Creative & Goals
SMART Goal Setting for Beginners: A Workbook to State Your Goal and Plan This Week
Beginner | 2 whiteboard pages · Task board: 4 columns (4 parent tasks, 12 subtasks)
Beginner: No technical terms. Just answer the whiteboard's questions, following the examples, and it takes shape.
Anyone who can only write a fuzzy goal like I want to speak English uses this beginner-friendly SMART goal setting workbook to state one clear goal and plan the actions for this week. The whiteboard lays out Will, Can and Must in three columns to narrow the list to one goal, a radial diagram of the five SMART conditions, a four-step backcast from one year to this week, a frame for the rewritten goal, a table that contrasts fuzzy and SMART wording, and three frames for keeping the habit. The task board has four columns - write it out, fix with SMART, this week and review - and starts with 4 parent tasks and 12 subtasks, all not started. If you do not know how to set goals, filling in Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound in order gives you a goal that another person reads the same way. Unlike an OKR board for company-wide goal management, this workbook is built for one person setting a personal goal.
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Whiteboard preview
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SMART Goal Setting Workbook
How to use: (1) Narrow to one goal with Will, Can and Must → (2) Sharpen it against the five SMART conditions → (3) Work back from one year to this week → (4) Rewrite the goal so anyone reads it the same way
1. Will / Can / Must - narrow it to one goal
Will (what you want)
- Write three things you want to do e.g. run meetings without an interpreter / save more money / get fit enough to run again
- Add one line on why you want it e.g. because I want to deliver on next year's overseas trip. It feeds the R check in frame 2
- Circle the one that matters most and carry it into frame 2 e.g. pick meetings in English. Leave the other two written down and park them for now
Can (what you can do)
- Write what you can already do e.g. I read English email without a dictionary. Speaking stops at my self-introduction
- Write the time and money you can spend e.g. 30 minutes in the evening on weekdays and Saturday, up to 35 dollars a month for materials
- Starting from zero or almost there changes the A amount in frame 2 e.g. if you can read, you can put the time into listening and speaking
Must (what you have to do)
- Write the circumstances you cannot avoid e.g. an overseas trip is already set for April next year
- Look for a date already in your calendar e.g. the trip is April 2027, so it is a candidate for T in frame 2
- The goal where all three columns overlap is your own axis, and overlap is what keeps you going e.g. Will meetings, Can reading and Must the trip all point to English
2. Sharpen it with the five SMART conditions
- Run a meeting in English
- S Specific Can you say what you will do in one sentence? e.g. speak English becomes run a 30-minute meeting without an interpreter
- M Measurable Can you confirm it with a number? e.g. run three 30-minute meetings
- A Achievable Does it fit your current level and free time? e.g. four sessions of 30 minutes a week fit into the evening
- R Relevant Does it connect to your own purpose? e.g. to deliver results on next year's overseas trip
- T Time-bound Is the deadline written as a real date? e.g. by March 31, 2027
3. Backcast - one year to three months to one month to this week
- One year Put the five sharpened conditions into one sentence. The clean copy goes in frame 4. e.g. by March 31, 2027, run three 30-minute meetings in English without an interpreter.
- Three months Write in one sentence where you stand a third of the way in. e.g. run one 15-minute meeting in English, about a third of the yearly time and count.
- One month Break it into an amount you can count monthly. Three of four weekly sessions counts as done, so use 12 a month. e.g. take 12 online lessons and collect 30 phrases you could not say.
- This week - 7 days Up to three actions you can start today. e.g. choose the material / book four lessons / block 9 pm on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
4. The goal rewritten with SMART
- The rewritten goal e.g. by March 31, 2027, run three 30-minute meetings in English without an interpreter.
- The five conditions checked S run the meeting / M 30 minutes x 3 / A four sessions of 30 minutes a week / R for the overseas trip / T March 31, 2027
- Read it back with someone e.g. ask another person to read it. If they take the same meaning it is done. If not, go back to frame 2 and fix only the condition that slipped.
5. Rewriting examples - fuzzy versus SMART
| Fuzzy version | SMART version | |
|---|---|---|
| Language | I want to speak English - nothing says what done looks like | By March 31, 2027, run three 30-minute meetings in English without an interpreter |
| Exercise | Exercise more - no frequency and no amount, so skipping goes unnoticed | By December 31, 2026, walk 30 minutes three times a week and lose 3 kg |
| Money | Save more money - no number that counts as success | By August 31, 2027, save 150 dollars every month to reach 1,800 dollars |
6. Put it in the calendar first
- e.g. block 30 minutes from 9 pm on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday
- A goal with no time slot always loses to the rest of your calendar
- If 30 minutes will not stick, cut it to 15
- Decide the place too. e.g. open the material as soon as you sit at the desk
7. Log it where you can see it
- e.g. move a card to done every time you finish a session
- Count the sessions each week. Three out of four is a pass
- Count only the days you did it. Skipped days are not counted
- At month end go back to the five conditions and fix the numbers if they are too much
8. How to restart when you stall
- Two weeks with no movement means the amount is wrong, not your willpower
- e.g. cut four sessions a week to two and win back the feeling of finishing
- If it still will not move, rewrite Relevant, the reason you are doing it
- Record a decision to stop as well. It is material for choosing the next goal
Task board contents
Write it out 16 items
List your goals
Gather the raw material before you fix anything. Write the goals in Will, Can and Must on the board and narrow them to the one you will work on.
Write 3 goals
Write three things you want from work, learning and daily life. Do not polish the wording yet.
Add why in one line
Add one line on why each goal matters. It becomes the material for judging Relevant later.
Pick just one
Choose the one that is most urgent where Will, Can and Must overlap. Leave the other two written down and park them.
Sharpen with SMART
Apply the five SMART conditions in order until the goal can be stated outright. This is the heart of the workbook.
Make it specific
Write what you will actually do. e.g. speak English becomes run a 30-minute meeting without an interpreter.
Add a number
Put in a count, a duration, an amount or a total. It is done when someone else can judge whether you hit it.
Set a date
Write a real date instead of this year. If the date is out of reach, lower the amount rather than the deadline.
Down to this week
A goal does not move on the day you set it. Break one year down to this week so you can start today.
Year to 3 months
Write in one sentence where you stand after three months. Aim for about a third of the yearly time and count.
Set monthly amount
Turn it into an amount you can count monthly. Three of four weekly sessions counts as done, so use 12 a month. Write the amount as a count. e.g. take 12 online lessons.
List 3 tasks now
Write up to three actions you can finish within seven days and put them in the this week column.
Build the habit
Keep going with a system rather than willpower. Decide the time slot and the place to log it before you start.
Choose where to log
Decide where you mark each session. Moving a card to done on the task board is enough.
Block day and time
Fix the day and start time in your calendar. If it does not stick, halve the length and try again.
Check at month end
Count the number you set at the end of the month. If you fell short, fix either the amount or the deadline.
