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Goal guide

40 SMART goals examples, each with a task to start today

By the LeapSteps team. Updated . Facts checked .

A SMART goal is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound, like "Cut report errors to 2 or fewer a month by March 31" or "Score 80% or higher on the chemistry midterm on November 20". Below are 40 SMART goals examples for work, study, career, business, home and personal growth, each tied to a bigger goal.

What SMART stands for, then and now

SMART is a checklist for writing a goal you can check on the day it's due. The words behind the letters have changed since 1981, so here are both versions and the question each letter asks.

Letter Doran's word, 1981 The usual word today Ask yourself
S Specific: aim at one area to improve. Specific What exactly will be different when it's done?
M Measurable: a number, or at least a sign of progress. Measurable What will I count or check?
A Assignable: name who will do it. Achievable Can I do it with the time and help I have?
R Realistic: what can be done with the resources at hand. Relevant Does it move a bigger goal I care about?
T Time-related: say when the result is due. Time-bound By what date, and when will I first check?

Doran's words come from his article in the November 1981 issue of Management Review (a scan of pages 35 and 36). Today's words are the ones in Syracuse University's guide to writing SMART performance goals. Checked October 28, 2026.

Two letters changed meaning. Doran's realistic did the job that achievable does now, and his assignable, naming who owns the result, gave way to relevant. At work, ownership still matters, so say whose goal it is. For a personal goal the owner is you, and relevant is the more useful question.

Five SMART goals, from the big goal down to today

Each long-term goal is broken into SMART steps: a milestone a few months out, a step for the next few weeks, and a task you could start today.

  • Work

    1. Long-termGet promoted to senior analyst this year
    2. Mid-termComplete 2 senior-level analysis projects with documented business impact by April 28
    3. Short-termAsk my manager which senior analyst criteria to close first, by November 6

    Today's taskBook 20 minutes with my manager

  • Study

    1. Long-termRaise my GPA to 3.5 by graduation
    2. Mid-termGet a B+ or better in all 4 courses this semester
    3. Short-termScore 80% or higher on the chemistry midterm on November 20

    Today's taskDo 20 practice problems from chapter 6

  • A career change

    1. Long-termLeave warehouse work and become an electrician
    2. Mid-termStart a paid electrical apprenticeship by June 30
    3. Short-termApply to 2 apprenticeship programs by November 30

    Today's taskList the application deadlines for programs near me

  • A business

    1. Long-termMake my online shop my full-time income
    2. Mid-termReach 30 orders a month by March 31
    3. Short-termList 10 new products with photos by November 15

    Today's taskPhotograph 3 products

  • Home

    1. Long-termDeclutter the house before spring
    2. Mid-termClear the garage, closets and kitchen by February 28
    3. Short-termFill and drop off 3 donation boxes by November 15

    Today's taskFill the first box from the hall closet

We wrote these examples ourselves. In LeapSteps you write the long-term goal in your own words. Tap Generate on the mid-term or short-term step and AI drafts three options; keep one, edit it or write your own.

The screenshot is the app's draft for the work goal, captured on October 28, 2026, with the first option kept at each step. Both steps came back with a number and a date already in them.

The goal screen in LeapSteps with the AI draft as generated. Long-term goal: Get promoted to senior analyst this year. Mid-term goal: Complete two senior-level analysis projects with documented business impact, by Apr 28, 2027. Short-term goal: Schedule a 20-minute meeting with my manager by Nov 6, 2026 to ask which senior analyst criteria I should close first.

The app's draft was SMART already: two senior-level analysis projects with documented business impact by April 28 as the milestone, and a 20-minute meeting with my manager by November 6 to ask which criteria to close first. I kept both as written, because that meeting decides which two projects will count.

Turn your goal into today's tasks

35 more SMART goals examples

Grouped by the kind of goal they serve, with work and school first. Each has a number and a date; change both to fit your week.

