Short-Term Goals Examples: 45 Goals for the Next 3 Months
A short-term goal is one you can finish soon. There is no fixed rule for how soon. Some people use the phrase for anything inside a year. This post uses a tighter meaning, because it is more useful for planning: a short-term goal is one you can finish within about three months.
Below are 45 short-term goals examples in five areas. Each area has three goals you can finish in a week, three for a month and three for three months. After the list, three long-term goals are cut into short-term ones, so you can see how the two kinds fit together.
What makes a good short-term goal
- It has a date. "By 30 November" is a date. "Soon" is not.
- It has a finish line. On that date you can say done or not done. "Save $500" has a finish line. "Be better with money" doesn't.
- It depends mostly on you. "Apply for 10 jobs" is in your hands. "Get hired" is not, so the applications are the goal.
- It leads somewhere. The best short-term goals are a step towards something you want in a year or five.
If you have a vague goal and want it in this shape, the SMART goal generator rewrites it with a measure and a date.
Short-term vs long-term goals
| Aspect | Short-term goal | Long-term goal |
|---|---|---|
| Length | A week to about three months | A year or more |
| Finish line | A number, a date or a finished thing | Often a change in your life |
| Example | Save $500 by the end of next month | Buy a home |
| How you plan it | Weeks and days | Short-term goals, one after another |
| What goes wrong | Too many at once | No next step, so nothing happens |
You need both. A long-term goal gives a short-term goal its reason. A short-term goal gives a long-term goal its next step. For 40 goals of the larger kind, each with a time span, see long-term goals examples.
Career and work
| # | Short-term goal | Finish within |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Update your CV and your online profile | 1 week |
| 2 | Ask your manager what a good next six months looks like | 1 week |
| 3 | Clear the three oldest tasks on your list | 1 week |
| 4 | Send 10 job applications | 1 month |
| 5 | Finish a 10-hour online course | 1 month |
| 6 | Meet 3 people who do the job you want | 1 month |
| 7 | Finish a certificate or pass one exam | 3 months |
| 8 | Build and publish one portfolio project | 3 months |
| 9 | Lead one project from start to finish | 3 months |
For goals to put in a review form, each with a measure, see work goals examples.
Money
| # | Short-term goal | Finish within |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Write down every expense for 7 days | 1 week |
| 11 | Cancel the subscriptions you don't use | 1 week |
| 12 | Set up an automatic transfer to savings | 1 week |
| 13 | Save $500 | 1 month |
| 14 | Follow a written budget for a full month | 1 month |
| 15 | Pay $300 extra off a card or loan | 1 month |
| 16 | Save one month of living costs | 3 months |
| 17 | Pay off one small debt completely | 3 months |
| 18 | Earn your first $200 from a side job | 3 months |
Health and fitness
| # | Short-term goal | Finish within |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | Do 3 workouts | 1 week |
| 20 | Cook dinner at home 5 times | 1 week |
| 21 | Book the check-up you have been putting off | 1 week |
| 22 | Walk 8,000 steps on 20 days | 1 month |
| 23 | Be in bed by 11pm on 25 nights | 1 month |
| 24 | Finish 12 strength workouts | 1 month |
| 25 | Run 5 km without stopping | 3 months |
| 26 | Do 10 push-ups in a row, starting from none | 3 months |
| 27 | Finish a 12-week training plan | 3 months |
Learning and skills
| # | Short-term goal | Finish within |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | Read 100 pages of one book | 1 week |
| 29 | Finish the first module of a course | 1 week |
| 30 | Learn 50 words in a new language | 1 week |
| 31 | Read 2 books | 1 month |
| 32 | Write 8,000 words of a draft | 1 month |
| 33 | Play one full song on an instrument | 1 month |
| 34 | Hold a 10-minute conversation in a new language | 3 months |
| 35 | Finish a first draft of a long piece of writing | 3 months |
| 36 | Build and share one working project with a new skill | 3 months |
Personal life and home
| # | Short-term goal | Finish within |
|---|---|---|
| 37 | Declutter one room | 1 week |
| 38 | Call 3 people you haven't spoken to in months | 1 week |
| 39 | Clear the pile of paperwork | 1 week |
| 40 | Have 4 phone-free evenings with family or your partner | 1 month |
| 41 | Sell or give away 30 things | 1 month |
| 42 | Plan and book a trip | 1 month |
| 43 | Finish one home project, such as painting a room | 3 months |
| 44 | Volunteer for 20 hours | 3 months |
| 45 | Sort and back up every photo you have | 3 months |
For more goals of this kind, see 50 personal goals examples.
Three long-term goals cut into short-term goals
A long-term goal is hard to act on because nothing about it is due this week. Cutting it into short-term goals fixes that. Only the first one needs a full plan. The later ones can stay rough until you reach them.
Long-term goal: change to a job in data analysis within 18 months
- This week: Meet one person who does the job and ask what they use every day
- This month: Finish a 10-hour beginner course in spreadsheets or SQL
- Next three months: Build one project with real data and publish it
- After that: A second project, then applications
Long-term goal: save a deposit of $20,000 in four years
- This week: Set up an automatic transfer on payday
- This month: Follow a written budget and save the first $400
- Next three months: Reach $1,250 and cancel or lower two regular bills
- After that: Repeat the quarter, and raise the transfer when your pay goes up
Long-term goal: run a half marathon next year
- This week: Run and walk 2 km, three times
- This month: Run 3 km without stopping
- Next three months: Run 5 km without stopping
- After that: A 10 km plan, then the half marathon plan
Each short-term goal here is one of the 45 above, or close to one. That is the point: a short-term goal is rarely new. It is the next piece of something you already want. How to break down a big goal into subgoals shows the method step by step.
How many short-term goals at once
Three is a good limit: one for the week, one for the month and one for the three months, or three from different parts of life. More than that and they start to take time from each other.
Keep the other ideas on a list. When one goal is done, the next comes off the list. A list of 45 is a menu, not a plan.
Plan and check them
A short-term goal needs two things written down: the date, and the first step. Then check it on a fixed day.
- One-week goals: plan on Sunday, check on Friday. Weekly goals examples has 40 with a day-one step each.
- One-month goals: give each week a milestone. Monthly goals examples has 36 with a first-week step.
- Three-month goals: give each month a milestone and each week a step. The quarterly goal planner lays out 90 days with monthly milestones.
The weekly review page is a short check-in you can use for all three: what moved, what didn't, what comes next.
Track them in your browser
In GoalTracker, a long-term goal and its short-term goals fit in one card. Add the long-term goal as the goal. Add each short-term goal as a subgoal with its date. Under a subgoal, add this week's steps as microgoals. As you check things off, the progress bar shows how far along the whole goal is.
It is free, needs no account, and keeps your goals in your browser. If you prefer paper, the goal tracker template prints one goal with up to eight dated steps.
Related reading
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