A goal in Goal Planner has two parts: the goal itself (what you want, by when, and why) and the plan (the steps you'll take and the milestones you'll pass). You fill in the first part in a short form, then build the plan on the goal's detail panel.
1. Open the New Goal form
Click New Goal — it's in the top bar of the Dashboard and in the toolbar on My Goals. The New Goal form opens.
At the top you'll find the SMART Goal Guide. Click it to expand a quick checklist — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound — with a question and tips for each. It's optional, but it helps you turn "get fit" into "run a 5K".
2. Fill in the fields
Only two fields are required: Goal Name and Area of Life.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Goal Name * | The outcome you want, e.g. "Run a half marathon" |
| Area of Life | The life area the goal belongs to (required) |
| Status | Not Started, In Progress or Achieved — new goals start as Not Started |
| Deadline | The date you want to reach the goal by (today or later) |
| Savings Target | Optional amount and currency for goals that need money |
| What do you want to achieve? | A longer description of the goal |
Under Planning details you can answer three more questions: Why is this goal important?, How do you measure success? and Reward — how you'll treat yourself when you get there. These show up on the goal's detail panel to keep you motivated.
Two more options sit below:
- Repeating goal — tick this for goals you want to do again every Week, Month, Quarter or Year. When you mark a repeating goal Achieved, a fresh copy opens for the next period with the same steps and milestones.
- Linked Habits — if you use Habit Tracker, pick the habits that support this goal. Your consistency with those habits then counts towards the goal's progress.
Add a deadline. Goals with a deadline show "days left", appear in Top Priorities and can be picked as Your next step on the dashboard ahead of goals without one.
Click Create Goal. The form closes and the new goal opens straight away, ready for its plan.
A Savings Target creates a matching savings fund in Budget Planner when cross-module sync is on. A Cover Image can be added after the goal is created — open the goal, click the pencil (edit) icon and upload a JPEG, PNG or WebP up to 5MB.
3. Add steps
Steps are the concrete actions that move the goal forward — "Buy running shoes", "Run 3 times a week". On the goal's detail panel, find the Steps section, type into Add a step... and press Enter or click the + button. Add as many as you need.
- Drag the handle on the left of a step to change the order. The first open step is the one shown as Your next step.
- Click the trash icon to remove a step.
The goal's progress percentage is based on how many steps you've completed, so a goal with no steps stays at 0%.
4. Add milestones
Milestones are checkpoints — moments that show you're on track, like "Run 10 km without stopping". In the Milestones section, type a Milestone title..., optionally pick a target date, and click +.
Milestones with a date show how many days are left (or Overdue) and appear in Upcoming Milestones on the dashboard. Milestones don't change the progress percentage — they're there to mark the big moments.
Editing or deleting a goal
On My Goals, each card has a pencil icon (Edit goal) and a trash icon (Delete goal). The same actions are in the top-right corner of the goal's detail panel. Deleting asks you to confirm first.
FAQ
Check that you've entered a Goal Name and chosen an Area of Life. If the area is missing you'll see "Pick a life area for this goal."
The habit list only appears when you have active habits in Habit Tracker. Add a habit there first, then edit the goal.
Yes. Use a template and the steps and milestones are added for you — see Using goal templates.