Blank quarterly goal planner PDF, A4

A blank one-page 90-day planner to fill in by hand: one goal for the quarter, then a milestone and two first steps for each of the three months. Nothing to sign up for.

Fill it in online
Download the PDF (A4)

One page, 210 × 297 mm (8.27 × 11.69 in). Need the other size? quarterly goal planner PDF, US Letter.

Preview of the blank quarterly goal planner PDF on A4 paper

What is on the sheet

  • Lines for your name and the date the quarter ends.
  • A line for your goal for the quarter and one for why it matters.
  • Three month blocks, each with a milestone line and two first-step lines.
  • Two lines at the bottom: your weekly check-in day and what is blocking you.
  • A small credit line at the bottom. There is no logo or colour on the sheet.

On A4 every line runs the full 182 mm width, or half of it for the paired step lines, with room for a short sentence on each.

How to print it on A4 paper

A4 is 210 × 297 mm (8.27 × 11.69 in), the standard paper size in most countries outside North America. The file is one portrait page with 14 mm margins, which leaves a printable area 182 mm wide.

  1. Open the PDF and choose Print.
  2. Set the paper size to A4 and the scale to 100% (some print dialogs call it “Actual size”). “Fit to page” also works, but shrinks the sheet slightly.
  3. Print in portrait. The sheet is black and white, so a mono printer or the greyscale setting is enough.

For a planner or notebook, print it at 71% on A5 paper: A5 has the same proportions as A4, so nothing is cut off. At 141% the same file fills an A3 sheet for a wall.

If your printer holds US Letter paper, use the Letter file instead. An A4 page printed on Letter paper is either scaled down or loses its bottom edge, because Letter is 18 mm shorter. Get the US Letter version.

How to fill it in

  1. Write your name and the date the quarter ends.
  2. Write the goal as an outcome, such as “run a 10K without stopping”, not an activity like “go running more”.
  3. Work backwards: month 3 is the goal itself, month 2 is two-thirds of the way there, month 1 is the smallest milestone that proves the plan works.
  4. Give each month two first steps small enough to do this week.
  5. Pick a weekly check-in day and ask each time whether you are on track for this month’s milestone.

Paper or screen

The online quarterly goal planner has the same goal and monthly milestone fields, downloads as Markdown when it is filled in, and can download a file the tracker imports, with each month as a subgoal and each first step as a microgoal. Open the online quarterly goal planner. It runs in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere.

To check steps off day by day and keep a streak, use the free goal tracker: no account, and your goals stay on your device.

Questions

Can I type into the PDF?

No. The file is a flat page for printing and writing on, not a fillable form. To type instead, use the online quarterly goal planner, which also downloads a Markdown file.

What if I have more than one goal this quarter?

Print one sheet per goal, but keep it to one or two. If goals compete, choose the one that would make the others easier.

Should I print the A4 or the US Letter version?

Use the file that matches the paper in your printer. A4 (210 × 297 mm) is the standard paper size in most countries outside North America; US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) is the standard paper size in the United States and Canada, and common in Mexico and the Philippines. Both files have the same layout, and either prints at 100% without anything cut off on its own paper.

Is the quarterly goal planner PDF free to print and share?

Yes. There is no account, email or payment. You may print as many copies as you like and share or adapt the sheet, in a classroom or workshop too, under the CC BY 4.0 licence, as long as you credit goaltracker.online. The credit line is already printed on the sheet.

Reuse

Free to copy, share and adapt, including in a classroom, a workshop or a newsletter, as long as you credit goaltracker.online. The licence is CC BY 4.0, and the credit line is already printed at the foot of the sheet.

More blank PDFs on A4

Related: how to break down a big goal, the OKR template, all free tools and templates.