How to Set Creative Travel Goals
Learn how to set creative travel goals that help you achieve success and get more out of your vacations and creative retreats.
The history of mankind can be defined by travel. At first, for the purpose of survival, and nowadays, there are hundreds of reasons, most based on the benefits of improved well-being. As travel continues to change and grow, so do our goals. With the growing importance of creativity and learning, travel motivations are changing again and being seen as another new opportunity to grow. Whatever your reason may be, having travel goals can elevate your experience.
What Are SMART Creative Goals?
SMART is a mnemonic acronym, giving criteria to guide in the setting of goals and focus efforts to increase the odds of success. It’s popular in project management and performance management, but also in personal development.
- Specific – Focus on a well-defined, clear, and definite area for improvement.
- Measurable – Quantify or at least suggest an indicator of the progress that is both meaningful and motivating.
- Achievable – Given the resources available, determine if the goal is realistic and attainable.
- Relevant – Being mindful and self-aware, establish if the results will be significant and worthwhile to a greater purpose relevant to your efforts and needs.
- Time-related – Specify a fixed duration when the result(s) can be achieved.
How to Set S.M.A.R.T Creative Goals
S - Specific Questions
When setting creative travel goals, you want to be as specific as possible about what you want to accomplish. Think of this as the mission statement to guide your creative travel experience.
Questions
- What – What exactly do you want to accomplish by the end of the trip?
- Why – Why is this goal important? What are the reasons, purpose, or benefits of accomplishing the objective?
- Who – Who needs to be involved to achieve the creative goal? (this is especially important when you’re collaborating with someone).
- Where – Where do you want to travel to accomplish the objective? Are there any locations, experiences, or relevant events that match elements of the creative project?
- Which – Which characteristics are important to the project? Are there any related obstacles, requirements, or constraints that can be beneficial to deciding if your goal is realistic?
Example
Imagine yourself as an aspiring writer with no time to write due to the demands of your day job, but you have an idea itching to be released. A specific goal could be, “I want to use my next vacation for a writing retreat to work on my idea in an environment that helps me focus and stay relaxed.”
M - Measurable
Is your creative goal measurable? With any goal, it’s essential to make them measurable so that you can track your progress and stay motivated. Evaluating progress and choosing milestones helps with focus as well as determining the final results. Because travel is time-bound and a project may have needs that exceed this, it’s meaningful to measure milestones and understand the constraints of the process.
Questions
- How do you know when you’ve achieved your goal?
- What indicators will you look for to measure progress and success? (i.e., word count)
- How will you collect and measure your progress? (Measurement methods can be both quantitative (productivity results, time, apps, worksheets, etc.) and qualitative (mood, surveys, etc.))
Example
For writers measuring word count can be helpful as well as motivating. A writer can even pair this method of tracking with mood to find optimal states for writing. For example, a writer may find they’re in a better mood in the morning, which helps them write more.
A - Achievable
Is your objective Achievable? Given the resources available to you, make sure you can realistically accomplish your goal within the creative travel timeframe. Your focus should be on what you can do to make your goal attainable.
Questions
- Do you have enough time to achieve your creative goal?
- Do you have the financial capacity to achieve your creative goal?
- Do you have the tools and skills needed to achieve your creative goal?
- What resources do you need to attain your objectives (i.e., tools, technology, space, equipment, etc.)?
- Does the travel destination have activities related to the creative project?
Example
Imagine being a screenwriter that wants to write a film script over a 1-week vacation. The first thing to know is the average screenplay is roughly 115 pages long. That means you need to write at least 16 pages per day, as well as have the prep work already completed. This includes; outlines, character development, etc. Breaking up the work and understanding your capabilities will help guide the goal-setting to know what can be achieved and how to focus the work.
R - Relevant
Is your creative goal result-oriented and worthwhile? Your creative travel goals should help you achieve your overall creative goal(s).
Questions
- Why is this goal significant?
- Why do you want to reach this goal? What is the objective behind the goal, and will this goal really achieve that?
- Is it worthwhile?
- Is this the right time?
- Does this align with other efforts/needs?
- Is it applicable in the current socio-economic environment?
Example
Considering your overall creative goals, how do the travel goals help in the big picture? For example, maybe a writer wants to use a vacation to brainstorm and research for a project. What kind of planning, location, or activities will help the creative process the most, so the writer has the resources afterward to enter the next phase?
