Goal Setting Worksheet: 3 Steps to Set & Track Goals

Some days we wake up early, exercise, knock out all the to-dos, and just feel GREAT.

Then other days… not so much. 

But there’s nothing better than collapsing into bed after a long day’s work — with the pride and satisfaction that you “won” the day.

So how do we intentionally design more days we’re proud of than not? 

Insert, the daily dashboard. 

The daily dashboard leverages what Einstein called the “8th wonder of the world” — Compound Interest. 

The POWER of compounding interest on money (or anything) seems clear. Yet most still don’t take advantage of it. 

Why is that?

Most likely because it’s BORING and takes a while to actually pay off…

But tiny inputs over a long time can magically transform into HUGE outputs.

James Clear, the bestselling author of Atomic Habits, explains:

• Here’s how the math works out: if you get 1% better each day for a year, you’ll end up 37 times better by the time you’re done. Conversely, if you get 1% worse each day for a year, you’ll decline nearly down to zero. What starts as a small win or a minor setback accumulates into something much more.
• Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. The same way that money multiplies through compound interest, the effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them. They seem to make little difference on any given day and yet the impact they deliver over the months and years can be enormous.

Darren Hardy, author of The Compound Effect, breaks it down nicely:

The compound effect is essentially the operating system that runs our life whether we know it or not. 

Not knowing this is like sleepwalking through our daily lives. 

That not only sounds treacherous — but just plain reckless. 

I’d rather be AWAKE and more intentional with life. 

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Step 1: Simple Goals List

Okay, small inputs and compounding interest are important… BUT WHERE DO WE START?

I put almost everything in a quick Evernote list first. Just get a list going using whatever is easiest for you.

Remember, you can always change it later. What’s most important is having a SYSTEM in place.

Step 2: Organize in Google Sheets

Then organize this into a CLEAN GOOGLE SHEET. (3 of my favorite words).

I start with the outcomes I want by the end of the year. 

Then I categorize them into buckets: Personal, Learn, Work, and Family. 

From there I define a legend to clearly see what I’m optimizing. Color-coding always makes things easier for my brain.

Step 3: Working Backward

Now it’s time to work backward from the desired OUTPUTS to come up with necessary INPUTS. (Yes, insert a new Google Sheet).

As a rule of thumb, the smaller I can break it down the better. 

General approach:

• Each month is a new tab (and goals in column A)
• Daily checklist items (labeled “Daily Wins” column B) are inputs for the goals
• Only look at one week at a time (Monday to Sunday)

The goals for the month are bite-sized and SPECIFIC. 

At the end of the month, I want it to be OBVIOUS how I did.

The “Daily Wins” are inputs designed to get me closer to the goals. 

The “Legend” helps me see what I’m optimizing.

• Core = things, in general, I want to do to make the whole process run smoother 
• Growth = inputs aligned to the collab goal
• Creativity = inputs aligned to the creativity goals
• Love = inputs aligned to dates goal

On any given day, the maximum “Points” (bottom row) I can receive is 9. The point system is arbitrary. And yes, maybe slightly neurotic. But let’s be real, who doesn’t want more points!?

A quick note on what’s NOT in here. I don’t have “exercise” or “drink water” since I’ve already formed those daily habits and do regardless. (Typing that feels like a weird flex… but whatever). 

Another quick note — each month is a new tab, but it’s completely fine to have repeating goals. In fact, it’s better. The less I have to think about the architecture each month, the smoother the process. Less time “designing” and more time “doing”. 

Final Thoughts 

This is by no means one size fits all. I’m constantly thinking to myself, “How can I make things easier for my future self?”. 

And I make adjustments as I see fit. 

To summarize, the process is quite simple:

• Brainstorm what you want in life (Go crazy and have FUN here — only get one life)
• Turn those into specific OUTPUTS by the end of the year
• Breakdown outputs into tiny INPUTS for each day to track over the weeks/months

If you could only choose 3 daily wins, which would you choose?