Goal Setting Template
Download a Goal Setting Template for
Microsoft Word
|
Adobe PDF
When to Use This Template: Individuals, managers, or teams can use this goal setting template to clarify their objectives, align resources, and address potential roadblocks upfront. This template works well for project planning, personal development, or any project that includes measurable performance goals.
Notable Template Features: This template is created using the SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound) goals framework. It guides users from goal definition through planning to turn broad goals into actionable, time-bound steps. The template includes sections for identifying and planning around required resources and anticipated obstacles. The final outcome section prompts you to define success metrics to support follow-through.
Goal Setting Plan Template
Download Blank and Sample Versions of a Goal Setting Plan Template for
Excel
| Google Sheets
When to Use This Template: Use this goal setting plan template to manage complex projects with multiple team members and interdependent tasks. Project managers can use this template to assign responsibilities, monitor deadlines, and proactively address challenges for short-term goals.
Notable Template Features: This template organizes each goal into actionable steps. It includes columns to identify potential obstacles and propose solutions for proactive planning. The template also tracks priorities, responsible parties, timelines, and notes to give teams a clear action plan with ongoing accountability.
SMART Goal Setting Template
Download a SMART Goal Setting Template for
Excel
|
Microsoft Word
|
Adobe PDF
When to Use This Template: Use this SMART goals worksheet to develop clear, realistic goals that align with strategic objectives. The SMART framework works well for short- to mid-term goals that are actionable, detailed, and time-bound.
Notable Template Features: This template walks you through the process of creating SMART goals. The template includes guiding questions that help you refine vague ideas into structured, specific statements. Evaluate and fine-tune your goals, including what you want to accomplish and why, how you will measure progress, what is required to achieve the goal, and what you consider a realistic deadline.
For examples, see our step-by-step guide to writing SMART goals, and get expert tips on how different industries and professions can utilize the SMART goal framework.
Employee Goal Setting Template
Download an Employee Goal Setting Template for
Excel
|
Microsoft Word
|
Adobe PDF
When to Use This Template: Use this employee goal setting template during performance review cycles to define, document, and track employee performance or development goals.
Notable Template Features: This template includes a section for describing why the goal matters to ensure that it is strategically aligned with business objectives. The action plan table lists responsibilities, start and end dates, needed resources, and desired outcomes to help managers and employees monitor progress and proactively address obstacles. The template's structure works for a single employee or for crafting team goals.
2025 Goal Setting Template
Download a 2025 Goal Setting Template for
Excel
| Google Sheets
When to Use This Template: Use this annual goal setting template for strategic planning sessions. It’s a great tool to track complex goals across multiple departments, projects, or initiatives over a full year.
Notable Template Features: This template breaks down each goal into detailed action steps and ties them to measurable annual targets, budgets, and quarterly milestones. It also includes columns for start and end metrics, current progress, and strategic priorities to ensure clear accountability and evaluation. The template also includes a 2026 goal setting spreadsheet to support multiyear planning.
Business Goal Setting Template
Download the Business Goal Setting Template for Excel
When to Use This Template: Use this business goal setting template to align long-term strategic planning with actionable short-term objectives. It’s a great tool for annual or quarterly planning cycles or for launching major initiatives that require a clear breakdown of strategies across time frames.
Notable Template Features: This template organizes business objectives into three tiers – long-term, mid-term, and short-term – for a clear visual map of how each task contributes to broader company goals. It includes columns for timelines and deadlines to track progress. The layout helps avoid goal silos and ensures that each objective supports the strategic direction of the business.
For more resources, see our in-depth guide to setting business goals for different time frames.
Staff Goal Setting Template
Download a Staff Goal Setting Template for
Excel
| Google Sheets
When to Use This Template: Managers and team leads can use this staff goal setting template to assign, monitor, and evaluate goals for multiple employees. This template can support performance and development management, or guide teams toward achieving shared objectives.
Notable Template Features: This template includes columns to list employee name, goal focus, target dates, KPIs, and progress percentages for a side-by-side snapshot of where each team member stands. Managers can track status updates and final outcomes, as well as use the Comments column to note coaching feedback or performance highlights.
