Want to improve your life for good, but don’t know where to start? Well, here I am to help you with 21 short term goals examples that you can aim and achieve one by one to set yourself up for your new beginnings.  

As the New Year dawns, you wish to change your life for the better. You want to make yourself happy, successful, and the best version of yourself. 

Yes, the new year is the perfect time for you to embark on a journey of self-discovery, growth, and accomplishments. But what makes the difference here is a list of set goals. 

Imagine two people who want to be better by the end of the year but both have a different mindset and plans.

One person has made an entire plan and has a set list of goals for the year and another one has just thought in mind that he has to be better and hasn’t made any plans as such. 

By the end of the year, who do you think would have accomplished more?

The one with goals or the one with just the thought of it? 

In reality, it would just be the person who takes sincere action towards their goals because setting or not setting goals hardly matters if you don’t work towards them.  

If you are an action-taker, you are in the right place. 

In this blog, you’re going to explore 20 short term goals examples that can sprinkle a little extra magic into your everyday life. Buckle up; it’s going to be an exciting ride!

 

20 Short Term Goals Examples You Can Aim for Your New Beginnings

Have you made yourself new year goals yet? 

Possibility 1- Yes? 

What’s better than having a plan to achieve them? Nothing! So make sure you have conceivable and realistic goals and plans. I hope you accomplish all those goals by year-end.

Possibility 2- No?

Then what’s better than having a blog that can help you find such short term goals examples to be a better version of yourself? Nothing, right?

But hold on, I’m not talking about grand, life-altering, or long-term changes here. 

Nope, we’re diving into short term goals examples – those bite-sized, achievable milestones that will set the tone for you to have an amazing year ahead.

20 Short Term Goals Examples to Help You 

Short-term goals are never limited to a certain domain or niche, you get to achieve different things and cover diverse aspects of your life. 

From personal development to adventure and everything in between, let’s craft a roadmap and give you new short term goals examples that’ll help you make this year your best one yet.

 

1. Learn a New Skill

What’s better than starting your new beginnings with learning something different or something unusual? Or better! Learning a new skill different from your already dominant skills. 

• Learn copywriting
• Learn a new language
• Learn how to edit videos
• Learn how to sketch or paint 
• Learn to play a musical instrument
• Learn to dance or simply move your body
• Learn how to capture beautiful moments with a camera 

Embrace a new skill. It’ll add a dash of excitement to your routine. It’ll give you a new reason to wake up every day and learn something new. And who knows, maybe you’ll find your ikigai with it. I discovered a mind like that. 

Writing started as a hobby, then became my passion, and later became my career. Now it is my Ikigai.  

 

2. Learn a New Recipe 

Do you love cooking? 

Or rather the opposite, do you despise it? 

I surely fall into the latter category. I always saw cooking as a chore instead of a skill until recently when I realized it and started learning it: taking one recipe a week. 

If you love it, learn to make a new recipe or a dish from a different culture every week or month. It doesn’t matter if it’s perfect or not, at least try, try a different thing.

Channel your inner chef and experiment with different flavors. Maybe it’ll become your favorite experiment to try in life. 

And if you don’t like it! Start with a simple thing.

Start by a simple dish, or by helping someone make something. I usually do this with my mom. Try it yourself again, and get help from someone. 

It may not be perfect at first but you will love the process of making food for yourself or your loved ones. After all, effort is what matters the most. 

 

3. Start Reading a Book Every Month

Want to enhance your vocabulary or just for the love of reading stories, start reading a book every month.

You can start with literally anything, there’s such a diverse range of genres in books for you to choose from.

Want to understand yourself better? 

Read self-help books.

Want to dive into an imaginary world?

Read fiction.

Want to be better at finances?

Read finance books.

Want to be inspired?

Read memoirs of inspirational personalities. 

Dive into different genres, discover new authors, and let the pages transport you to captivating worlds.

 

4. Start a Journaling habit

What’s a better goal than starting your journal to document your thoughts, dreams, and daily adventures?  

Keep a journal where you can pour out your feelings, your aspirations, your dreams, and all the good and bad things you encounter daily.

Jot down what you learn every month. Highlight what you want to do better this month.

It’s a therapeutic practice that allows you to delve deep into yourself and practice self-reflection.

5. Run a 5K at the End of 3 Months

Want to achieve a strong mindset while building strength in your body? 

Set a goal for yourself to run a 5k at the end of 2-3 months. 

After setting the goal, start working out daily, and increase your running time daily. Work on your strengths and your shortcomings and improve your timing so you run. 

Build yourself so strong that by the end of that stipulated time, you’ll be able to run a 5k marathon without any break. 

You may ask how it’ll help you in building a strong mindset.  

Well, it’s not a joke to run 5k miles without any break, you need both mental and physical strength to do that. 

When you focus on achieving this goal, in the end, you will build yourself a habit of working out daily and pushing your limit further daily.

So, it’s time for you to lace up those sneakers and hit the pavement.

 

6. Practice Mindfulness Daily

With more and more cases of depression and anxiety surfacing in today’s world, you need to take care of your mental health. 

