Is goal setting a challenge for you? Do you have a list of goals, yet lack the motivation to follow through with them?
You don’t have to quit just yet. Most likely, what you need is a structure for tracking your progress. In this case, a goal chart can help you out.
With the right tracking tool, such as a chart, it’s easier to see where your efforts are taking you.
In this article, we share 20 ideas for tracking your goals. You can use them as a visualization tool to spur you on to success.
20 Best Goal Chart Ideas and Templates
1. Milestone Goal Chart
If you’re working on a long-term goal, a system for tracking your progress is of great benefit. We’ve created a milestone chart to support the fulfillment of a long-term goal. This template features 12 boxes. It is intentionally undated so you can use it as your goal-setting and tracking needs require.
As shown in the example, this chart is effective as your main tracker if you’re working on 12-week-year goals. [You can check out other 12WY templates here.]
Another way to use this chart is as your annual goal planner. The layout accommodates your long-term goal planning in case it takes at least an entire year to bring your goal to fruition. Use the 12 boxes to represent each month of the year and lay out the steps you need to take to manifest your goals, month by month.
2. Date Nights Goal Chart
Going on regular date nights is a solid way to strengthen your marriage. Done at least twice a month, date nights give married couples the chance to have quality time together in a relaxed environment. This allows the couple to recoup their energy to take better care of everything that needs attention in their home life.
If date nights are part of your goal for having a stronger marriage, our goal chart can help you organize these special moments for an entire year. The chart has sufficient space for planning out two date nights per month. There are boxes for specifying the location, date, and type of activity you want to do for a particular date night.
Quick suggestion: Remember to have extra dates as backup in case a set date night gets cancelled.
3. Really Good Stuff Goal Thermometer
Do you need something that can help keep the kids motivated to accomplish their personal goals? This goal thermometer is designed for just this purpose. You can use it at home or in the classroom to provide a visual tool for tracking progress.
The cards are laminated and double-sided, and this thermometer chart is reusable for any goal.
When teaching children to set major goals, there are several things to keep in mind:
4. Family Refrigerator Weekly Planner
If you’re looking for a fridge-mounted chart for keeping track of your kids’ goals, this magnetic chart is of great help. It provides an easy way to assign weekly responsibilities for every young member of the household.
When it comes to goal setting, children tend to do more of their assigned responsibilities (e.g., chores and homework) with less prompting from parents when a progress chart is used. The chart gives them a sense of purpose, so they can see how they’re progressing towards their goals.
Some parents who use this chart include a reward element to further encourage their kids to accomplish their assigned tasks for the week. Aside from using it as a chore tracker for kids, this magnetic chart can also be used for personal goals, such as tracking habits, savings, water intake, etc.
5. Magnetic Goal Board
This is another magnetic goal board that helps improve your productivity whether at home or at work.
It can be used for introducing older kids to the value of goal setting, or by adults who need an effective, wall-mounted goal tracker.
There is sufficient space to list all your goals for the whole week, as well as space for three major weekly goals. Furthermore, there are columns that are useful when you’re tracking your goals, such as:
Right at the bottom of the page is a habit tracker that you can use to track one major habit for the entire week.
6. Eureka Dr. Seuss Goal Setting Fundraising Banner
This Dr. Seuss-themed banner is a wonderful addition to your classroom decorations. It also makes goal tracking more fun and interesting with its whimsical design that’s inspired by the art of the author of beloved children’s books such as The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham.
Aside from fundraising goals, this chart can also be used to track reading goals or to motivate students to boost their academic performance.
7. Weight Loss Tracker Chart
With this chart, you can track your weekly progress as you work toward your ideal weight over a one-year period.
Printable goal trackers are great. However, when you need a visual reminder of what you’re working hard for, nothing beats a wall-mounted goal tracker to give you an extra shot of motivation.
Placing your goal tracker chart in a conspicuous place provides accountability on your part. Other people can see the chart, and they will be more likely to inquire about your progress.
8. Classroom Goal Progress Chart
Here is another classroom goal setting chart suggestion. Color in or place a check mark on each star to represent a day that a step toward a goal was taken.
When kids are introduced to goal setting early on, they’re more likely to develop a growth mindset. Furthermore, every time students are given the opportunity to set goals, they are more likely to stay motivated and follow through with reaching their objectives.
9. 2-Column Goal Tracker Chart
Having a hard time encouraging kids to do their chores and other responsibilities around the house? This two-column chart might be what you need. It comes with a weekly planner and goal tracker to help kids learn how to be independent.
The tracker is color-coded to differentiate between multiple kids. As an incentive, you can provide kids with rewards upon completion of their goals.
