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Free SMART goal template that writes your goal and today's task

By the LeapSteps team. Updated . Facts checked .

Answer five questions, one for each SMART letter, and pick a date. The template writes your goal as one sentence while you type, then adds a first step for this week and a task for today. Print it on one A4 or Letter page or save it as a PDF. It's free, and nothing you type leaves your browser.

Write your SMART goal

Answer in your own words. The sentence and the sheet fill in as you type, and the sheet prints on one A4 or Letter page.

Name the result, starting with a verb. For example: Cut errors in the weekly sales report.

What you'll count or check on the date. For example: 2 or fewer errors a report for 6 weeks in a row.

The time, skills or help you have, and anything you still need. For example: The fixes are mine to make, with 30 minutes a week for a checklist.

The bigger goal it moves, or the reason you care. For example: Fewer corrections count toward my promotion to senior analyst.

The day you'll check whether it happened. Leave it blank if you're not sure yet.

One step you can finish in the next seven days. For example: Make a checklist of the five errors I see most.

Something you can start today, in 30 minutes or less. For example: List last month's report errors.

Your SMART goal

Fill in Specific, and your goal appears here as one sentence.

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

My SMART goal

Started

The five letters

SSpecific
MMeasurable
AAchievable
RRelevant
TTime-bound

First steps

DoneWhenStep
This week
Today

On the date

Did it happen?
Next goal or new date

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

Turn your goal into today's tasks

How to use the SMART goal template

One goal per sheet, about ten minutes, top to bottom. Each field is one letter, and the sentence builds as you go.

  1. Start with Specific

    Write the result you want, starting with a verb: cut, finish, score, book. "Do better at work" gives you nothing to check on the day. "Cut errors in the weekly sales report" does, and the sentence needs this field to start.

  2. Add a number or proof

    Measurable is what you'll count or check on the date: a score, a count, a yes or no. If nothing fits, pick a sign of progress you'd notice, like sharing one project update at every team meeting.

  3. Check it against your week

    Achievable asks why the goal is in reach and what it still needs. Count the hours you have. If it doesn't fit, lower the number before you move the date.

  4. Say why it matters

    Relevant is the reason you'll keep going when the week fills up. Name the bigger goal it moves. If you can't think of one, ask whether this goal is yours to chase.

  5. Pick the date, then the first steps

    Choose the day you'll check whether it happened, then one step for this week and one task you can start today. In a Stanford study, children who aimed for a small goal each session progressed faster than those given one distant goal. Deciding when and where you'll act helps too: across 94 tests, those plans had a medium-to-large effect on reaching goals.

  6. Print it, or copy the sentence

    Print the sheet or save it as a PDF, and keep it where you'll see it. To paste the goal into a review form or a note, press Copy the sentence. On the date, fill in the last two lines: whether it happened, and the next goal or a new date.

What SMART stands for

In most guides today, SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound, and those are the five letters on this template. The acronym is usually traced to George T. Doran, a management consultant who set it out in the November 1981 issue of Management Review (scan of the article). His letters stood for specific, measurable, assignable, realistic and time-related. Assignable meant naming who would do the work, and his realistic did the job achievable does now.

Doran also wrote that not every objective will meet all five. Treat the letters as a checklist and leave one blank when it doesn't fit; the sentence leaves it out too. For 40 more goals written this way, for work, study, career, business, home and personal growth, see SMART goals examples.

Sources checked October 28, 2026.

SMART goal template examples

Three goals filled in the way the template asks, each with the sentence it writes from them. Change the numbers and dates to fit your week.

  • Work: fewer report errors

    By March 31, 2027, I will cut errors in the weekly sales report, measured by 2 or fewer errors a report for 6 weeks in a row. It's in reach because the fixes are mine to make, with 30 minutes a week for a checklist. It matters because fewer corrections count toward my promotion to senior analyst.

    Specific
    Cut errors in the weekly sales report
    Measurable
    2 or fewer errors a report for 6 weeks in a row
    Achievable
    The fixes are mine to make, with 30 minutes a week for a checklist
    Relevant
    Fewer corrections count toward my promotion to senior analyst
    Time-bound
    March 31, 2027
    This week
    Make a checklist of the five errors I see most
    Today
    List last month's report errors

  • Study: a chemistry midterm

    By November 20, 2026, I will score 80% or higher on the chemistry midterm, measured by my midterm grade, and 20 practice problems done each week until then. It's in reach because I have 4 free evenings a week, and office hours are on Tuesdays. It matters because chemistry is the course pulling my GPA below 3.5.

