SMART goals in Language Learning?

SMART goals are all the rage these days. Nevertheless, I'd be wary when it comes to applying them to language learning.

My main reservation with SMART goals is that they carry an unpleasant taint. The put me in the mindset of having tricked myself into doing something disagreeable. They remove the magic of forming a relationship with a language.  They place language into a context of work. In short, they place languages in an environment  similar to school.

Yes, you could do it. You could set yourself rules of numbers of hours, lines of text, numbers of words, levels, grades, exams to pass to progress to the next stage.

But I think that I'd rather use enjoyment as my yardstick. If I can enjoy what I do with the languages that I have an interest in then that's good enough for me. The progress will come all by itself.

Finally, there's the danger that your SMART goal is too a SAFE a goal. 

As Michelangelo said:

The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.