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Free goal tracker: see each goal move, week by week

By the LeapSteps team. Updated . Facts checked .

This free goal tracker follows up to three goals for 12 weeks. Give each one a number to count, a start, a target and a date, then type each week's number to see how far you've come and whether you're on pace. It prints on one A4 or Letter page, and nothing you type leaves your browser.

Make your goal tracker

Fill in one goal or all three. The tracker fills in as you type and prints on one A4 or Letter page, with empty boxes for the weeks still to come.

The day your 12 weeks begin. It starts at today; pick an earlier day if you started a few weeks ago.

Goal A

The result you want, in a few words. For example: Reach 30 orders a month.

What the number counts, in a word or two. For example: orders a month.

Where the number is on the day the weeks start, and where you want it to be. For example: 12 and 30.

The day you want to reach the target. Leave it blank if you're not sure yet.

One step you can finish this week that moves the number. For example: List 10 new products with photos.

Number reached each week

At the end of each week, type where the number is. The date under each week is the day it ends.

Goal B (optional)

Number reached each week

Goal C (optional)

Number reached each week

Print this page for a blank goal tracker to fill in by hand: use your browser's Print command (Ctrl+P, or Command+P on a Mac).

Goal tracker

Weeks start

Each box is one week, with the day it ends. Write the number you've reached by that day.

A

Counting
From
To
By
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12

Next step this week

B

Counting
From
To
By
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12

Next step this week

C

Counting
From
To
By
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12

Next step this week

After 12 weeks

What moved the number
Next target and date

Free template from leapsteps.ai/tools/goal-tracker

Plan this week's step in LeapSteps

How to use the goal tracker

Ten minutes to set up, then a minute a week. One sheet covers 12 weeks.

  1. Write the goal as a result

    Name what will be true when you're done, in a few words: "Reach 30 orders a month", not "grow the shop". You'll know the day you get there, and so will the tracker.

  2. Pick one number to count

    Choose the number that moves when the goal moves, and write what it counts: orders a month, lessons, applications sent. The next section helps you choose.

  3. Set the start, the target and the date

    The start is where the number is on the day the weeks start. The target is where you want it, and the date is when. The tracker draws a straight pace line between the two.

  4. Write this week's next step

    One step you can finish in the next seven days that should move the number. Tick its box when it's done, and write a new one each week.

  5. Fill in a box every week

    Pick one day, the same each week, and write the number in that week's box. In a 2016 meta-analysis of 138 studies with almost 20,000 people, Benjamin Harkin and colleagues found that getting people to check their progress more often helped them reach their goals. The effect was small to moderate, and larger when the progress was written down or shared with others.

  6. Check the pace, then plan the week

    This page saves nothing, so the printed sheet is your record. To see the percentage and the pace on screen, type the goal and its numbers in again, then set the next step from what you see.

Sources checked October 29, 2026.

How to pick a number worth tracking

Track a number you can count in a minute and that moves when the goal moves. It comes in two kinds.

A result number counts the outcome itself: orders a month for an online shop, or courses passed on the way to a new career. It's the truest measure, but some results move slowly. A course counts only once it's over, so most of its weekly boxes repeat the one before.

An effort number counts what you do to get the result: products listed, lessons finished, applications sent. It moves every week you put in the work, which makes it easier to steer. Pick one when the result is slow, or track both: the result as one goal and the effort under it as another, on the same sheet.

Whichever you pick, count it the same way every week. If week 1 counts the orders from the past 30 days, week 9 should too. And pick something you can count, not something you'd have to guess, such as how confident you feel.

How to read the pace line

The pace line runs straight from your start number, on the day the weeks start, to your target, on the target date. For each week, it says where the number would be if it moved the same amount every week. The tracker compares your latest box with the line for that week.

"On pace" means your number matches the line, rounded to whole numbers if you typed whole numbers. "Behind pace by 3 orders" means the line is 3 orders ahead of you, and "Ahead of pace" means you're past it. The percentage says how far you've come from the start toward the target. The line works for a number you want to bring down too, such as errors in a weekly report: set the target below the start.

Real progress rarely runs straight. Orders dip in a slow month, and a course counts only once it's passed. So use the line to plan the week ahead, and watch whether the gap is growing or closing. A gap that grows three weeks in a row is the one to act on.

When you fall behind

Most goals drop below the line at some point. Change this week's step before you change the date.

  • You're a little behind.

    Keep the date and shrink this week's step to something you can finish in a sitting or two. A small step you finish moves the number; a big one you put off doesn't. One slow week rarely means the date is wrong.

  • The gap has grown three weeks in a row.

    Look at the steps as well as the number, and ask whether they're the kind of work that moves it. If you've listed products for a month and orders are flat, this week's step might be getting those listings in front of buyers instead.

  • The number can't move this week.

    Some results only change at the end of a long stretch, like a course passed. Add the effort under it as a second goal on the sheet, such as chapters studied, so the weeks of work before the result moves still show.

  • The date is close and the target is far.

    Now move the date, once, after you've changed the step. Pick a new date that the pace of your last few weeks could reach, print a fresh sheet with today's number as the start, and keep the old one to look back on.

