Simple but Effective
Goal Setting Worksheets

What is the point of having goal setting worksheets? Here are my top 5 reasons:

• Clarity on what is important - This one is obvious, but most people I talk to have a vague idea what they want. This tool enables you to know your exact target.
• Keeping you focused - When you have your goals in front of you, you are more likely to avoid distractions and stay the course.
• Maintain Organization - Have a system to help move you towards your goals and not be in a chaotic mess.
• Feedback loop - a good tracking system gives you an indication of where you are now and where you want to go.
• Better decisions - when you are clear on what's important and you are tracking how far you are going, you are likely to make better decisions based on this information.

I've experimented with a number of different 'systems', digital, paper, and hybrids. I've applied strategies from The Power of Full Engagement, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Getting Things Done, and more. What worked best for me is to keep my goal setting worksheet simple and visible.

So ultimately, I have just two sheets. The first I update at least once a week, that acts like a scoreboard. It's my personal feedback loop that tells me how far I am from a certain goal. There are 5 columns: name of goal, target number, current number, and goal date, and how distance to goal.

Every week I will update the goal's "current number" column, which will update the distance to goal. I tells me how far I am from my goal. I'm a strong believer in what gets measured gets managed. If you don't have a way to measure it, then figure a way to make it work by using percentages.

You can download this Goal Scorecard template in the following formats:
Google Docs - Sheet
PDF (pencil only)

The other goal setting worksheet I use as a yearly or 6 month checklist. It's something I keep visible on a daily basis and cross off goals as they get completed`. I divide them into 2 sections: Primary and Secondary goals. I limit the number of primary goals to 3 or so, they are the big ones I want to accomplish for the year. I probably have about 5-10 secondary goals.

You can download the Goals Checklist template in the following formats:
Google Docs - Sheet
PDF

When setting your goals I like to have 2-3 primary goals and up to 12 secondary goals. The numbers are arbitrary, but my primary goals usually require a lot more time and energy. One primary goal is usually more important than all the secondary goals combined. At the end of the week, when I update the "current number" column on the goal setting worksheet, I want to be sure that I am constantly moving towards my primary goals.

In addition I have my purpose or mission statement and list of projects associated to the goals. My goals, come from my purpose and my projects come from my goals. If your projects require a lot of attention to detail, consider use a task management system.

There are numerous worksheets out there. The biggest problems with goals is that they are too complex and don't provide an easy way to track progress. So, the system I use works and keeps me on focused on the most important things.

So, dare to dream big, but chunk it down to manageable steps that you can do daily.

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