The Best 90-Day Goal Setting System

If you know me, you know I’m all about goal setting. I’m not the type of person who waits for New Year’s to set goals for the year, I set them whenever it feels right. It’s taken years for me to figure out the best goal setting system for myself, but I’m so happy to say I finally found it. This 90-day system is so easy to implement into your life and makes it SO much easier to set, track, and accomplish any/all of your goals. Whether it be personal development, work, financial, or health & fitness goals – this template is going to help you (immensely) to crush them!

Why a 90-Day (Seasonal) Goal Setting System?

It took me forever to figure out what time frame was “best” for setting goals. You hear different things from everyone… From “it takes 21 days to form a habit” people to New Years Resolutions people, it’s impossible to determine the “best” time frame for accomplishing your goals.

Personally, I never liked the whole New Years Resolution thing. I love setting goals and focusing on personal development, but I hate that it’s supposed to be something you decide on one day of the year and stick to for 365 days.

I also don’t think that 21 days is really enough time for full habit-formation. Sure, you’re much more likely to stick to a habit that you’ve done for 21 days straight vs. something you do irregularly… But I think it’s just as easy to quit a habit after 21 days if you don’t like doing it, as it is to quit a habit you’ve been doing for a day or two.

Also, I don’t believe you can get THAT much accomplished in only 21 days. You need more time to cement habits into your brain, your daily routine, and eventually your lifestyle.

The best length of time I’ve found when it comes to goal setting is 90 days. Your goals should ebb & flow throughout the year (just like the seasons do). Which is what makes 90-day goals (or 3-month goals) absolutely perfect. You have time to really commit to what you want to achieve, while still having the flexibility to change things up if it’s not working. Instead of feeling locked into a goal for the entire year, you’re able to change it (or completely get rid of it) if you need to.

Let’s get into more detail on how this works…

How do you set achievable goals?

We’ve all heard of the SMART goals system (at least I’m assuming you have if you’re reading this article…) Setting “SMART goals” stands for:

• S – specific
• M – measurable
• A – attainable
• R – relevant
• T – time-bound (1)

Setting SMART goals is important because 1. you need to be realistic about what you can achieve & 2. you want to be specific on what you’re actually planning to accomplish.

For example, if you’re setting a goal involving gaining muscle, you would want to get specific on what you’re trying to accomplish. Instead of just saying you want to be more muscular, you would say something like this:

“I will gain 10 pounds of muscle by the end of 2021.”

Phrasing your goal this way (instead of the initial vague goal) seems simple, but makes it much more likely you’ll actually accomplish it. It’s specific & measurable (10 pounds of muscle), attainable (vs. saying you want to gain 10 pounds of muscle in the next week…), relevant to your overall goal, and time-bound (the end of 2021).

Here’s the kicker, just setting a SMART goal doesn’t magically cause you to achieve the goal. Once you have your goal(s) set in this format, you have to actually take action.

Writing out your goals, creating a vision board, envisioning yourself accomplishing your goals, etc., are all great tools when it comes to accomplishing your goals. But if you don’t get off your booty & actually take action, it’s all for nothing.

That’s where my 90-day goal setting system comes into play…

My 90-Day (Seasonal) Goal Setting System

This is the system I’ve been utilizing to set my goals (then take action & CRUSH my goals) for the past 9 months. I’ll never go back to any other way of goal setting.

Get your FREE printable goal setting system 👇🏼. This template makes it simple to fill out steps 1-4 of my 90-day tracker (& actually accomplish your goals.)

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Step 1 – Write out your controllable goal(s)

You’ll start by creating a (results-focused) vision. To do this, write out 3-5 (controllable) goals in this format:

I will complete a specific quantifiable goal by date.

If you don’t have 3-5 goals – that’s okay! Just focus on the goals you have that actually matter to you. Don’t start writing out random goals just for the sake of writing more goals.

In this first section, I only want you to focus on goals that are in your control (AKA habits you want to form). For example, write something like “I will lift weights 4x/week for the next 3 months” instead of “I will gain 5 pounds of muscle in 3 months.” You’re still working towards the second goal, but the outcome isn’t fully in your control. We’ll get to those types of vision-centered goals in a second…

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Step 2 – Write out your vision-centric (uncontrollable) goals

When you envision your life in 3 months, what do you see?

Write out your vision-centric goals in the same format as above:

I will complete a specific quantifiable goal by date.