T - Time-bound
Are your goals time-bound? Creative goals should have starting points, ending points, and fixed durations. Not only do constraints help creativity but making goals time-bound boosts creativity and motivates movement through the creative process.
Questions
- When will you achieve this goal? What is the timeframe?
- When will you undertake activities to achieve the goal?
- When can you expect to see some short-term outcomes?
- How can this goal lead to the next project and goals?
- What can I do six weeks from now?
- What can I do today?
Example
Continuing on the example given for achievable, you’ve finished your prep-wor. You’ve outlined your story. You’ve developed your characters, and the only thing left is to write it. Now break up the work into a manageable timeframe and establish how long the vacation needs to be to finish the first draft. Or consider breaking up the work into separate trips, for example, weekend trips.
Creative Travel Goal Examples
Creative Goal: I Want to Finish the 1st Draft of My Script
Specific
I have my story outlined, characters profiled, and I’m ready to write, but I don’t have enough time to focus on it because of work. I would love to write the first draft of my screenplay in two weeks, so I can get to the next phase of editing and eventually selling it.
Measurable
With the average length of a screenplay around 115 pages, I plan on writing at least 16 pages a day. I will be tracking words per day, pages per day, as well as matching my mood and thoughts in a writing journal to measure my well-being, so I know when to take breaks for wellness.
Achievable
I have all the tools and prep-work needed to start writing. As long as I focus on hitting my daily pages goal and separate editing for another time, I should be able to finish. I’ve picked a relaxing travel destination free of distractions, as well as activities that pair with my characters to get further into their mindset.
Relevant
I love writing, and I’ve always wanted to write my movie. Even just completing the first draft will help so much with my confidence as a writer.
Time-Bound
To finish the first draft, I’ve split up each day on the trip to work in the morning and at night to write eight pages in each section. During the day, I will do travel activities and relax unless I feel like writing during downtime.
SMART Travel Goal
Description:
- At the end of a 7-day vacation, I will finish the first draft of my film screenplay by having the prep-work completed before the trip and writing 16 pages per day.
Milestone:
- 15 pages – Inciting Incident
- 30 Pages – End of ACT 1
- 60 Pages – Middle
- 90 Pages – End of Act 2
- 105 Page – Climax
- 115 Pages – Finished
Deadline:
- 115 pages in 7 Days
Creative Goal: I Want to Overcome My Creative Blockt
Specific
I haven’t been able to create anything new for a while. Stress from daily life and anxiety is all I can think about. I want to be creative, I need to be creative, but I can’t find the motivation or an idea to inspire me. I need to overcome my creative block, so I can express myself and be happier. Whenever I work on a creative project, I feel better. I want that feeling back. I know I need to relax and calm the chatter in my head, so I can focus more on creativity, and I see travel as a good way to step away from the distractions of daily life and be creative again.
Measurable
I’ll track my progress by measuring my mood in comparison to travel and wellness activities, time-bound creative prompts, and tracking idea brainstorming. I hope to see an increase in ideas and improvement of creative prompts as improved well-being.
Achievable
I know I can be creative, based on past experience. I just need time to relax and focus. To overcome my creative blocks, I will separate my time between; relaxation, wellness activities, creative prompts, and idea brainstorming.
Relevant
I love being creative and know I can be, but stress has taken up all my time and energy, making it hard to focus.
Time-Bound
My trip will be for seven days. By the end of the trip, I hope to have several ideas, but more importantly, I hope to feel relaxed, focused, and improved well-being.
SMART Travel Goal
Description:
- At the end of a 7-day wellness vacation, I will feel renewed and creative with plenty of ideas by splitting up my trip into wellness activities, creative prompts, and idea brainstorming in a relaxed and open environment.
Milestone:
- 10 ideas per day
- 14 creative prompts (2 per day) – Writing, drawing, photography, etc
- Daily journaling and mood tracking to dive deeper into stress and anxiety that’s causing creative problems
Deadline:
- 7 days = 70 ideas / 14 creative prompts / daily insights for lasting habit building
Zach is an international writer, photographer, filmmaker, martial artist, and creator of Creative Enso, the Zen art of creative living. His goal is to empower and inspire creatives to live healthier, happier, and more creative lifestyles.
