Personal Goals Examples: 50 Goals for Life Outside Work
A personal goal is one you set for yourself, about your own life. Nobody assigns it, nobody reviews it, and nobody notices if you drop it. That is why personal goals are the easiest ones to lose.
Below are 50 personal goals examples in five areas: health and body, mind and learning, relationships, money, and home and daily life. Each has a measure, so that in a month or a year you can say done or not done. After the list, three of them are split into steps.
They are written to be changed. Swap the numbers for ones that fit your life.
What makes a good personal goal
- It is yours. If you chose it because you feel you should, you will stop in the third week. Ask what would be better in your life if it were done.
- It names something you do. "Be happier" is a result. "Spend one evening a week on a hobby" is something you can do on Thursday.
- It has a measure. A number, a date or a clear yes or no.
- It is small enough to start this week. You can always raise it later.
Health and body
| # | Personal goal | How you measure it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walk 30 minutes a day | Days walked each week, target 5 |
| 2 | Do strength training twice a week | Sessions in the month, target 8 |
| 3 | Be in bed by 11pm on work nights | Nights on time each week, target 4 of 5 |
| 4 | Cook dinner at home on weekdays | Home dinners each week, target 4 |
| 5 | Drink water in place of sugary drinks | Days with none, target 6 of 7 |
| 6 | Run 5 km without stopping | Done once, by a date you choose |
| 7 | Have the health check you have put off | Appointment kept |
| 8 | Stretch for 10 minutes each morning | Mornings each week, target 5 |
| 9 | Take a real lunch break away from the screen | Work days each week, target 4 |
| 10 | Have two alcohol-free weeks | 14 days in a row |
Mind and learning
| # | Personal goal | How you measure it |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Read one book a month | 12 books in the year |
| 12 | Learn the basics of a new language | 15 minutes a day, 5 days a week, for 3 months |
| 13 | Write in a journal | Entries each week, target 3 |
| 14 | Finish one online course | Certificate or last lesson done |
| 15 | Learn to cook 10 new dishes | 10 dishes cooked twice each |
| 16 | Spend less time on your phone | Daily screen time under a number you set |
| 17 | Learn an instrument | 20 minutes of practice, 4 days a week |
| 18 | Keep one evening a week for a hobby | Evenings kept in the month, target 4 |
| 19 | Sit quietly for 5 minutes a day | Days each week, target 5 |
| 20 | Learn one practical skill, such as first aid or basic car care | Course or class finished |
Relationships
| # | Personal goal | How you measure it |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | Call your parents or an older relative every week | Calls in the month, target 4 |
| 22 | See one friend in person every fortnight | Meet-ups in the month, target 2 |
| 23 | Have dinner without phones at home | Dinners each week, target 5 |
| 24 | Plan one outing a month with your partner | 12 outings in the year |
| 25 | Remember birthdays | Every card or message sent on the day |
| 26 | Get back in touch with three old friends | Three conversations held |
| 27 | Listen without interrupting | One conversation a day where you only ask questions |
| 28 | Join one club, class or group | Four meetings attended |
| 29 | Say thank you in writing once a week | Messages sent in the month, target 4 |
| 30 | Spend one-to-one time with each child every week | Weeks kept in the month, target 4 |
Money
| # | Personal goal | How you measure it |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | Know where your money goes | Every expense written down for 30 days |
| 32 | Save a first $1,000 | Balance of the savings account |
| 33 | Keep to a monthly budget | Months inside the budget, target 3 in a row |
| 34 | Pay off one credit card | Balance at zero |
| 35 | Cancel what you don't use | Every recurring charge checked, unused ones cancelled |
| 36 | Bring lunch from home | Days each week, target 3 |
| 37 | Wait 48 hours before any purchase over $50 | Purchases that waited, target all |
| 38 | Save for one thing you want and pay for it in full | Bought with no borrowing |
| 39 | Put all your documents in one place | One folder, paper or digital, complete |
| 40 | Give a fixed amount to a cause each month | 12 payments in the year |
Home and daily life
| # | Personal goal | How you measure it |
|---|---|---|
| 41 | Declutter the home one room at a time | Rooms finished, one a month |
| 42 | Keep the kitchen clear each night | Nights each week, target 6 |
| 43 | Get up at the same time every day | Days on time each week, target 6 |
| 44 | Plan the week on Sunday | Sundays in the month, target 4 |
| 45 | Finish the small repairs list | Items left, target zero |
| 46 | Grow something you can eat | One harvest |
| 47 | Take one weekend trip each season | Four trips in the year |
| 48 | Back up your photos and files | Backup done and repeated each month |
| 49 | Make a will or update it | Signed document |
| 50 | Spend one hour a week outdoors with no errand | Weeks kept in the month, target 4 |
Three personal goals split into steps
A measure tells you when you are done. Steps tell you what to do on Monday. Here are three goals from the list with their steps. Put your own dates on them.
Run 5 km without stopping (goal 6), in 9 weeks
- Weeks 1 to 3: Three sessions a week of one minute running and two minutes walking, for 20 minutes
- Weeks 4 to 6: Three sessions a week, running five minutes and walking one, for 25 minutes
- Weeks 7 to 8: Run 20 minutes without stopping, then 25
- Week 9: Run 5 km at any speed
Slow down or repeat a week if it feels too hard, and check with a doctor first if you have a health condition.
Read one book a month (goal 11)
- Day 1: Choose the first three books, so you never finish one without the next ready
- Every day: Read 15 pages, at the same time and in the same place
- Day 20: If you are under halfway, add a second reading slot at the weekend
- Last day of the month: Write three lines about the book and start the next
Save a first $1,000 (goal 32), in 10 months
- Week 1: Open a savings account you don't see in your daily banking
- Week 1: Set a transfer of $100 for the day after payday
- Each month: Check that the transfer went through, and add anything left over
- Month 5: Halfway check at $500. If you are behind, find one cost to cut for the rest of the year
The first and third are goals with an end. The second is closer to a habit: it has no last day. For more of those, see 60 habit tracker ideas.
How many personal goals to set
Three at a time is a good limit, each from a different area. One for your body, one for your mind and one for the people around you will not compete for the same hour.
When one is finished, or has become a routine you no longer think about, add the next. Fifty goals on one list is a catalogue. Three is a plan.
Personal goals by time span
The same goal looks different at different lengths:
- This week: Walk on five days. See weekly goals examples.
- This month: Walk on 20 days and try one longer route. See monthly goals examples.
- This year and beyond: Finish a long-distance walk. See long-term goals examples.
Start with the week. If a week of it goes well, write the month.
Track personal goals in your browser
GoalTracker is built for goals like these. Add each personal goal, add its steps as subgoals with dates, and check them off as you go. The progress bar shows how far along you are, and each day you check something off counts toward your streak. It is free, needs no account, and your goals stay in your browser, which suits goals you would rather keep to yourself.
Prefer paper? The goal tracker template prints one goal with up to eight dated steps on a page.
Related reading
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