These goals are based on the outcomes that you envision in your life but aren’t fully in control of. Take my example above: “I will gain 5 pounds of muscle in 3 months.” This is an incredible outcome-focused goal that you would use in this section.

These aren’t the goals you’re going to be taking action on daily (like your step 1 goals) – they’re the outcomes you want to see at the end of the season.

For example, if you’re trying to grow the amount of money you’re bringing in from your jewelry-making side hustle… A great vision-centric goal would be “I will be making $500/month by the end of March.”

If this is your vision-centric goal, you’ll want to make sure your actionable (step 1) goals are in line with it. If your actionable goal is to make 10 bracelets a week – that’s perfectly in-line with your vision-centric goal and you’re on your way to achieving it! But if your actionable goal is to eat a salad every day… That’s a great goal – but not going to move the needle forward on your side-hustle money.

Make sure your actionable & vision-centric goals work hand-in-hand to really make this system work.

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Step 3 – Track your monthly metrics

To accomplish any goal, you need to be tracking your achievements. If you’re not even keeping track of your wins – what’s the point of goal-setting?

I know it can be scary at first to start tracking, because what if you’re moving in the wrong direction??

Honestly, if you’re moving in the wrong direction – that’s a great thing to know. That’s the only way you’ll realize you got off track and need to make some changes in your day-to-day. This way you can get turned around and start to move towards your goal again (instead of away from it). If you’re not tracking your metrics, you may have no idea that you’re even moving in the wrong direction.

More than likely though, you will be moving towards your goal(s) if you’re setting SMART goals, taking action every day, and believing in yourself.

By tracking, you’ll see the positive improvements in your life based on your metrics. This is even more motivation to keep kicking their butts!

To track your metrics, you’ll have to figure out 3-5 ways to measure your goal(s) that you can track on a monthly basis.

For example, let’s look at the goal I mentioned above: gaining muscle. One of your metrics would be your weight. Write down where your weight starts at the beginning of the season and then check it again ONLY at the end of every month.

If you are constantly checking your metrics, you’ll get demoralized really quickly. We’re human & we will naturally have ups & downs when it comes to seeing progress. If you check your metrics every day, those down days will throw you off course faster than anything. ONLY check at the end of the month, and write down your progress.

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Step 4 (Final Step) – Look back on your progress

As I said above, there’s no point in accomplishing goals if you’re not going to look at your achievements & feel proud of yourself!

At the end of the 90 days, look back at the progress you’ve made and ask yourself these 4 questions:

1. What did you accomplish that you’re most proud of?
2. What parts of your progress are making you most confident for next season?
3. What’s exciting you the most for next season?
4. Write out 2-5 goals that you can accomplish next season.

These questions not only help you to look back at what you’ve already accomplished but also to move forward into the next 90-day season with a positive attitude. You’re looking back on what you did well, what you could tweak a bit, and how you want to move forward. This end-of-season review is essential for continuing the flow of motivation into future goals.

Get your FREE printable goal setting system here 👇🏼. This template makes it easy as pie to fill out every step of my 90-day system.

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Extra Resources

In addition to filling out my seasonal goal setting system every 90 days (and checking back in at the end of each month), I like to use a few other resources to stay organized in my day-to-day life. These help me to stay focused on my goals, plan out my weeks in a way that’s advantageous for my long-term goals, and stay motivated!

A few of my favorite resources include:

• this wall/desk calendar (to write out my big week-to-week to-do’s)
• a planner (to plan my months out)
• highlighters & the BEST multi-colored pens (to color coordinate different sections of my calendar/planner: fitness, work, social, blog work, etc.)
• multi-colored tabs (to easily find my place in my planner/ stick easy reminders for a page I need to go back to)
• Google Keep, Sheets & Calendar (an easy & free way to stay updated on my plans & lists on the go)
• sticky notes (you’re not even trying to stay organized if you don’t use sticky notes all over your desk ;))
• a desk organizer set (to hold all my planners, folders, notebooks, pens/highlighters in an organized, easy to maneuver, way)
• a little desk notebook (to write out the day’s MITs [2-3 most important tasks] and have the satisfaction of checking them off the list!)

organization essentials

I hope this goal setting system & all the organizational tools help you to crush your goals this year! (& for many years after.) If you have any questions or organization/ goal setting tips, drop them in the comments below. 👇🏻

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