Weekly Goals Examples: 40 Goals You Can Finish in 7 Days
A week is the shortest stretch in which you can finish something that matters. A day is over before a plan can go wrong and be put right. A month leaves room to put things off. A week has one weekend, five working days and a clear end.
Below are 40 weekly goals examples in five areas. Each one has a finish line you can check on Sunday, and a day-one step so the week starts on Monday and not on Thursday. After the list, three of them are split across the seven days.
Pick one to three. Nobody needs 40 goals in a week.
What makes a good weekly goal
A good weekly goal passes three tests:
- You can check it on Sunday. "Get fitter" can't be checked. "Do 3 workouts" can.
- It fits in the hours you really have. Count the free evenings before you choose. A goal that needs ten hours doesn't fit in a week with two free evenings.
- It is more than one task. "Call the dentist" is a to-do. "Clear the five calls and forms I've been avoiding" is a weekly goal, because it needs a few sittings.
A weekly goal is also not a habit. A habit repeats with no end, like ten minutes of reading every day. A weekly goal ends on Sunday. If you want the daily routine, see these 60 habit tracker ideas.
Work and career
| # | Weekly goal | Day-one step |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finish the report or slide deck that is due next week | Write the headings and the one-line point of each section |
| 2 | Get your inbox under 20 emails | Archive everything older than a month |
| 3 | Send 3 job applications | Pick the 3 openings and save the links |
| 4 | Update your CV | List what you did in the last 12 months, unedited |
| 5 | Have the conversation you have been postponing | Ask for a 20-minute slot |
| 6 | Finish the oldest task on your list | Work on it for 30 minutes before opening email |
| 7 | Write down how to do one job only you know how to do | Record yourself doing it once |
| 8 | Block 4 two-hour sessions for deep work and keep them | Put all 4 in the calendar |
Health and fitness
| # | Weekly goal | Day-one step |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Do 3 workouts | Choose the 3 days and do the first one |
| 10 | Walk 8,000 steps on 5 days | Walk for 30 minutes at lunch |
| 11 | Cook dinner at home 5 times | Plan the 5 dinners and shop for them |
| 12 | Be in bed by 11pm on 5 nights | Set an alarm for 10:30pm |
| 13 | Drink water with every meal for 7 days | Put a glass on the table at breakfast |
| 14 | Run or walk 15 km in total | Do the first 3 km |
| 15 | Stretch for 10 minutes on 5 days | Pick one routine and do it tonight |
| 16 | Book the appointment you keep putting off | Make the call before noon |
Money
| # | Weekly goal | Day-one step |
|---|---|---|
| 17 | Write down every expense for 7 days | Start a note on your phone and log today |
| 18 | Have 3 no-spend days | Mark the 3 days in your calendar |
| 19 | Cancel 2 subscriptions you don't use | List every recurring charge on your last statement |
| 20 | Move $50 to savings | Set up the transfer today |
| 21 | Bring lunch from home 4 times | Cook double at dinner tonight |
| 22 | Sell 3 things you no longer use | Photograph them and write the listings |
| 23 | Check every bill for one you can lower | Collect the bills in one folder |
| 24 | Write a budget for next month | Add up last month's spending by category |
Learning and creative work
| # | Weekly goal | Day-one step |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Read 100 pages of one book | Read the first 15 pages |
| 26 | Finish one module of an online course | Watch the first lesson and take notes |
| 27 | Learn 50 words in a new language | Learn 10 and say them out loud |
| 28 | Write 2,000 words of a draft | Write 300 words, any quality |
| 29 | Practise an instrument for 20 minutes on 5 days | Choose the piece and play the first line slowly |
| 30 | Publish one post, video or newsletter | Write the outline |
| 31 | Fill 7 pages of a sketchbook | Draw one page tonight |
| 32 | Build one small thing with a skill you are learning | Decide what it is and write three steps |
Home and relationships
| # | Weekly goal | Day-one step |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | Declutter one room | Fill one bag in 15 minutes |
| 34 | Clear the pile of post and paperwork | Sort it into act, file and throw away |
| 35 | Fix 3 small things around the home | List them and fix the easiest |
| 36 | Plan and shop for a week of meals | Write the 7 dinners |
| 37 | Have 2 phone-free evenings with family or your partner | Agree which evenings |
| 38 | Call 3 people you haven't spoken to in months | Message the first to set a time |
| 39 | Write the thank-you or sorry message you owe | Write a rough version without sending |
| 40 | Back up your photos and files | Start the backup and let it run overnight |
Three weekly goals split across the days
A weekly goal is easier to keep when each day has its own small step. You don't need all seven days. Four or five working days and one spare is a good shape.
Finish the report that is due next week (goal 1)
- Monday: Write the headings and the one-line point of each section
- Tuesday: Draft the two hardest sections
- Wednesday: Draft the rest
- Thursday: Add the numbers, charts and sources
- Friday: Read it once out loud, fix it and send it for comments
- Weekend: Spare, in case one day was lost
Do 3 workouts (goal 9)
- Monday: First workout, kept short on purpose
- Wednesday: Second workout
- Friday or Saturday: Third workout
- Sunday: Decide next week's 3 days
Write down every expense for 7 days (goal 17)
- Monday: Start the note and log everything you spend today
- Tuesday to Saturday: Log each expense when it happens, and check the note before bed
- Sunday: Add up the week by category and circle the one number that surprised you
Notice that Monday is small in all three. The first day's job is to start. If a goal turns out to be bigger than a week, make this week's goal the first slice and plan the rest as a month. Monthly goals examples shows 36 of those with weekly milestones.
How many weekly goals to set
One to three. One is right for a busy week. Three works when they come from different parts of life, for example one for work, one for health and one for home, so they don't compete for the same evening.
If you keep ending weeks with unfinished goals, set fewer, not smaller. One finished goal tells you more about your week than four half-done ones.
Plan on Sunday, check on Friday
Two short sittings hold a weekly goal together:
- Sunday or Monday morning, 10 minutes. Choose the goals, write the day-one step for each and put the steps in your calendar. The daily planner template has a slot for three priorities a day if you want to place each step.
- Friday, 5 minutes. Mark each goal done, nearly done or not started. Use the weekend for "nearly done". For "not started", decide now: carry it over, shrink it or drop it.
For a fuller look back at the week, the weekly review page asks what moved, what didn't and what comes next.
Where weekly goals come from
The best weekly goals are not invented on Sunday night. They are the next step of something larger. If you have a goal for the year or the quarter, this week's goal is the next piece of it that fits in seven days. How to break down a big goal into subgoals shows how to cut a large goal into pieces of that size.
Track the week in your browser
GoalTracker fits this shape. Add the weekly goal as a goal, add each day's step as a subgoal with its date, and check the steps off as the week goes. The progress bar fills as you go, and each day you check off a subgoal counts toward your streak. It is free, needs no account, and keeps your goals in your browser.
Prefer paper? The goal tracker template prints one goal with up to eight dated steps on a page.
Related reading
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