25 personal goals to set for yourself, one area of life at a time

Personal goals examples for health and rest

Health goals count what you do, not how you look: steps walked, meals with vegetables, a check-up booked, evenings kept free.

• Walk 8,000 steps on 20 days a month for 3 months.
• Book a check-up with a doctor and a dentist this year, and go to both.
• Eat vegetables at lunch and at dinner on 25 days out of 30.
• Keep one evening a week free of plans for 8 weeks.
• Take one full day a week away from work email for 8 weeks.

Personal money goals to set for yourself

Money goals are amounts with a date. These five are a start, and financial goals has a full list, from short term to long term.

• Put $5 in a jar every day for 100 days: $500 by day 100.
• Sell 10 things you no longer use by the end of next month.
• List every subscription you pay for, and cancel the ones you did not use last month, by Sunday.
• Spend 15 minutes on the 1st of every month going over last month's spending, for a year.
• Have one money talk with your partner or family every month for 6 months.

Personal goals examples for work and for students

A raise or a grade is decided by someone else, so set work and school goals on what you do: hours, questions, tasks finished.

• Do your hardest task first, before email or messages, on 4 days a week for a month.
• Ask one question in every class or meeting for 2 weeks.
• Study for 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week, for the 6 weeks before your exams.
• Arrive on time for every class or shift for a month.
• Write a one page plan for your next year at work or school by the end of this month.

Personal goals for family, friends and relationships

People goals count the time you give, not how others answer. A first trip with friends, or a first dinner you host, could also go on a list of things to do before 30.

• Call one family member every Sunday for 3 months.
• Eat dinner with no phones at the table 3 nights a week for a month.
• Plan one evening out with your partner or a friend each month for a year: 12 in all.
• Send a handwritten birthday card to 10 people this year.
• Meet one new person near home each month for 6 months, at a club, a class or next door.

Personal goals in life: fun, hobbies and growth

Fun goals are firsts and finished things. If you think in pictures, put each one on a vision board with its number under it.

• Try 6 things you have never done this year, one every 2 months.
• Learn to play 3 songs from start to finish on an instrument.
• Finish one puzzle, model or craft kit you started and put away.
• Spend 2 hours a week on a hobby, with your phone in another room, for 3 months.
• Sign up for a 6 week class just for fun, like pottery or dance, and go to all 6.

What is a good personal goal?

A good personal goal has a number and a date, because nobody else will ask about it. A review of 35 years of goal research found that specific, hard goals led to higher performance than being told to do your best. "Do your best" has no line to reach, so almost any result can pass for it. "Be healthier" can't be checked. "8,000 steps on 20 days this month" can, and SMART goals show how to write one.

The same goal works at three lengths. Take learning Spanish. Short term, this month: 15 minutes of practice on 25 days. Medium term, this year: finish a 40 lesson beginner course. Long term, in 3 years: hold a 30 minute talk in Spanish with no app. The short goals are the steps of the long one, and monthly goals give you one for each month.

The same review describes a business game in which people who had near goals on the way to a far one made more profit than people with only the far goal, or with "do your best". So under every long goal, write the goal for this month.

How to track personal goals

Write each step down on the day it happens. A review of 138 studies found that people who monitored their progress reached their goals more often, and the effect was larger when progress was written down or shared with others.

Some personal goals are a day count: 20 walking days a month, 12 Sunday calls. Others are amounts that add up: $500 in a jar, 6 new things tried. Give each goal its own count, so a slow month in one area does not hide a good month in another.

Pick one or two areas at a time, not all five. A grid of dots that fills with every step you log shows how far each one has come.

Frequently asked questions

What are some examples of personal goals?

Walk 8,000 steps on 20 days a month. Put $5 in a jar every day for 100 days. Ask one question in every class or meeting for 2 weeks. Call one family member every Sunday. Try 6 things you have never done this year.

What are short, medium and long term personal goals?

A short term goal fits in a month, a medium term goal in about a year, and a long term goal takes several years. One goal at all three lengths: 15 minutes of Spanish on 25 days this month, a 40 lesson course this year, a 30 minute talk in Spanish in 3 years.

What are good personal goals for work?

Goals about how you work: your hardest task first on 4 days a week, one question in every meeting for 2 weeks, one day a week away from work email. A raise is decided by someone else, so set the goal on the work.