Project Goals and Objectives Template
Download a Project Goals and Objectives Template for
Excel
|
Microsoft Word
|
Adobe PDF
When to Use This Template: Use this project goals and objectives template during the planning or proposal stage of a project to establish a SMART-aligned roadmap for your team. Create clear objectives with measurable outcomes, and connect those objectives to broader organizational goals.
Notable Template Features: This template blends high-level goal-setting with detailed objective planning using SMART criteria. It includes separate sections to break a primary goal into individual, assessable objectives. The structure encourages critical thinking about feasibility, alignment, and timelines.
Learn how to write effective project goals with 32 examples and expert guidance.
Goal Tracker Template
Download a Goal Tracker Template for
Excel
| Google Sheets
When to Use This Template: Use this goal tracker template to manage personal or business goals across multiple time frames. This template works well for professionals, entrepreneurs, or individuals who want a single-page dashboard to organize and monitor goals.
Notable Template Features: This template groups goals into categories and highlights priorities to help you focus on what matters most. Visual progress charts and goal deadlines aid in both long-term vision and short-term action. Each section covers a different time period – weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly – for an overview of goal achievement and upcoming tasks.
Student Goal Tracking Template
Download a Student Goal Tracking Template for
Excel
|
Microsoft Word
|
Adobe PDF
When to Use This Template: Teachers can use this student goal tracking template at the beginning of the school year and during progress check-ins to set and monitor individualized academic growth goals.
Notable Template Features: This template organizes student goals into growth and content areas, with sections for tracking Rasch Unit (RIT) scores — a common measurement for academic performance — for different subjects. The template includes space to note fall and spring targets, goal areas, and actual growth calculations to help teachers identify progress and instructional needs.
Daily Goal Tracking Template
Download a Daily Goal Tracking Template for
Excel
|
Microsoft Word
|
Adobe PDF
| Google Sheets
When to Use This Template: Use this goal tracking template to boost productivity, reinforce accountability, and keep important priorities front and center throughout the day. This template can help students, professionals, or personal users to break down large goals into manageable daily tasks.
Notable Template Features: This template features a straightforward layout with columns to list daily goals, task schedules, completion checkboxes, and notes. The clean design makes it easy to quickly make and scan for updates, while the checkbox system encourages consistent tracking. You can also customize the template for both personal habits and work-related deliverables.
Weekly Goal Setting and Assessment Template
Download a Weekly Goal Setting and Assessment Template for
Excel
|
Microsoft Word
|
Adobe PDF
When to Use This Template: Whether you're managing personal habits, professional tasks, or academic work, use this tool to stay on track while learning from past weekly outcomes. The template combines planning element and performance review for a structured, reflective approach to weekly planning.
Notable Template Features: This printable worksheet allows you to highlight priority and status as you organize goals. The template also guides you through a weekly self-assessment to identify obstacles, evaluate success, and plan strategies for overcoming challenges.
Monthly Goal Tracking Template
Download a Monthly Goal Tracking Template for
Excel
| Google Sheets
When to Use This Template: Use this monthly goal tracking template to monitor weekly tasks while maintaining visibility into your broader monthly progress. This template works well for situations that require tracking detailed weekly actions alongside monthly outcomes, such as managing performance reviews, personal development, or recurring responsibilities.
Notable Template Features: This template tracks weekly tasks across each day of the week and includes a monthly summary section. Outline overall monthly goals, record status, highlight key wins, document challenges, and map out a focused action plan for the following month. This blend of weekly accountability and monthly reflection makes the template ideal for aligning day-to-day activities to longer-term goals.
Personal Goal Setting Template
Download a Personal Goal Setting Template for
Excel
|
Microsoft Word
|
Adobe PDF
When to Use This Template: Use this personal goal setting template for a comprehensive, long-term approach to goal planning. The template suits individual use for personal development, and it works well for coaching and mentorship conversations.
Notable Template Features: This template organizes goals into short- and longer-term time periods and by category, such as personal, professional, and financial. Each entry includes a corresponding action step section to convert reflection into meaningful progress. The clear layout and printable format make it easy to use on paper or digitally, whether for tracking, revisiting, or sharing your goals.
Financial Goal Setting Template
Download a Financial Goal Setting Template for
Excel
|
Microsoft Word
|
Adobe PDF
When to Use This Template: Use this financial goal setting template to plan savings goals, pay off debt, or prepare for major investments. This worksheet helps clarify goals, surface obstacles, and create an actionable roadmap for financial progress.