Nothing better than starting with mindfulness this year to be more calm and content with your life.

Start your day with easy meditation. Become more mindful of your actions, your emotions, and your surroundings as you practice it more. 

Take a few minutes in the morning to breathe, center yourself, and embrace the present moment in your day. 

 

7. Volunteer Every Month 

Ever wanted to help someone but never found what or how to? 

Seek volunteering opportunities in your surroundings. Try to give back to your community in any way possible.

Whether it’s at a food bank, an animal shelter, or a local charity, your time can make a meaningful impact. You can even find such opportunities online on websites and stay connected to them.  

If you still can’t find any such chance, make it a habit to give food to stray animals in your locality. If possible, try to shelter them.  

You can find many stray dogs trying to find food in the heaps of garbage. You can make sure they eat something good. 

 

8. Take a Digital Detox Every Weekend 

What was your average screen time this week?

7-8 hours?

Or worse, 11 hours? 

Uh-oh! Red signal for you to stop and take a look at your lifestyle. 

Stop using your phone for such long intervals. In short, get a life out of your mobile phone.  

Unplug from screens, social media, and emails. Connect with the real world around you. Go for a digital detox. 

Look at all the things happening in your vicinity. 

Did you check that new flower bud blooming?

Did you see how bright the sun is shining?

Did you listen to those birds chirping this morning?

Did you listen to what your parents wanted to say to you? 

Get out of your screens and see how beautiful the world is. 

Take a complete technology detox every weekend and refrain from using your screens. 

For workdays, be mindful of how you use your mobile phones or laptops, and don’t let those devices use you instead. Use mental health apps to keep a check on your screen time. Take enough breaks from time to time. 

It’s your life, live it for real and not on your screens!

9. Explore Your City Like a Tourist

Are you someone who likes to travel to different places? Is it on your bucket list to visit every part of the world or your country? 

But, have you ever visited your city properly? Seen every nook and corner of it? No, right?

Somehow, we all make the mistake of never exploring our own city properly. 

We may often just decline or ignore the presence of something intriguing in our city. After all, we have lived our entire life here. 

How can something be interesting in this boring place? But that’s where you and I are wrong.

Change this perspective this year and as they say, start within! 

Start exploring your city, and visit local landmarks, museums, or hidden gems you’ve overlooked so far. You’ll be surprised at what your city has to offer.

 

10. Start a Gratitude Journal

Begin your year on a positive note. This is what’s gonna put you in a different league from everyone else. 

Start by being thankful for everything that you’ve come across so far. Thankful for all the beautiful moments you had, for all the people you’ve met in your life, for all the things that made you happy so far. 

Thankful for all the people who have left you, all the situations that have broken you, and all the problems that you’ve faced and solved so far, for these have shaped you into who you are right now. 

With that, build a habit of being grateful for the things that you encounter daily. Jot down a few things you’re thankful for, whether you wanted that in your life or not.

It’s a simple but effective practice that can shift your perspective from negative to optimistic.

 

11. Attend a Workshop or Seminar now and then 

Want to learn more about a topic you’ve been interested in? 

What’s better than learning from someone who has gained knowledge on the topic?

Attend a seminar or a workshop going on nearby. Feed your curiosity and attend events that align with your interests. 

[If you’re interested in growing and monetizing a blog, you access my blogging workshop here.]

It’s an excellent way for you to meet like-minded individuals and share your thoughts with them while having the chance to listen to their knowledge and experience.

 

12. Create a Vision Board for your Goals 

In the long term, it’s often easy to stray away from your goal. So what keeps you grounded in such situations? A vision board! 

Before starting on your long-term goals, start by creating a vision board for yourself. 

Here’s a detailed blog on how to create your vision board. 

A vision board is a tangible reminder of your aspirations, of things that you want to achieve in life. It reminds you of the goals you set for yourself, for the small and big things you want to achieve. 

It makes you happy to see them being visualized in your mind and keeps you optimistic even in times when your situation isn’t that optimistic.

13. Habit of Daily Movement 

Is your big goal of the year to be fit? To be toned?

If yes, then why not start with a short goal of building a habit of moving daily? Seems simple, right? 

Go ahead then.

Start by freeing a slot of your timetable daily, either in the morning or evening before dinner. Although the best time is in the morning. If daily seems too much then start with 3 days a week or 4 days a week. With time, adjust it in your daily routine. 

My favorite movement activity is yoga. The steadiness of the process really helps in calming my senses and making me stay present in the moment. 

If procrastination takes a first step in it then try it for 5 minutes in starting. The main goal here is to break the inertia. When you ask yourself to just move for 5 minutes, even your mind won’t obstruct much. 

Start with 5-minute sessions 3 days/ week. At the end of three months turn it into 15-20 minutes daily. 

 

14. Learn a New Language 

The world is one today. 

In this globalized era with social media reaching every nook and corner irrespective of language, culture, and tradition, people are often tempted by a different culture. 

