The start of any new year is the ideal time to revisit your NDIS goals, celebrate your achievements and reset your goals for the coming twelve months.
As you’d be aware, goal setting is an important part of being an NDIS participant. The goals you develop in the initial stages of your NDIS planning journey will reflect what you would like to achieve across all aspects of your life. You will discuss them with your Local Area Coordinator or NDIA Planner who will ask you what you want to achieve and if you have any unmet needs in your current life relating to your disability that you feel should be addressed. Your goals should help you on the road to living a more independent and rewarding life. The NDIA will determine how your funding will be allocated based on your goals and support needs.
What is a SMART goal?
Your NDIS goals are what you would like to work towards and achieve in your life. Your goals should be as specific as possible, so your funded supports are correctly selected to meet your needs. A simple way to develop your goals is to use the SMART system.
S – specific
State what you would like to do, use action words.
M – measurable
Provide a way to measure your achievement, use metrics or a data target.
A – achievable
Goal should be within your scope and be possible to achieve or attain.
R – relevant
Activity should be relevant to and improve your situation.
T – time-based
State when you intend to achieve your goal and place a time metric against it.
Being specific and measurable will give you a clear target to work toward and allow you to easily see when your goals have been achieved. If goals are not formulated as SMART, it is difficult to measure your progress and what you have achieved.
What are your goals?
Your goals should define the most important things you want to achieve, develop or learn. The list below may inspire your goal setting:
- finding and keeping a job
- improving relationships
- independence in daily living
- confidence in money management
- doing more social and recreational activities
- improved health and wellbeing
- building confidence around public transport or learning to drive
- learning something new
- where you want to live, or
- improving communication.
Tips for resetting your goals
- What did you achieve in the past year and what can you do better or differently?
- What is important to you? Do your goals match your personal values?
- What would you like to achieve in the next 12 months?
- What support do you need to achieve your goals?
Your goals can be categorised as short, medium and long-term depending on how long they take you to achieve. For each goal, it may also be helpful to list three achievable actions for helping you reach your goals.
If your goals are well-defined, it allows you to remain focused, maintain a clear direction toward achieving those goals and be decisive. What better time to prepare for the new year?
For more information about the importance of setting SMART NDIS goals, please click here.