Notable Template Features: This template provides rows to list multiple goals, and columns for goal name, target amount, and timeline. The template prompts users to identify roadblocks and outline concrete actions. The side-by-side format can help you spot patterns and build financial discipline over time.
Career Goal Setting Template
Download a Career Goal Setting Template for
Excel
|
Microsoft Word
|
Adobe PDF
When to Use This Template: Use this career goals template during performance reviews, career planning sessions, or discussions with a mentor or coach to define a clear career path. This template is for professionals at any stage, whether you're starting out, navigating a career transition, or advancing toward a leadership role.
Notable Template Features: This template includes space to clarify your primary career interest, then prompts you to break down both long- and short-term professional goals. It includes prompts to identify productive and unproductive tasks, outline required skills or experience, and specify actionable steps to reach each goal. It also includes a section for tracking progress checkpoints to ensure that your career development stays intentional and measurable.
Related Goal Planning and Tracking Templates
In this section, you’ll find additional tools to help organize your efforts, track progress, and keep teams focused, all with the ultimate intent of achieving your goals. Find project charters, status reports, strategic plans, and other templates to support broader alignment and execution:
- Use OKR templates to define objectives for your organization and establish measurable
outcomes. Get a detailed breakdown of the difference between goals and objectives with templates and examples in our comprehensive guide. - Use templates for marketing goals and objectives during campaign planning or quarterly reviews to align your strategy and track progress.
- These business plan templates are geared toward small business owners or entrepreneurs planning high-level strategies and measurable benchmarks. Find more information on crafting small business goals – including financial, operational, marketing, and sales goals – in our practical guide.
- Download a project charter template to create a thorough overview of project goals, scope, stakeholders, timelines, and anticipated benefits.
- Use a team charter template at the beginning of a collaborative project to align team members on roles, responsibilities, goals, communication norms, and decision-making processes.
- Manage daily tasks or break down larger goals with to-do list templates.
- Explore strategic planning templates to define long-term goals, align organizational priorities, and map out the steps needed to achieve sustainable growth and competitive advantage.
- Choose a weekly status report template to provide stakeholders with concise, structured updates on project progress, milestones, risks, and upcoming work.
Tips for Setting and Reaching Attainable Goals
Top tips for reaching your goals include identifying the most important goal first, breaking down big goals into actionable steps, keeping goals visible and top of mind, and holding team members accountable as a form of motivation.
Below, we go into more detail about these and other top tips:
- Start Small and Build on Success: Whether you’re aiming to retire by a certain age, lose 50 pounds, or grow business profits over a five-year period, create a plan that starts with steps you can take now. Add benchmarks down the road so that you have clear short-term steps to reach your ultimate goal. Doing so provides a manageable ladder for you to climb and gives you ongoing gratification as you reach each objective leading to the end goal.
- Focus on the Most Important Goal: Managing the goals of a complex organization, long-term project, or even an individual life can feel overwhelming. In any situation, identify the most important goal — this helps you create an effective plan of action and prioritize other goals.
- Consider Both Lead and Lag Measures: Measuring key indicators is vital to tracking the progress and effectiveness of business endeavors. Both leading and lagging indicators are important for measuring success, though they serve different purposes. Leading indicators are proactive; they predict and drive performance and can influence future outcomes. Lagging indicators are reactive; they reflect the results of past actions and provide measurable evidence of progress or completion. Lagging indicators help evaluate whether you achieved a goal, but effective goal setting should also emphasize leading indicators that can influence and improve those outcomes in real time.
- Keep Goals in a Visible Place: This is a simple tip that can go a long way toward maintaining focus and tracking progress. Keep files easily accessible, so updates are shared among stakeholders. Or you could simply post a printed sheet in your home office as a reminder of high-priority tasks or long-term goals that you are working toward.
- Use Accountability as a Form of Motivation: Goals for work projects might have accountability built in with deadlines and performance reviews. But when undertaking personal goals, it might help to choose an accountability partner or let friends and family know what goal you’ve set for yourself.
Improve Goal Tracking and Setting With Real-Time Work Management in Smartsheet
Empower your people to go above and beyond with a flexible platform designed to match the needs of your team — and adapt as those needs change.
The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed.
When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time. Try Smartsheet for free, today.