Goal tracker examples

Three goals from the example stories elsewhere on this site: an online shop, an unfinished online course and a career change into nursing. The goals and steps come from those stories, and we made up the numbers. Each shows what the tracker says after its latest week.

  • Online shop: orders a month

    38% of the way from 12 to 30 orders a month. Behind pace by 2 orders a month: the pace line is at 21 orders a month in week 6.

    Goal
    Reach 30 orders a month
    Counting
    orders a month
    Start number
    12
    Target number
    30
    Weeks start
    September 14, 2026
    Target date
    December 7, 2026
    Weeks 1 to 6
    13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 19
    Next step
    List 10 new products with photos

    The milestone under "Make my online shop my full-time income". Each week, count the orders from the past 30 days. A flat sixth week left the shop 2 orders behind the line.

  • Online course: lessons

    4% of the way from 12 to 36 lessons. On pace: the pace line is at 13 lessons in week 1.

    Goal
    Finish the online course I started in March
    Counting
    lessons
    Start number
    12
    Target number
    36
    Weeks start
    October 19, 2026
    Target date
    April 5, 2027
    Week 1
    13
    Next step
    Finish lesson 1 of module 3

    A 36-lesson course with 12 lessons done. One lesson a week reaches the end on April 5, so the line rises by one a week, and the first week kept to it. A small number on a slow line still shows the course moving again.

  • Career change: prerequisite courses

    66% of the way from 1 to 4 courses passed. Ahead of pace by 1 course passed: the pace line is at 2 courses passed in week 12.

    Goal
    Finish the prerequisite courses
    Counting
    courses passed
    Start number
    1
    Target number
    4
    Weeks start
    August 3, 2026
    Target date
    March 1, 2027
    Weeks 1 to 12
    1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3
    Next step
    Finish anatomy chapters 4 to 6

    The milestone under "Become a registered nurse". The number moves only when a course ends, so most boxes repeat the one before. A second goal counting chapters studied would show the work in between.

Questions, answered

What should a goal tracker include?

A goal tracker should hold the goal, the number that shows progress, where that number starts, where you want it and by when, and a place to write it down at regular check-ins. This one gives each goal a box for each of 12 weeks with the day each week ends, a pace line from the start to the target, and this week's next step with a box to tick, because a number tells you where you stand but not what to do next. Two lines at the bottom are for the end of the 12 weeks: what moved the number, and the next target and date.

How do you track progress toward a goal?

Pick one number that moves when the goal moves, write down where it starts, and check it on the same day each week. Write the number down each time rather than keeping it in your head: in a 2016 meta-analysis of 138 studies, checking progress more often helped people reach their goals, and the effect was larger when the progress was written down or shared. Then compare the number with where it should be by now. A straight line from the start to the target by your date is the simplest yardstick, and it's what the pace note on this page uses. When you fall behind, change this week's step first.

Is this goal tracker free, and does it save what I type?

It's free, and it saves nothing. There's no account or sign-up. The percentages and pace notes are worked out in your browser with plain arithmetic, with no AI, and what you type isn't sent to us or to anyone else. Close or reload the tab and it's gone, so print the tracker or save it as a PDF before you leave, and keep the printed sheet as your record. To check your pace on screen later, type the goal and the numbers in again. If you'd rather write by hand, leave the form empty and print the blank tracker.

How do I print the goal tracker or save it as a PDF?

Press Print or save as PDF, then choose where the tracker goes in your browser's print dialog. In Chrome and Edge, set the destination to Save as PDF. In Firefox, choose Save to PDF. In Safari on a Mac, open the PDF menu at the bottom of the dialog and choose Save as PDF. On Android, pick Save as PDF from the printer list. On iPhone and iPad, tap the Share button in the print options, then Save to Files. The tracker fits one A4 or Letter page, so leave the scale at its default. Boxes you left empty print empty, ready to fill in by hand.

What if my goal doesn't have a number?

Most goals have one close by. Ask what you'd count to show someone you're closer than last week: lessons finished for a course, applications sent for a job search, products listed for a shop. If the result itself can't be counted, count the effort that leads to it. Avoid numbers you'd have to guess, like how confident you feel, because a guess can't show a trend. And if the goal is one event, such as booking a venue, it doesn't need a tracker: give it a next step and a date instead.

Can I track my goals in LeapSteps instead?

Partly. LeapSteps is our app, a to-do list where any task can link to a goal's next step. It doesn't track a number: a goal there has no start, target or progress bar. What it shows is the goal's tasks, as "N tasks done · N open", and the steps you've finished, under Steps achieved. So the two work together: keep the number on this sheet, and put this week's step in LeapSteps as a task linked to the goal, so it sits on today's list. It can't import this tracker. LeapSteps is free to start, and Pro comes with a 7-day free trial. The tracker stays free either way.

Put this week's step on today's list

LeapSteps is a to-do list that links each task to the goal it moves. Keep the number on this sheet and the next step on your list, where you'll see it beside the rest of your day. LeapSteps is out now on iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and Windows.

Get LeapSteps

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