This post is all about the ultimate guide to setting weekly goals.

Are you looking to boost your productivity, but don’t know where to start? 

Are you tired of feeling lost and without direction, like you are wasting your weeks with mindless activities that aren’t bringing you any closer to your goals?

Then you are in the right place!

Setting weekly goals is a game-changer when it comes to maximizing your potential. They provide structure, direction, and a clear roadmap for success. 

And this comprehensive guide, I will share with you the ultimate step-by-step process on how to set effective weekly goals that align with your life goals.

Aside from this, you will also find a list of inspiring examples of weekly goals to spark your creativity. Plus some essential questions that you should ask yourself every week to stay focused and make meaningful progress toward your dreams.

Every week is an opportunity for growth, progress, and self-improvement, and the best to achieve this is by learning how to set weekly goals.

So without any further introduction, let’s begin!

Why set weekly goals

If you want to take control of your time like a boss, setting weekly goals is the way to go. It’s a total game-changer and will help you stay on top of your tasks and prioritize what needs to get done.

But why set weekly goals specifically? Here are a couple of the major benefits of setting weekly goals:

• They are manageable. With every big goal you set, you need to ask yourself, how can I incorporate this into my weekly/daily routine?

The great thing about weekly goals is that they allow you to make progress toward your long-term goals consistently.

By setting weekly goals you also avoid feeling overwhelmed when setting major life goals.

• Focus and clarity. As we said at the beginning of the article, one of the main benefits when setting weekly goals is gaining focus and clarity. But how?

Well, by setting weekly goals you prioritize and focus on what’s most important for that specific week. And they give you a clear direction and avoid the feeling of being overwhelmed with too many tasks.

• Reduce procrastination. Although it sounds weird the truth is many times we procrastinate because we lack a direction or action plan. 

But by having a clear strategy and action plan laid out on what you need to do you eliminate the need to procrastinate.

The decision-making is already done, the only thing you need to do is follow that strategy.

• Boost motivation and gain momentum.  When you have clear objectives for the week ahead, it becomes easier to stay focused and motivated. You know exactly what you need to accomplish, which helps eliminate any feelings of uncertainty.

Another reason to set weekly goals is that they create momentum. By breaking down your bigger aspirations into smaller, actionable tasks, you can make consistent progress over time. And each completed goal fuels your motivation and brings you closer to achieving those larger life goals.

How to set weekly goals?

Now that you know some of the major benefits of weekly goal setting, let’s jump straight to the most important part.

How do I set weekly goals?

Although it may seem daunting and complicated, the truth is it’s easier than it seems. And by following this step-by-step process you will be setting achievable weekly goals in no time.

So let’s dive right in! Here is an overview of each step:

• Review your long-term goals and break them into short-term goals
• Set goals using the T.A.R.G.E.T. method
• Prioritize your goals
• Break your goals into daily/weekly actions
• Schedule them into your calendar
• Eliminate the unimportant

Review your long-term goals and break them into short-term goals

Reviewing your long-term goals is essential to help you stay on track.

And when it comes to setting weekly goals it will help you stay focused and have a sense of direction towards your life goals.

To start with bring out your new year resolution list you wrote at the beginning of the year. If you don’t have yours then this is the perfect time to do a life audit to determine where you are in life and your life goals.

In this article, you will find a step-by-step guide on how to do this!

Once you have your long-term goals in front of you, think of how you can break them into smaller, short-term goals.

To do this start from the top (your end goal) and work your way towards the bottom (your starting point).

These smaller goals are like milestones and they will serve as stepping stones towards your ultimate goal.

For example, if one of your goals is to achieve your financial independence, the steps to achieve this would look something like this:

• Research the different ways to achieve financial freedom
• Read stories about people who achieved this goal and how they did it
• Choose a method to become financially free from the ones I have been studying
• Learn more about this method chosen (read books, watch videos, follow the experts in that field)
• Start taking action to make money following the techniques and methods I have learned about

Set your goals using the T.A.R.G.E.T. method

One of the reasons most people fail to achieve their goals is because they write vague and unclear goals.

This makes it even harder to achieve them.

But the truth is there are 6 things every goal should have for them to be achievable. And to make sure each one of your goals has these six characteristics you need to follow the T.A.R.G.E.T. method.

The six characteristics are: 

Tangible. One of the most important things when setting goals is to write them specifically. Meaning that they need to be measurable so that you can almost touch them.

For example, if your goal is to get more customers in your company or business, specify exactly how many customers you would like to have. What is the ideal number of clients you want to get?

It’s important that you write in clear detail what it is exactly that you want to achieve. But if your goals are not something that can be measured, write in as much detail as you can what you want to achieve.

This will help you see more clearly the action steps you need to take to achieve your goals.

Affirmative. The next thing I want you to focus on is the idea of affirmative goals. The thing is, our mind does not understand “no”.

It doesn’t distinguish between the negative or positive emotions that invade our mind when we read something.

That is why it’s important that our goals reflect what we want to achieve, not what we don’t want.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but believe me, we make this mistake more than we think.

So when writing your goals always think about the positive outcome that you want in your life. Not what you want to avoid or stop doing.

Realistic. The perfect balance for a resolution to be realistic is that the goal can be achieved in the time frame set, but at the same time, we can maintain that idea of a challenge. 

In other words, you have to establish a realistic deadline but your goal should still seem like a challenge.

So after setting a goal and establishing its deadline, ask yourself honestly if you believe you can actually achieve it.

Gain. It´s time to seriously ask yourself what you gain and what you lose by achieving that goal. Many times we set goals without considering the consequences they have in our life. 

