🎯 Goal Planning Worksheet

Break one big goal into subgoals and concrete next steps. Runs entirely in your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Open the app

1. The goal

Target date

2. Subgoals and next steps

Pick 2-4 milestones. Under each, list steps small enough to finish in one sitting. See how to break down a big goal.

3. Obstacles and if-then plans (optional)

This is the last step of the WOOP method (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan). Your goal is the wish and your "why" is the outcome. Now name what inside you or around you is most likely to stop you, and decide in advance what you will do when it happens.

4. Take it with you

To track it, open GoalTracker, use the upload icon in the header and pick the .json file.

How to fill in a goal planning worksheet

Write the goal as something you could check off, like "finish a first draft of my novel by June 30", not "write more". Keep the why short and personal. It's what you'll reread when motivation drops.

Subgoals are the milestones between today and the target date. Give each one its own date, so a slow month shows up while there is still time to catch up. If a small step would take more than one sitting, split it again.

The obstacle step is optional but worth two minutes. People who decide in advance what they'll do when a known obstacle shows up tend to follow through more often than people who rely on willpower in the moment. Nothing is saved on this page, so download the worksheet before you close the tab.

Planning a whole quarter instead of one goal? Try the quarterly goal planner. Mapping one big goal across 8 areas at once? Use the mandala chart. Prefer paper? Print it on the printable goal tracker.