31 Days of {functional} Printables – Goal Setting Planner

For those that have worked with me, you know I’m a bit of a Goal Planning Nazi.  I mean, I coach people on how to reach their goals.  (Interested in that?  Contact me!)

I originally made this goal planning set for the members of my Simplify Money group (read more about that here), but the same basic Goal Planning theories apply to every area of our lives.  Whether you’re trying to pay off debt, lose 20 lbs, declutter your garage, start a business, yell less or love more…you’re going to follow the same pattern to achieve those goals.

This three page set walks you through the process of picking your goals and establishing action steps to achieve them.

In the top section, you brainstorm all of the things you want to do.  No things you “should” do…should means you’re not doing it for you and no matter what you do, you probably won’t complete that goal.  Don’t waste your time on “should.”

Once you’ve run out if ideas or space, see which two jump out as you as the most important goals RIGHT NOW.  Sure, being debt free is an important goal, but right now, paying that $600 vet bill might be more important.  Pick what’s most relevant to your life right this second.

Once you’ve narrowed it down to your focus goals, you need to figure out what steps you need to take to reach those goals.  For each one, brainstorm all the possible steps that will get you to the finish line.  Don’t worry about putting them in order, just write it all down.

The next two pages look like this.  There’s a page for Goal 1 and a page for Goal 2. This is where you’ll track your action steps each week.  You’ll need a new sheet each month.

Each week you’ll pick two action steps for each goal.  Do NOT fill out the next week until you’ve completed the actions steps in the current week.  You’ll only be setting yourself up for failure.  Finish the two, note how those went and anything you need to know about future steps toward this goal.  Then move to the next week and right down the next two steps that make sense from what you wrote on the first page.  As you progress, you’ll likely find you need to add other steps than what you originally wrote or do them in a different order than you first thought.

I’m thinking I’ll have to come back and add to this set later, but it’s a great framework for brainstorming and working through you goals.  I use this method in everything I do and it’s helped me stay focused and I complete way more of my goals than I used to!

Don’t forget to come back for the next 30 Days of {functional} Printables!  (Or even better, subscribe so you don’t miss out!)

Also, be sure to join our Printable Addicts group on Facebook and our Instagram challenge to win a beautiful ARC bound planner at the end of the month!