Guides
Goal guides, plans and free tools
Plans for specific goals, lists of goal ideas, help when you're stuck, and free tools that print on one page. Each plan breaks its goal into steps and a first week you can start today.
Start here
The method every plan on this page is built on, with an example and a first week.
Plan a goal
One goal per page, each broken down to a milestone, this week's goal and a first week of short tasks.
Change careers
- Goal plan Change careers at 40 Test the new field for a month before you leave your job.
- Goal plan Career change to nursing A degree in another field, a day job, and a year of prerequisites.
- Goal plan Career change to electrician From warehouse shifts to a paid apprenticeship in the trade.
- Goal plan Become a personal trainer A certification around your day job, with the four main exams compared.
- Goal plan Become a real estate agent Your state's course hours and exam around a day job, with three states compared.
Grow at work
Start something on the side
- Goal plan Start a bakery business from home From your kitchen to a market table, with the rules to check first.
- Goal plan Start a photography business Weekends only, from portfolio shoots to your first paying clients.
- Goal plan Start a cleaning business Your own clients on the side, with the licenses and insurance to check.
- Goal plan Etsy shop with a day job Handmade pieces, a full-time job, and prices that cover the fees.
Study
Goal ideas
Not sure what to aim for yet? Lists of goals, each with the first step toward it.
- Goal ideas Short-term goals examples Twenty examples, each tied to the long-term goal it serves.
- Goal ideas Long-term goals examples Twenty goals a year or more away, each with a first milestone.
- Goal ideas Personal goals examples Goals for every part of life, each with a first task.
- Goal ideas New Year's resolutions for 2027 Twenty-five resolutions, each with a first task.
Get unstuck
For the days a goal isn't the problem: the task you keep avoiding, or a list that won't get shorter.
Free tools
Fill them in on the page and print them, or save them as a PDF. Nothing you type leaves your browser. See all free tools.
- Free tool Goal setting worksheet Write one goal at three levels, add this week's tasks and print it on one page.
- Free tool Vision board template Six pictures for the year ahead, each with a first step, on one printed page.
- Free tool To-do list template Today's top three, the rest if there's time, and the goal each task moves.
- Free tool Weekly planner template The week's top three, up to three tasks a day, and the goal each one moves.
- Free tool Habit tracker printable Up to ten habits for the month, a box for every day, and the goal each one serves.
- Free tool Pomodoro timer for ADHD Focus blocks from 10 minutes, a disc that shows the time left, and the break built in.
Compare
Kinds of planning tools compared on the same things, including when paper or a plain list does better. See all comparisons.