Check your goal: a 3-minute SMART review
A dream written down becomes a goal. A goal without formalisation is a wish: it motivates for an evening and says nothing about Monday morning. Here is the SMART method in plain words, live reviews, and a tool that checks your wording in 30 seconds.
Why formalise a goal
A coach physically cannot build a plan from a wish: there is nothing to spread across weeks. So SkolCoach has a hard rule: a goal without a date and a measurable result is not accepted into the plan — not because Skol is pedantic, but because a plan for “do more pull-ups by summer” does not exist.
The method behind the check is called SMART — and it powers the open tool: Check your goal →
SMART: five questions for any goal
| Criterion | Question | Pass / fail |
|---|---|---|
| S — specific | Is it clear what exactly you will do? | “Run” ✅ · “do sports” ❌ |
| M — measurable | Is there a number that shows the result? | “20 pull-ups” ✅ · “get stronger” ❌ |
| A — achievable | Ambitious but realistic for the deadline? | “First half-marathon in 6 months” ✅ · “marathon in 2 months” ❌ |
| R — relevant | Does it fit your life, not someone’s feed? | Your own motive ✅ · “everyone is running” ❌ |
| T — time-bound | Is there a date? | “By June 1” ✅ · “by summer” ❌ |
How the check works
- Type the goal freely, exactly as it sounds in your head (“tone up by spring” counts too).
- Skol parses the wording and lights the bulbs S · M · A · R · T — one per passed criterion, with an explanation of what it understood.
- For unlit bulbs you get “what a coach would not understand” plus a ready rephrasing of your own goal.
- All five lit? You will be offered to continue onboarding — the goal is already waiting in your checklist, and the plan starts from it.
The verdict is deterministic: the goal validator computes it from rules (code), and the model only voices it in human language. The public quick check is a heuristic; pace feasibility, race compatibility and medical guardrails are verified by the coach inside the app.
Live reviews
| You write | Lights | Rephrased |
|---|---|---|
| “Want to get fit for summer” | 1/5 · Wish | “Lose 6 kg and run 10 km non-stop by June 1” |
| “Tone up by spring” | 3/5 · Intention | “+3 cm at the hips, bodyweight squats by May 1” |
| “Live to 100 running 6:00/km” | 4/5 · Goal | “Hold 6:00/km over 10 km by Dec 2027 — a milestone towards longevity” |
| “Do 20 pull-ups by March 1” | 5/5 · Bullseye | Accepted — the goal enters the plan with base → progression → peak phases. |
What happens at 5/5
A SMART goal is not the finish but an entry: it joins the unified target pool, gets a weight in the plan, phases and a compatibility check against your races. Weight goals are spread into a safe 0.5–1% of body mass per week (see the weight-goals article); strength and skill goals get “base → progression → peak” phases. With several goals, the system weighs what comes first: for example, a calorie deficit automatically lifts 10–14 days before a long race.
Fun next to serious
The best user wordings (with explicit consent, anonymised) make it into the “Top 10 goals of the week” feed — with a review and a rephrasing. All checks are stored in an anonymised log to calibrate the method; only consented and genuinely funny ones are published.
FAQ
- Does the check cost anything or require sign-up? No. The review is free without an account; repeat runs ask you to sign in so progress is saved.
- Why did Skol “reject” my goal? It matters to me. Skol does not rate importance — it checks executability. “Important but no date” is a theme, not a target: it lives in the plan as a focus, but does not set its structure. Rephrase it and the weight grows.
- Can I check a non-sports goal? Yes. SMART is universal: “save a six-month expense cushion by December 1” passes the same five lights.
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