Work

  • Cut errors in the weekly sales report to 2 or fewer for 6 weeks in a rowFor: Get promoted to senior analyst this year
  • Build the monthly sales summary with pivot tables by December 12For: Get promoted to senior analyst this year
  • Answer 90% of customer emails within one business day by January 31For: Become a team lead next year
  • Write down 5 wins from this quarter, each with a figure, by FridayFor: Earn a $10,000 raise at my review
  • Finish the first 10 hours of PMP training by November 30For: Pass the PMP exam while working full time
  • Share one project update at each monthly team meeting through MarchFor: Get comfortable speaking up at work
  • Hold a 30-minute one-on-one with each new hire every week of their first monthFor: Become a manager people want to work for
  • Leave by 5:30 pm on 3 days a week for the next 4 weeksFor: Get my evenings back this year

Study

  • Score 75% or higher on the chapter 7 practice test by SundayFor: Raise my GPA to 3.5 by graduation
  • Read the assigned chapter before every lecture for the rest of the termFor: Raise my GPA to 3.5 by graduation
  • Make flashcards for the first 6 lectures by November 10For: Pass all four of my finals this semester
  • Meet my study group twice a week until the organic chemistry finalFor: Pass organic chemistry this semester
  • Write 500 words of chapter 2 every weekday for 3 weeksFor: Finish my thesis by May
  • Go to office hours once a week for the next 5 weeksFor: Get a strong reference letter from my professor
  • Send 3 scholarship applications by December 15For: Cover next year's tuition with scholarships
  • Take 2 timed practice tests for my entrance exam by November 30For: Get into my first-choice college

Career

Business and side income

Home and money

  • Clear the hall closet and the garage shelves by November 30For: Declutter the house before spring
  • Sort and file every letter in the paper pile by SundayFor: Get my paperwork under control
  • List every subscription I pay for, with its price, by FridayFor: Save for a trip next summer
  • Move $50 into a trip fund each payday until JuneFor: Save for a trip next summer

Personal growth

  • Read 20 pages every night for the next 3 weeksFor: Read 24 books in 2027
  • Practice Spanish for 15 minutes on 5 days a week through NovemberFor: Speak Spanish well enough to travel alone
  • Write 3 lines in a journal every night for 30 daysFor: Keep a journal for a whole year
  • Learn 3 guitar chords and switch between them cleanly by December 1For: Play one song for my family at the holidays
  • Call my parents every Sunday in NovemberFor: Stay close to family who live far away

Write your own SMART goal this week

Six tasks, none longer than 10 minutes, turn a vague goal into a SMART one with a task for today.

  1. Write the goal the way you'd say it out loud5 min Vague is fine to start. "Get better at my job" gives you something to sharpen.
  2. Name the result, not the effort10 min Specific: "cut report errors" says what changes, and "work harder" says nothing you can check.
  3. Add a number you can check10 min Measurable: a count, a score, a percentage or a yes or no. If nothing fits, pick a sign of progress you'd notice.
  4. Check it against your real week10 min Achievable: count the hours you have. If it doesn't fit, shrink the number before you move the date.
  5. Write one line on why it matters5 min Relevant: link it to a bigger goal. If you can't, ask whether it's yours to chase.
  6. Set the date and put the first task on today's list10 min Time-bound: give the goal a date, then give one 30-minute task a time today.

Where SMART came from, and what research says

SMART began as advice for managers in a business magazine. Here's the original source, and research on the ideas inside it.

The acronym is usually traced to George T. Doran, a management consultant and former director of corporate planning at Washington Water Power Company in Spokane. In a two-page article in the November 1981 issue of Management Review, he suggested that each company, department and section objective be specific, measurable, assignable, realistic and time-related (scan of the article, checked October 28, 2026).

He added two cautions that are easy to miss. Not every objective will meet all five, and some lose more than they gain when forced into a number. What mattered most, he wrote, was "the combination of the objective and its action plan". That's the idea behind every example on this page: the goal, then the next step, then today's task.

  • University of Toronto and University of Maryland

    Goals work better with a reason and a scoreboard

    A review of 35 years of studies found people do better when they know why a goal matters and can see their progress. That's why each task can show the goal it serves.

    Read the review

  • Stanford University

    Small steps beat a distant goal

    Students who aimed for a small goal each session progressed faster than those given one distant goal. That's why every goal gets a next step for this week.

    Read the study

  • New York University and University of Sheffield

    Decide when, where and how

    Across 94 tests, plans that spelled out when, where and how people would act had a medium-to-large effect on reaching their goals. That's why each task can have a due time.

    Read the review

These studies test ideas inside SMART and behind LeapSteps, not the acronym as a whole or the app itself. Checked October 28, 2026.

When you fall behind

SMART goals slip like any others. The fix usually starts with one letter.

  • The date came and the goal wasn't done.

    Move the date once, and set the new one from how long the finished part took. People are poor judges of their own pace: in a study by Buehler, Griffin and Ross (1994), students expected to finish their honours theses in about 34 days on average and took about 56. In LeapSteps, late tasks stay on Today and show how late they are, so the step is still there tomorrow.

