Goal Setting with your medical regimen and self-care

Goal

Set S.M.A.R.T goals for following your medical regimen and enjoying your life more generally.

As we looked at earlier, getting into a new medical routine can bring up a lot of feelings, especially at the beginning. One way to manage these feelings is to break the routine down into smaller, more manageable parts. Then, set goals for each one. A good goal is S.M.A.R.T.: Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant and Time Based

Remember from the previous lesson that your medical routine likely has three to four parts. You can set a goal for each area of the routine to help manage that area.

Daniel’s Story

Daniel’s doctor recommends checking his blood sugar twice daily, but he currently only remembers to do it once a day. He can make it his goal to check his blood sugar twice daily every day for 7 days. To make it a S.M.A.R.T. goal, he says he will measure his blood sugar before breakfast in the morning and before he goes to bed at night, every day for a week. By defining exactly when he will measure his blood sugar, it is specific. Twice a day is a measurable benchmark, and Daniel thinks it is achievable. It is an important part of his medical routine, so it is very relevant, and the week time frame keeps it time bound. Daniel was surprised at how difficult it was for him to make what he thought was a small change of checking his blood sugar each night. When he reviewed his goal at the end of the week, he noted he had only checked his blood sugar twice a day on 3 of the 7 days. He rated this as poor adherence to the goal. Thinking back on the week, he realized that he did well at checking his blood sugar in the morning�he didn’t miss a single day! But, he often forgot in the evenings. He decided to set an alarm on his phone for 9:15 p.m to remind him to check his blood sugar before bed. When he reviewed his progress the next week, he was happy to see that he had increased to checking his blood sugar twice daily 6 out of the 7 days. He rated this as very good progress. If we looked at his goal through the S.M.A.R.T. Formula, we would see it as:

He will check his blood sugar twice a day, in the morning and before bed.

He can measure whether or not he has met this goal every day

He thinks it is reasonable to measure his blood sugar twice a day, as recommended by his doctor

It is an important part of his medical routine, so it is relevant to his larger goal of managing his diabetes

Because Daniel will track for a week, it is within a certain time frame.

Your Turn:

Now, on a piece of paper or in the Diabetes Forum, write one S.M.A.R.T. goal for each area of your medical routine and a goal for your life beyond managing diabetes. Write a goal for healthy eating, exercising, checking your blood sugar, taking any medications you are on, and one for your life beyond diabetes management, perhaps a hobby you enjoy or have always wanted to learn. Remember, your goal is to make your routine into easier to manage parts.

Each week, check in on your progress with each goal using the following scale and inserting your own goals:

Thinking about the PAST WEEK, on average, how would you rate your ability to adhere to your goal of ________________?

If you rate yourself at 1, 2, or 3, it’s not the end of your plan for change. Instead, take some time to reflect on how you can improve on that goal for the week to come.