smoking. Then break it down into smaller, more specific goals like cutting down on the number of cigarettes per week. Think of what you can achieve and control. Remind yourself why these goals are important to you and be consistent. Goals are the first step towards behaviour change, and habits are the key.

Choose goals that are important to you and your recovery. And don’t forget to celebrate your successes along the way, no matter how small! This will keep you motivated.

Try setting your SMART heart-health goals using the below template as a guide. You might choose to print your goals and keep them on your desk or fridge door as a reminder.