It's that time of the year again that we all look forward to so much. Exams! (I'm using sarcasm here, of course.) Well this year I'm not afraid because this year I'm going to use SMART goals to make sure it all goes well. I read an article about SMART goals. They're what all successful people in life use, apparently.

So what are SMART goals exactly and how are they going to change my life (hopefully)?

Well SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely. See how they get their names? No? Look at the first letter of each of the words. That's what you call an acronym.

Specific – because they are detailed. It's not good enough to simply say 'I'm going to revise for my

exams.' That plan's too general. A specific goal is something like: 'I'm going to spend at least 20 hours revising for each subject and make a timetable to show exactly how I'm going to do this.' That is a Specific goal.

Measurable – because you should be able to measure your goals and ask yourself questions like: 'How much have I done?'; 'How much have I still got to do?'; 'How much time do I still need?'; 'Is this nightmare ever going to end?' Well, maybe the last one isn't such a great example, but you get the idea.

Attainable – because your goal should be something that you can actually do. If your goal is, for example, to raise £1 million for charity, write a novel, climb Mount Everest and revise for your exams then you might want to ask yourself if you really can do all this and then maybe drop one or two of them.

Relevant – because all your little goals should help you work towards your final one. So, for example, a plan to help your mum and dad with all the cooking, washing up and helping out with housework might make you the most popular child in your house but it's not really going to help you with the revision, is it?

Timely – Your goal must have a time frame. In other words, it must have a start and a finish. There's not much point if you're planning to finish revising a couple of weeks after your exams are over. That really doesn't make much sense. Likewise, you need to think about when would be a good time to start. And, as they say, there's no time like the present, I guess it might be a good idea to stop writing about SMART goals and start putting some into action. Goodbye.