  • The number was too big for your week.

    Keep the measure and lower the number, or split it in two: "Cut errors to 2 by December" can become "Cut errors to 4 by December, then 2 by March". Doran's test for realistic was what can be done with the resources at hand (Management Review, 1981). Edit the step in your own words, or tap Generate on it with an area of focus and a time frame for three smaller options.

  • A week went by and nothing moved.

    Forgive the week and pick the smallest task you can finish today. In the Carleton study, students who forgave themselves for one delay put off the next exam less. To clear the list, press and hold a task that can wait and drag it onto Someday.

  • The goal stopped mattering.

    That's the R failing, and it's allowed. Rewrite the long-term goal or replace it, and keep the steps that still fit. Plans help most with goals you care about: in a McGill University study, students who planned when and where they'd act reported finishing more of their goals, especially ones that mattered to them. Finished steps stay under Done and Steps achieved, so the work you did still counts.

Sources checked October 28, 2026.

Questions, answered

What does SMART stand for in goals?

In most guides today, SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Specific means the goal names the result you want. Measurable means there's a number or a clear sign of progress. Achievable means it fits the time and help you have. Relevant means it moves something you care about, and time-bound means it has a date. The 1981 original used assignable, realistic and time-related for the last three letters, so you'll see both. Either way the test is the same: could someone else read the goal and tell, on the date, whether it happened? "Cut report errors to 2 or fewer a month by March 31" passes. "Do better at work" doesn't.

Who invented SMART goals?

SMART is usually traced to George T. Doran, a management consultant and former director of corporate planning at Washington Water Power Company. He set it out in a two-page article, "There's a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management's goals and objectives", in the November 1981 issue of Management Review. His letters stood for specific, measurable, assignable, realistic and time-related, and he wrote them for managers setting company objectives. Later writers changed some of the words, which is why most lists now say achievable, relevant and time-bound. Doran also wrote that not every objective needs all five. You can read a scan of the original article.

What is a good SMART goal for work?

A good work SMART goal names one result your manager would recognize, a number and a date: "Cut errors in the weekly sales report to 2 or fewer for 6 weeks in a row." It's specific (one report), measurable (errors), achievable if the fixes are yours to make, relevant if your team wants fewer corrections, and time-bound. Compare "Be more careful", which you can't check. Two more from this page: "Answer 90% of customer emails within one business day by January 31" and "Write down 5 wins from this quarter, each with a figure, by Friday." Start with a result you control. If it depends on other people, as a promotion does, make the SMART goal the part you can deliver, and let the bigger goal sit above it.

What are good SMART goals for students?

Good SMART goals for students name a score, a piece of work or a habit, plus a date. Some from this page: "Score 80% or higher on the chemistry midterm on November 20", "Make flashcards for the first 6 lectures by November 10" and "Go to office hours once a week for the next 5 weeks". Each can be checked on the day, and "study harder" can't. Tie each one to something bigger, like a GPA or a place in a program, so you know why it matters when the week fills up. Then put one task for it on today's list, such as "Do 20 practice problems from chapter 6". In a Stanford study, students who aimed for a small goal each session progressed faster than those given one distant goal.

Does a SMART goal have to meet all five criteria?

No. Doran, who described SMART in 1981, wrote that the acronym doesn't mean every objective will meet all five, and that some objectives lose more than they gain when forced into a number. Treat the letters as a checklist, and skip one when it doesn't fit. For a personal goal, the two that matter most are usually measurable and time-bound, because without them you can't tell whether you've finished. His original A, assignable, mostly matters at work, where someone has to own the result. If a goal is hard to measure, such as "Get comfortable speaking up at work", give it a sign of progress you can count instead, like "Share one project update at each monthly team meeting through March". That one you can tick off.

Can LeapSteps help me write SMART goals?

Yes, for the steps under a goal, and the wording stays yours. LeapSteps is our app. You write the long-term goal in your own words, then tap Generate on the mid-term or short-term step, and AI drafts three options, usually with a number and a date in them. You can give it an area of focus and a time frame first. Keep one, edit it or write your own. The app doesn't know your manager's targets, your syllabus or how many free hours you have, so check the number and the date before you keep a draft. It doesn't score goals against the SMART letters either; the checklist on this page is still yours to run. When a step is done, tap Done and set the next one.

Turn your SMART goal into today's to-do list

LeapSteps is a to-do list that keeps each goal's next step beside the tasks that move it, so the date you set turns into something you can start today. LeapSteps is out now on iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and Windows.

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