So this is the time really consider the consequences of your goals and evaluate if you are willing to accept the changes these will have in your life.

Evidence. If you can imagine that goal, if you can visualize it, if you can create it in your mind, it will be so much easier to achieve it. 

This step is all about determining exactly when you will feel that you have achieved your goal.

Create an image in your head so real that you can describe it as if you were living it in real life. The place you are in, the people around you, the smells, the sounds, the way you feel knowing that you have accomplished one of your dreams.

The key is to create or describe the moment in which you have accomplished your goal.

Time. And finally, the last characteristic is time. It’s essential to put a deadline to your goals for two main reasons.

The first is because we have a bad habit of postponing things when there is no deadline. We procrastinate, we start making excuses, making false promises… 

Sometimes we even forget about the goals we set after a couple of weeks.

The second reason is that an objective or goal that has a deadline makes it more tangible, and more real. This makes the goal seem easier to achieve. 

Remember that as Seth Godin, a management and marketing guru, said, what makes a dream become a goal is its deadline.

Prioritize your goals

Once you have your weekly goals written out consider how urgent and important each of them is. And then prioritize them based on what needs to be accomplished first or what will have the most impact on your life.

This step will help you avoid the mistake of procrastinating everything, push yourself to get out of your comfort zone, and actually motivate you to complete those steps and tasks.

Break your goals into daily/weekly tasks

Once you set your goals using the T.A.R.G.E.T. method, break them into daily or weekly tasks that will help you achieve them.

You could do this by thinking of three daily actions that will create momentum toward that goal.

For example, if your objective is to walk 10,000 steps a day, your three daily actions could be:

• Having a 5km morning walk
• Taking the stairs instead of the elevator
• Go walking, instead of always taking the car.

If your goal is to prioritize yourself and connect with your inner self your three daily actions could be:

• Scheduling one small self care action a day
• Journal for 5 minutes every morning to get in touch with your emotions and feelings.
• Do one self discovery activity a week.

Breaking your weekly goals into daily actions will help you create an action plan for your goals and make them seem achievable and less intimidating.

Schedule them into your calendar

Now that you have your daily/ weekly actions, it’s time to schedule them into your calendar.

Treat your weekly goals as appointments with yourself by scheduling specific time slots in your calendar for each task or goal.

This will help you create accountability and ensure that you invest time in each of them.

And finally, stick to the schedule.

Treat these scheduled blocks of time as non-negotiable commitments. Avoid rescheduling or canceling unless it’s absolutely necessary, just like you would with any other important appointment.

Eliminate the unimportant

Another important fact to have in mind is the number of goals you set weekly. To make sure you are the most productive and focused try keeping your goals at 4-6 maximum.

If you are a beginner at goal setting, I highly suggest you keep it at 3 weekly goals maximum.

Take a look at your current commitments, daily habits, and tasks. Eliminate the time-consuming and unimportant tasks that are wasting your time.

You can also ask yourself these two questions to help you decide what is important to you weekly:

• What is the most important task/goal for this week?
• If I could only achieve one thing and make the week a success, I would… (insert goal)

P.S. Towards the end of this post you will you will find a couple of questions to ask yourself weekly to help you set and prioritize your goals.

21 examples of weekly goals

1. Learn a new recipe weekly
2. Don’t use your phone for a 1h since you wake up
3. Follow a new night routine
4. Exercise 4 times a week
5. Have a healthy sleep schedule
6. Read one blog post a day on a topic you are interested in
7. Read 10 pages daily of a self improvement book
8. Track your expenses and income for the week
9. Listen to a new podcast episode.
10. Have a journaling routine every morning
11. Practice gratitude daily
12. Meal plan your week ahead
13. Make your bed every morning
14. Have some self care time without feeling guilty
15. Don’t neglect house chores for the entire week
16. Make it a habit to start your day with positive affirmations.
17. List once a week everything that you love about yourself.
18. Limit takeout food.
19. Spend quality time with loved ones for at least two hours every weekend
20. Practice mindfulness meditation for 10 minutes every morning.
21. Schedule 4 self care activities throughout the week, to prioritize yourself

Questions to ask yourself when setting your weekly goals

Sometimes the goals setting process is not the hardest part, but actually deciding what is important and what you should focus on.

So to help make the process a little easier, here are 4 questions to ask yourself weekly:

• Does this goal help me achieve my largest life goals/long-term goals?
• How would achieving this goal impact my life?
• Realistically how much time would it take me to achieve this goal?
• What things have been on my to-do list for too long?

Final thoughts on setting weekly goals

In conclusion, setting weekly goals is a powerful tool that can transform your life. By breaking down your long-term goals into manageable tasks, you can boost your productivity, motivation, and focus.

When it comes to setting weekly goals, remember to be specific and measurable. Setting clear objectives helps you stay on track and gives you a sense of accomplishment when you achieve them. 

Don’t underestimate the power of small steps. By setting achievable weekly goals, you build momentum towards achieving your larger life goals.

Whether it’s learning a new skill, improving your health and fitness, or advancing in your career, weekly goals provide the structure and direction you need to progress.

To get started with setting weekly goals, identify what matters most to you and align your objectives accordingly. Break them down into actionable steps that are realistic yet challenging enough to push yourself outside of your comfort zone.

Setting weekly goals is not about perfection but progress. So celebrate your small victories along the way and learn from any setbacks or challenges that may arise.

And finally, remember that flexibility is key. Life is unpredictable, so be open to adjusting your goals as needed while staying focused on the bigger picture.

So go ahead, embrace the power of setting weekly goals! Take control of your productivity, motivation, and focus – because when you do, there’s no limit to what you can achieve in life!