Monthly Goals Examples: 36 Ideas You Can Finish in 30 Days
A month is a useful length for a goal. It's long enough to finish something real, and short enough that the deadline is always in sight. A yearly goal lets you put things off until autumn. A monthly goal doesn't.
Below are 36 monthly goals examples in six areas of life. Each one has a finish line you can check, and a first-week step so you know what to do on day one. After the list, three of them are split into weekly milestones, so you can see what a full month's plan looks like.
Don't take all 36. One to three is plenty for a month.
What makes a good monthly goal
A good monthly goal passes three tests:
- It has a finish line. On the last day of the month you can say "done" or "not done". "Save more" has no finish line. "Save $300" does.
- It fits in about four weeks. If the honest estimate is three months, pick the first month's slice: not "write a book" but "write 8,000 words of the draft".
- It depends mostly on you. "Send 5 job applications" is in your hands. "Get a job offer" isn't, so make the applications the goal.
A monthly goal is not the same as a daily habit. A habit repeats with no end: "walk 10 minutes every day". A goal ends: "run 5 km without stopping by the 30th". If what you want is the daily routine, see these 60 habit tracker ideas instead.
Health and fitness
| # | Monthly goal | First-week step |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Run 5 km without stopping by the end of the month | Run and walk 2 km, three times |
| 2 | Walk 10,000 steps on 20 days | Find a 30-minute route near home and walk it 5 times |
| 3 | Finish 12 strength workouts | Pick 3 fixed days a week and do the first 3 |
| 4 | Cook dinner at home 20 times | Plan and shop for 5 dinners |
| 5 | Be in bed by 11pm on 25 nights | Set a 10:30pm alarm and keep it for 6 nights |
| 6 | Book and attend one overdue check-up | Make the call and put the date in your calendar |
Money
| # | Monthly goal | First-week step |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Save $300 | Move $75 to savings the day you get paid |
| 8 | Write down every expense for the whole month | Choose a notebook or spreadsheet and log 7 days |
| 9 | Cancel 3 subscriptions you don't use | List every recurring charge from your last statement |
| 10 | Pay $200 extra off a credit card | Pay the first $50 |
| 11 | Have 8 no-spend days | Mark 2 days this week and buy only essentials on them |
| 12 | Write a budget for next month | Add up last month's spending by category |
Career and work
| # | Monthly goal | First-week step |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Update your CV and send 5 applications | Rewrite the CV and ask one person to read it |
| 14 | Finish a 10-hour online course | Do the first 2.5 hours |
| 15 | Meet 3 people who work in your field | Message 5 people and suggest a date |
| 16 | Finish one portfolio piece | Pick the project and write a one-page outline |
| 17 | Get your inbox under 20 emails | Archive everything older than 3 months |
| 18 | Write the document you've been putting off | Write the headings and one rough paragraph under each |
Learning and creative work
| # | Monthly goal | First-week step |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | Read 2 books | Read the first 150 pages |
| 20 | Write 8,000 words of a draft | Write 2,000 words |
| 21 | Learn 200 words in a new language | Learn 50 and review them twice |
| 22 | Play one full song on an instrument | Learn the first verse at half speed |
| 23 | Publish 4 blog posts or newsletters | Write and publish the first one |
| 24 | Fill 20 pages of a sketchbook | Draw 5 pages, any quality |
Home and life admin
| # | Monthly goal | First-week step |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Declutter 4 rooms, one a week | Do the smallest room first |
| 26 | Sell or donate 30 things | Put the first 10 in a box by the door |
| 27 | Sort and back up a year of photos | Back up everything once, then sort 3 months |
| 28 | Fix 5 small things around the home | List them and fix the easiest one |
| 29 | Plan and book a trip | Agree the dates and the budget |
| 30 | Plan every week's meals this month | Plan week 1 and shop from the list |
Relationships and personal life
| # | Monthly goal | First-week step |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | Have 4 phone-free evenings with your partner or family | Put the first one in the calendar |
| 32 | Catch up with 4 friends you haven't spoken to in months | Message the first and set a date |
| 33 | Host one dinner | Pick the date and invite people |
| 34 | Write 4 long messages or letters to people who matter | Write the first one |
| 35 | Volunteer for 8 hours | Find one organisation and sign up |
| 36 | Try 4 new things, one a week | Choose all 4 and do the first |
Three monthly goals split into weeks
A monthly goal gets much easier once each week has its own milestone. Four milestones is usually enough. Here are three from the list.
Run 5 km without stopping (goal 1)
- Week 1: Run and walk 2 km, three times
- Week 2: Run 3 km with one walking break, three times
- Week 3: Run 4 km without stopping, twice
- Week 4: Two easy runs, then run the full 5 km at the weekend
Save $300 (goal 7)
- Week 1: Move $75 to savings on payday and cancel one subscription
- Week 2: Move $75, and have two no-spend days
- Week 3: Move $75, and bring lunch from home four times
- Week 4: Move the last $75 and check the total
Update your CV and send 5 applications (goal 13)
- Week 1: Rewrite the CV and ask one person to read it
- Week 2: Make a list of 10 openings and send the first application
- Week 3: Send two more applications
- Week 4: Send the last two and note every reply in one place
Notice the shape: week 1 is small and gets you started, weeks 2 and 3 carry most of the work, and week 4 leaves room to finish. If a goal is bigger than a month, the same method works over a longer stretch. How to break down a big goal into subgoals shows it step by step.
How many monthly goals to set
One to three. With one, you'll almost certainly finish it. With three, pick them from different areas, say one for health, one for money and one for work, so they don't compete for the same evenings.
More than three usually means none of them gets enough attention. Keep the rest of your ideas on a list for next month.
Check in weekly, review at the end
A month is too long to plan once and forget. Two short check-ins keep it on track:
- Once a week, 5 minutes. Did this week's milestone happen? If not, what moves to next week? The weekly review page has the questions if you want a fuller version.
- On the last day, 10 minutes. Mark each goal done or not done. For any that isn't done, decide: carry it into next month, shrink it, or drop it. All three are fine. Leaving it undecided is the only bad option.
If you missed a goal, look at week 1. Most missed monthly goals never got a first step in the first week.
Track it on paper or in your browser
The free printable goal tracker template fits a monthly goal well. Type the goal, add why it matters if you like, and list your weekly milestones. The page takes up to eight, each with an optional date. Then print it, or download it as a Markdown checklist. The page doesn't save anything, so print or download before you close the tab.
You can also download a GoalTracker file from the same page. Import it into GoalTracker with the upload icon in the header, and each milestone becomes a subgoal with its date that you check off as you go. GoalTracker is free, needs no account, and keeps your goals in your browser.
Planning further ahead than a month? Personal OKR examples shows how to set an objective with three measurable results for a longer stretch.
Related reading
Prefer paper? Print your tracker
Use the free printable goal tracker template to write down a goal and up to 8 milestones, then print or download it.
Open the printable goal trackerReady to crush your goals?
Track your goals, subgoals and streaks for free, right in your browser.
Start Tracking NowPrefer a worksheet first? Browse all free goal planning tools and templates.