12 Free Goal Setting Templates in Excel, Word & More

Effective goal setting ultimately comes down to the way you plan. Even if you set yearly goals, goal setting templates allow you to break them into quarterly, monthly, or daily tasks—in that, they become easier to comprehend and achieve.

This way, you can organize your goals and stick to them while ensuring top-of-mind recall.

If you are looking for a free goal-setting template, this guide is for you. We’ve rounded up 12 goal-setting templates for you to choose from. Let’s go!

12 Free Goal Setting Templates in Excel, Word & More

Hitting your goals can be challenging and time-consuming.

But with the right goal-setting template, you can follow your goals to the finish line without breaking a sweat.

Here are 12 free goal setting templates worth considering to achieve goals effectively:

1. SMART Goal Setting Template in Nifty 

Creating goals enables you to set yourself up for success.

But to make this pattern repetitive, try using the SMART framework for your goals:

• Specific: Clearly define what you want to achieve with your goal setting template. For example, instead of saying, “Improve sales,” you could say, “Increase monthly sales by 20% within Q1.”
• Measurable: Make sure you can track your progress by including specific numbers and metrics in your goal. For instance, say – “Increase website traffic by 30%.”
• Attainable: Ensure that your goal is realistic and achievable by considering your resources and constraints. For example, setting a goal to increase sales by 500% in a month may not be attainable.
• Relevant: Your goal should align with your overall objectives and be relevant to your current business situation. For example, if your focus is on customer retention, setting a goal to acquire new customers may not be relevant.
• Time-bound: Set a deadline for achieving your goal to create a sense of urgency and keep you focused. For instance, “Increase social media engagement by 50% in the next three months.”

Using this framework will help you focus on one thing at a time. Take, for instance, Nifty’s SMART Goals template that empowers you to create SMART goals at just one click:

All you need to do is add the relevant details within the template and organize your goals by priority. You can also customize it according to your needs and ensure your team stays on the right track always.

2. Nifty’s Sales Goal-Setting Template

Want to keep track of all your sales metrics without losing your mind or time? Try Nifty’s Sales Goal Setting template. 

With this template, you’ll get a comprehensive overview of your sales pipeline, including key sales metrics across different stages of the user journey. By being better informed, you’ll be able to monitor KPIs, assign tasks to team members, and track progress in one place.

Think of this template as storing invaluable sales data, which can be used to optimize your sales efforts.

Whether you want to boost performance, identify high-potential prospects, or accelerate revenue growth, this template will add structure to your sales analysis.

3. Nifty’s OKRs Template

OKR refers to Objective (what you want to achieve) and Key Results (how you want to achieve your objectives).

Generally speaking, you create these OKRs for the short term to help teams work with greater clarity. Whether you want to flesh out team, department, or organizational-wide goals, Nifty’s OKR template makes the process more linear.

Let’s say you have an OKR of tracking bugs to improve product quality and customer satisfaction. You can use Nifty’s readymade OKR template to help you manage this goal effectively.

The template offers 5 columns: Newly Reported Bugs, Bug Backlog, Queued, Validation, and Completed.

You can rename the columns, color-code them, and move tasks around to achieve business objectives without delay or cost overruns.

A high-level overview of your OKRs will empower you to work in a more organized manner without losing sight of the big picture.

4. ClickUp Balanced Scorecard Template

A Balanced Scorecard (BSC) enables organizations to improve their operational performance. 

Using the ClickUp Balanced Scorecard Template, you’ll be able to inform stakeholders of the financial and strategic progress of all current operations.

In other words, you’ll be able to establish a direct link between your organization’s strategic planning and operational performance. As such, the decision-makers can better guide the team with smart, data-backed planning.

Use this template to prioritize and track tasks, ensure accountability and team alignment, and create a clear action plan for organizational growth.

5. ClickUp Career Goals Template

One of the best examples of an employee goal setting template is the ClickUp Career Goals Template.

It enables your employees to visualize what their career trajectory looks like.

By planning out all the minute details, they can:

• Create a blueprint of the desired career path
• Visualize their professional journey
• Map out career development goals

The best part? You can personalize the template by making adjustments to your needs, goals, etc., on the go and switch gears with confidence.

6. Personal Goals Templates by SmartSheet

When it comes to personal goals templates, SmartSheet offers plenty of options.

One such option is the Life Goals Template, which enables you to add short–, mid-, and long-term goals with ease.

With separate columns for goals and action plans, you can easily plan ahead and track your progress incrementally.

When it comes to a Personal Goals Template, like the one by SmartSheet that you see above, you can pen down goals for just about anything—be it your career, finances, fitness, and so on.

👉 Read also: Best Goal Tracking Apps in 2024

To make the most of this template:

• Take your time and think through your life goals
• Assess what’s most important for your personal development
• Evaluate how and when you want to achieve these goals

Available in three widely-used formats—Excel, Word, and PDF—this template doubles up as an excellent reminder to ace your long-term goals.

7. Excel Goal Setting Worksheet Template

Did you know that Microsoft offers many template options for goal setting in the Excel format?