Why shouldn’t you be? There’s so much in the world to learn about and adore. So why should language be a barrier? 

Although Google Translate is easily available, it’s a different vibe to learn that language. It just brings us close to the new culture and everything about it. 

It’s so easy and fun these days to learn a new language. You can take a professional course or if you want to learn it from the comfort of your home, go for online courses or any app that specifies it. They help you learn a new language by giving you interesting tasks to make it fun.

 

15. Master the Art of Small Talk 

Ever thought about how mastering the art of small talk can open doors to relationships and opportunities you never expected? 

Let’s unravel the art of small talk!

It’s never just about casual chatter; it’s about networking. Small talk is a dance of connection and shared moments that help you cultivate new relationships and sustain existing ones. 

Imagine weaving through conversations effortlessly, turning small talk into meaningful connections that sustain in the long term. 

As you navigate social nuances, consider what stories could those brief exchanges tell about the tapestry of your life. How can they add to your life and make it more comfortable or just content? 

It’s not just about words; it’s about crafting connections that resonate with you and your life. 

 

16. Healthy Eating Routine

Now let’s delve into the intricacies of adopting healthy eating habits. 

Have you ever wondered how reshaping your relationship with food might not only enhance your physical health but also elevate your emotional well-being?

After all, it’s not just about what you eat; it’s about how you embrace and nourish your body and soul. 

Envision creating a colorful plate filled with nutrient-rich whole foods, from vibrant vegetables to lean proteins and wholesome grains. 

It’s not merely about counting calories; it’s about crafting a lifestyle that celebrates the joy of savoring every bite while fueling your body with the goodness it deserves. 

So, explore new recipes, savor the flavors, and let the journey of healthy eating become a transformative chapter in the novel of your life.

17. Start a Morning Routine

Are you someone who suffers from being unproductive the entire day and then feels worse at night for wasting your day?

Ever tried changing or framing your morning routine? 

Do you know that curating your morning routine not just shapes your day but redefines your life’s narrative?

Let’s help you craft a morning routine and change your life for good.

Morning routine is not just about habitual actions, it’s about sculpting the start of your day with intention and positivity. It’s not just about routines, it’s about architecting a life that speaks volumes about your priorities. 

Kickstart your day with intention. Whether it’s stretching, journaling, or enjoying a leisurely breakfast, a morning routine sets a positive tone. Envision this daily ritual, a series of mindful steps setting the tone for what follows. 

So, grab that cup of coffee, ponder these thoughts, and embark on a journey that transforms not just your mornings but your daily existence.

 

18. Create a Personal Budget 

Ask yourself, what financial goals make your heart race? How could mastering your money change the game for you? 

As you delve into the world of budgeting, consider what dreams could you fund with a well-organized budget. Many, right? 

Creating a budget isn’t just about crunching numbers; it’s about sculpting your financial future.

It’s not merely about dollars and cents; it’s about sculpting a life aligned with your aspirations. 

So, grab that budgeting tool, ask people around you, and take advice from people already mastering their budgets. Take advice from books, YouTube, and anywhere you think is worth finding. Apply lessons that resonate with you. 

Ponder over multiple questions and embark on a journey that challenges not just your finances but the very fabric of your life.

Take control of your finances by creating a budget. It’s a practical step toward financial freedom.

 

19. Start a Home Garden 

Creating a home garden isn’t just about planting seeds; it’s about cultivating your personal oasis right outside your doorstep.

Do you know nurturing a garden transforms not just your backyard but your daily perspective? Want to know how? Here’s how!

Picture this green haven, a sanctuary where your favorite blooms sway in the breeze. Doesn’t it refresh your mood, your aura, your vibes? It does, right? 

As you dig into the soil and tend to your plants, don’t those vibrant blossoms remind you about your journey on the way? That it started as a mere seed and look how beautiful a plant has grown out of it. You are the same, aren’t you? 

Growing a garden is not merely about growing plants; it’s about crafting a living, breathing piece of serenity that poses questions to the very essence of your home and life. 

So, grab those gardening gloves and embark on a journey that transforms not just your garden and surroundings but your everyday vibes.  

 

20. Start a Podcast or YouTube Channel

Picture this: you, your ideas, and a platform to share your unique vibe. It’s not just about creating content; it’s a digital playground where your personality shines. 

So, grab that mic or camera, hit record, and turn your passions into a channel of awesome content that resonates with like-minded people. Create a community of your own. I have done mine with a YouTube Channel.

It’s not just a short-term goal; it’s an adventure waiting to happen! 

If you find it worthy of your time and happiness as a short-term goal you can even try to make it your long-term goal. After all, there’s nothing bad in experimenting with something new. 

Conclusion

Well, there you have it – 20 short-term goals examples to sprinkle a bit of zest into your new journey. You can choose goals that align with your long-term goals or something simply you want as a new experience.  

Remember, the magic is in the journey itself not just the destination. So, pick a few goals that resonate with you, embrace the adventure, and make this year one for an experiment and experience. 

Cheers to your growth, joy, and endless possibilities that await you!