    Specific
    Score 80% or higher on the chemistry midterm
    Measurable
    My midterm grade, and 20 practice problems done each week until then
    Achievable
    I have 4 free evenings a week, and office hours are on Tuesdays
    Relevant
    Chemistry is the course pulling my GPA below 3.5
    Time-bound
    November 20, 2026
    This week
    Take my 3 hardest chapter 6 problems to office hours
    Today
    Do 20 practice problems from chapter 6

  • Personal: speaking Spanish

    By January 31, 2027, I will hold a 10-minute conversation in Spanish, measured by one 10-minute call with a conversation partner, in Spanish the whole time. It's in reach because I already practice 15 minutes on 5 days a week, and I can add one call a week. It matters because I want to travel in Spain next summer and talk to the people I meet.

    Specific
    Hold a 10-minute conversation in Spanish
    Measurable
    One 10-minute call with a conversation partner, in Spanish the whole time
    Achievable
    I already practice 15 minutes on 5 days a week, and I can add one call a week
    Relevant
    I want to travel in Spain next summer and talk to the people I meet
    Time-bound
    January 31, 2027
    This week
    Find a conversation partner and book a first 20-minute call
    Today
    Write 10 questions I'd ask someone I've just met

Questions, answered

What should a SMART goal template include?

A SMART goal template should hold one goal, a line for each of the five letters and a date. This one asks five questions: what exactly you'll do, what number or proof will show it's done, why it's in reach and what it needs, why it matters to you, and the date you'll check. It then writes the answers as one sentence, so you can read the whole goal at a glance. Under that come a first step for this week and a task for today, each with a box to tick, and two lines for the day the goal is due: whether it happened, and the next goal or a new date. A goal with no first step tends to wait, so the steps are part of the template.

How do you write a SMART goal statement?

Put the date first, then the result, then how you'll measure it: "By March 31, 2027, I will cut errors in the weekly sales report, measured by 2 or fewer errors a report for 6 weeks in a row." That one sentence covers specific, measurable and time-bound. Add a sentence on why it's in reach and one on why it matters, and you have all five letters. The template on this page writes the statement in that pattern as you fill in the fields. It doesn't rewrite or judge your words, so read the result aloud. If someone else couldn't tell on the date whether it happened, sharpen the Specific or Measurable answer.

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

It's free, and it saves nothing. There's no account or sign-up. The sentence is built in your browser from a fixed pattern, 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 sheet, save it as a PDF or copy the sentence before you leave. Copying puts the sentence on your own clipboard, the same as copying any other text. If you'd rather write by hand, leave the form empty and print the blank template: it has ruled lines for the sentence and for each letter.

How do I save the SMART goal template as a PDF?

Press Print or save as PDF, then choose where the sheet 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 sheet fits one A4 or Letter page, so leave the scale at its default. There's no Word version; to put the goal in a document, press Copy the sentence and paste it.

Does every SMART goal need all five letters?

No. Doran, who described SMART in 1981, wrote that not every objective will meet all five, and that some lose more than they gain when forced into a number. Leave a letter blank when it doesn't fit, and the sentence on this page leaves it out. Only Specific is needed for the sentence to start. 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. If a goal is hard to count, such as speaking up more at work, give it a sign of progress you can check instead, like one project update at each monthly team meeting through March.

Can I turn this goal into tasks in LeapSteps?

Yes, if you'd rather keep it on your phone or computer. LeapSteps is our app, a to-do list where any task can link to a goal's next step. You write the long-term goal in your own words, and when you tap Generate on the mid-term or short-term step, AI drafts three options, usually with a number and a date in them; keep one, edit it or write your own. When a step is done, tap Done, and it moves to Steps achieved. It can't import this sheet, so you'd type the goal in again. LeapSteps is free to start, and Pro comes with a 7-day free trial. The template stays free either way.

Turn your goal into today's tasks

LeapSteps is a to-do list that links each task to the goal it moves. Write the SMART goal once, put today's task on your list, and the next step is waiting when it's done. LeapSteps is out now on iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and Windows.

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