Take, for instance, this Idea Planner Goal Setting Template by Excel that enables you to:

• List the steps you need to complete the project
• Assign tasks to team members
• Add task status and project resources in real time

The thing about Microsoft Excel is that you can use the spreadsheet for goal-setting and make it instantly accessible to your team.

So plan your weekly and monthly objectives collaboratively, and leverage Excel’s printable goal-setting template to keep your goals top of mind.

8. Detailed Smart Goals Worksheet Template by Visme

Another worthy contender for the SMART goals template is the Detailed SMART Goals Template by Visme.

You can break down your professional and personal goals into specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound components.

Plus, what makes this template even more useful is the fact that you can customize the content, images, colors, and more. You can also add or subtract pages as needed.

If breaking down complex goals into manageable tasks and fostering accountability are high up on your to-do list, this template is for you.

9. Yearly Goal Setting Template by Notion

Notion offers a free Yearly Goals Template that enables you to set the tone for the year and map out all the goals you wish to achieve in said year.

You can add short and long-term goals.

Use filters such as status, area, etc., and indicate your progress.

You can also add useful notes next to the goal to ensure you have the complete picture with additional context. 

Since Notion is a note-taking and productivity app, storing your work and life goals within the same app can help maintain focus and do wonders for your goal management organization.

10. Microsoft Word Goal Setting Template

Microsoft offers a Task and Goal Reward Word Template that allows you to track your goals, stay motivated, and reward yourself for your hard work.

Here’s how you can use it:

Step 1 – Set Your Goals: Start by defining your tasks (aka goals) and be specific about what you want to achieve and when you want to achieve it.

Step 2 – Track Your Progress: Use the chart to track your progress over time. In the template shown above, you can track your progress over a week.

Step 3 – Reward Yourself: The template also allows you to set up a reward system for yourself once you achieve the goal:

For example, you could reward yourself with a small treat for reaching a milestone.

Step 4 – Stay Motivated: Use the chart as a visual reminder of your progress and the rewards you’ll receive to stay laser-focused toward your goals.

Step 5 – Adjust in Real Time: Review your progress, celebrate your wins, and learn from setbacks.

You can use this template as a behavior chart and practice mindfulness while holding yourself personally accountable for any kind of goal. The idea is to promote—and visualize—responsibility with a reward chart. 

11. PowerPoint SMART Goals Template

PowerPoint, too, allows you to build on a SMART Goals template. 

You can leverage PowerPoint to create visually stunning infographics to complement your SMART goals.

Take advantage of PowerPoint’s design capabilities to create eye-catching visuals that communicate your goals at one glance and without any confusion.

You can always add relevant text to your SMART goals for additional context and ease of understanding.

12. PowerPoint Milestone Goals Template

Finally, we have the PowerPoint Milestone Goals Template, which comes in handy if you want to track and visualize your progress toward specific milestones within your project.

With dedicated sections for listing milestones, setting target dates, and describing the actions required to achieve each milestone, you can capture all the relevant details within one template.

Seeing your progress visually will keep you and your team motivated and drive momentum toward achieving the predefined goals.

Most importantly, PowerPoint’s flexibility allows you to customize the template to suit your specific needs. 

This versatile template can be used by anyone and everyone. For instance, individuals can use it to track personal goals, teams can track the progress of project milestones, and managers can track team performance. A win-win for all! 

Set Your Goals—And See Them Through—with Nifty

Whether you wish to prioritize tasks or determine key milestones, a goal-setting template cuts your grunt work in half.

You can ensure that you are on the right trajectory at all times—but only if you choose the right template to start with.

Nifty offers plenty of ready-to-use goal setting templates to help you get started on the go. Sign up and browse through the collection today to find the perfect template for your needs.

FAQ:

1. What are the 7 steps of goal setting?

Here’s a step-by-step lowdown of how to set goals:

• Step 1: Start with a self-assessment of your strengths, weaknesses, interests, and aspirations.
• Step 2: Pen your potential goals thoughtfully, keeping a specific time frame in mind.
• Step 3: Transform your goals into the SMART framework.
• Step 4: Work on creating an action plan for your goals.
• Step 5: Chalk out the specific timelines and set deadlines accordingly.
• Step 6: Get started on achieving your goals.
• Step 7: Conduct regular check-ins with yourself to see how you’re performing.

How do I create a goal template?

You don’t need to worry about creating goal templates. There are plenty of free goal setting templates offered by Nifty you can use as-it-is and kickstart your task immediately.

What are the 4 types of goals?

The 4 main types of goals include:

• Outcome goals: Focuses on the end result and enables you to create a plan of action to achieve the goals within a predefined time frame
• Process goals: Focuses on the habits/steps necessary for achieving your goals and brings a sense of discipline, consistency, and dedication to the goal-setter
• Character goals: Refers to certain qualities (read: confidence, perseverance, courage, creativity, etc.) that the person intends to develop as a way of character-building
• Learning goals: Showcases learning-specific goals like learning a new language or solving complex problems to keep the mind intellectually engaged