10. Fishbowl Chart
Are you looking for something that can encourage your kids to do what is expected of them at home? This interactive tracker can help reinforce good habits while letting the kids have fun at the same time.
The name on the chart is customizable, and you can get the kids excited for goal setting by letting them help you set up this tracker. The goal is to fill the fish bowl with fish. However, the kids have to earn the fish by consistently doing a behavior/task expected of them.
11. Goal Tracking Chart
This dry erase board provides a straightforward goal tracking tool that you can use at home, in school, or at work. You can use it to track your sales targets, and it can also be used to monitor the progress of goals related to personal savings, health and fitness, or fundraising.
12. Vacation Fund Tracker
Planning to go on a vacation when the conditions are right and funds are available? This fund tracker can keep you motivated as you save up for your dream vacation.
Whether it’s a honeymoon, a solo backpacking trip, or a group tour to a historic destination that you have in mind, this chart is a wonderful way to get you where you want to go.
13. Game of Loans Chart
Achieve your goal of becoming debt-free faster with this loan tracking chart. The designer made it so that each of the shields represents 1% of the total amount to be paid.
Color or shade the number of shields that corresponds to the payments you’ve made. Before you know it, you’ll have paid off the loan.
14. United States Map Travel Tracker
Travelling has several benefits for your mental health. If traveling to all the American states is in your bucket list, then this chart serves as an awesome motivator. You can color in every place you’ve visited.
The chart also makes a wonderful gift for a friend who loves to travel.
15. Goal and Reward Chart
A weekly tracking system increases the likelihood of success in your goal-setting. This template example allows you to chart your goals over a two-week period.
There is enough space for writing the specific goal you’re working on for a certain time period. Moreover, an undated weekly calendar with spaces for the next 14 days is provided for tracking your progress.
At the bottom of the page is a section for writing down a specific reward for accomplishing your goal(s).
A template like this can be made reusable. Print one copy and laminate it, then use erasable markers when writing your goals.
Finally, you can set up this chart in a prominent spot as a constant reminder of the goals you’re currently working on.
16. Give Your Week Structure
Here’s a more detailed template that you can use for goal-setting and tracking. Print out a single copy and laminate it to make a reusable chart.
As with other laminated charts, you can use an erasable marker to write your goals for the week. You can then track your progress in the progress-tracker table located at the bottom of the page.
17. Mental Health Goals
We cannot emphasize enough the importance of sound mental health. To that end, we’ve found a goal chart that takes the person’s entire well-being into consideration, with an emphasis on mental health.
This chart provides enough space for writing three major goals in relation to your well-being. There are also spaces for listing practical and mindset habits that are supportive of your mental health goals.
Finally, space is allocated at the bottom of the page for your reflections on your journey to wellness and wholeness.
18. Kindergarten Behavior Goals
Here’s another goal chart example for classroom use. This behavior goal chart is designed to encourage young learners to adopt positive behaviors.
As we know, kids love when their positive actions are acknowledged. You can use this chart to reinforce good behavior.
The chart comes with rewards and certificates that can be presented to the kids once their behavior goals are achieved.
19. NaNoWriMo in May
Here’s a handmade chart designed for writing down your goals. Specifically, this chart lets the owner track the word count of the novel she’s writing.
The owner of this chart entered NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), a non-profit event that encourages people to write a novel with at least 50,000 words within one month.
With this tracker, she was able to hit her target goal by the end of the month.
20. DIY Sticky Note Goal Calendar
If you can’t find a goal setting chart design that you love, how about creating one for yourself instead? This DIY example uses a framed chalkboard and some sticky notes. The creator uses sticky notes to remind herself of tasks she needs to accomplish in order to get closer to her main goals.
You might have just started on the goal setting path. If so, you’ll likely find that there’s so much that you want to accomplish. For this reason, you might be tempted to set too many goals all at once. However, this means that you cannot fully focus on fulfilling all these goals. That’s because your resources (e.g., energy and time) are often limited.
Try to work with the top three most important goals first. Then, when you’ve achieved them, work on another three, and so on.
If you’re new to goal setting, you might want to check out this post that shares some goal setting strategies for achieving anything you want.
Final Words on Goal Chart Ideas
Goal setting works best if there is a structure to it—and goal tracker charts are helpful tools for moving toward your goals.
Even the simplest designs of these charts can encourage and motivate. There is nothing like the sense of achievement you get when you fill in the last slot, color in the final shape, or move the last piece to the finish line and see that you’ve done what you set out to do.
Finally, if you want to take your goal-setting efforts to the next level, check out this FREE printable worksheet and a step-by-step process that will help you set effective SMART goals.
