How To Set Family Goals For 2025 (Free Worksheets)

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Setting family goals isn’t just about ticking items off a list—it’s about coming together, dreaming big, and building a stronger bond as a family. Think of it as a way to align everyone’s values and aspirations while creating awesome memories while you work toward something meaningful together.

If you’re already a fan of setting personal goals, this is your chance to take it to the next level and make goal-setting a team effort that brings everyone closer!

Family goals can help create a stronger, more connected family unit.

This guide will walk you through what family goals are, the benefits of setting them, and practical ideas to get started. I have included a list of family goal ideas to give you some extra inspiration too plus some free goal-setting printables!


What Are Family Goals?

Family goals are shared objectives that every member of the family contributes to achieving. These goals can range from improving relationships to tackling practical challenges like saving for a holiday or renovating a room in your house.

They’re designed to strengthen bonds, encourage teamwork, and give families a sense of purpose and direction. The best family goals are specific, actionable, and inclusive—making every family member feel involved.

And of course, a goal that the whole family is motivated to achieve!


Why You Should Set Goals As A Family

Solo goal-setting can feel like an isolated and lonely path sometimes, when you’re striving to turn your goals into a reality but without a support buddy to help you along the way. Setting goals as a family is quite the opposite!

There are so many great reasons to set family goals.

One of the best parts of family goal setting is the fact that you get to work together as a team! This is a fun way to strengthen bonds between family members and unite you as a family unit. Plus you get a whole family of goal support buddies!

They can improve communication by encouraging open discussions about needs and wants, helping with understanding and empathy among family members. The process of coming up with a shared goal helps each of you understand one another’s motivations better too.

Goal-setting promotes accountability by teaching responsibility as everyone plays their part in achieving shared objectives. No one wants to let the team down!

Alongside this, family goals encourage personal growth, allowing each member to develop new skills or improve existing ones. Encouraging a growth mindset is beneficial for everyone, no matter their age.

This is a beautiful thing to teach your kids!


Common Types of Family Goals

Here are some broad categories to help you start thinking about what goals might suit your family:

  • Relationship Goals: Improve communication, reduce arguments, and spend more quality time together.
  • Health Goals: Adopt healthier eating habits, exercise regularly, or reduce screen time.
  • Financial Goals: Save for a family vacation, pay off debt, or teach kids about budgeting.
  • Educational Goals: Encourage lifelong learning, support children’s education, or explore new hobbies as a family.
  • Community Goals: Volunteer together or participate in local events.
  • Fun Goals: Plan more family outings, try new activities, or start family traditions.

How to Set Family Goals

printable family goals worksheet.

Setting family goals has a lot of similarities to setting personal goals, but it also requires collaboration and consideration of everyone’s needs and priorities.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started:

1. Brainstorm Together

Gather everyone together to discuss what’s important to your family. This is a chance for all members to share their thoughts and contribute ideas.

Write down individual and collective goal ideas to help you identify the goal (or multiple goals) you want to work on together. Make sure everyone has a say to ensure the goals are meaningful to all – regardless of their age!

2. Make Goals SMART

printable smart goal planner.

Once you have identified the goals you want to work on as a family, it’s time to get really specific. A great way to do this is by using the SMART goals framework.

This is a framework that has been utilised throughout my career in psychology and in my personal life because it works!

If you haven’t heard of SMART goals, this method ensures your goals are:

  • Specific: Clearly define what you want to achieve. Instead of saying, “Spend more time together,” aim for something like “Have dinner together as a family five times a week.”
  • Measurable: Include criteria to track progress. For example, if your goal is to save for a family vacation, decide on the exact amount you want to save and how you will track it.
  • Achievable: Make sure the goal is realistic given your current circumstances. Setting a goal like running a marathon as a family may not be achievable for everyone, but committing to a daily 30-minute walk might be.
  • Relevant: Choose goals that align with your family’s values and priorities. If education is important, a goal like creating a family reading routine might make sense.
  • Time-bound: Set a deadline or timeline to create urgency and focus. For example, “declutter the garage by the end of the month” gives you a clear timeframe to work with.

Using the SMART goals method helps your family break down big ideas into actionable steps, making it easier to stay motivated and achieve success together.

Avoid vague goals like “spend more time together.” Instead, aim for something clear, such as “plan a family game night every Friday.”

3. Break Goals Into Smaller Steps

Divide big goals into smaller tasks. This means they won’t feel as daunting and your family are more likely to stay committed to the goal.

For example, if your goal is a family vacation, steps could include choosing a destination, saving a specific amount each month, researching attractions, and booking accommodation.

The great thing about having a goal shared with a group of people is that you all think differently, so as a family, you are bringing different ideas to the table that you may not have thought of if you were doing the same goal alone.

The great thing about this also means that the more each family member feels they have contributed, the more ownership and commitment they will feel towards succeeding at the goal.

4. Assign Roles and Responsibilities

Break down goals into smaller tasks and decide who will handle each part. For instance, if the goal is to declutter the house, assign specific rooms or tasks to each family member.

Different tasks are not always possible if your goal is a consistent habit like daily exercise together where everyone does the same thing. Instead, this stage of your goal setting process might look more like blocking out time on the calendar around each person’s weekly commitments to find a time that suits everyone.

5. Write Your Goals Down

printable goal setting worksheet.

Document your goals in a visible place, like on a whiteboard or on the fridge. This helps keep everyone accountable and it keeps the goal in the forefront of your mind.

Writing down goals is proven to make it more likely that you will accomplish them.

Also, don’t underestimate the power of vision boards and images that represent your goals.

For example, if a family vacation is the goal, a photo of your dream destination on the fridge is a great reminder every time each of you goes to the kitchen.

6. Track Progress

Monitoring progress is crucial to staying on track and maintaining motivation.

While being measurable is part of the SMART goal framework, this deserves extra attention because it helps your family see how far you’ve come and what is left to accomplish.

You can use a family calendar, a whiteboard, or even a digital app to mark milestones or completed tasks. Celebrate small wins along the way to keep spirits high and remind everyone why the goal is worth working toward.

Regularly review progress as a family to adjust timelines or tasks if needed, ensuring everyone stays aligned and committed.

We humans thrive on a bit of positive reinforcement and seeing our goals progressively getting a tiny bit closer is a huge motivator!

5. Celebrate Successes

Acknowledge and celebrate when you achieve a goal. Sometimes the goal itself is the celebration – like a family trip or a special day out.

But if it isn’t that type of goal, it deserves its own special celebration. It could be as simple as a family pizza night or a trip to the cinema. Celebrate yourselves because you deserve it!

List Of Family Goal Ideas

The type of goals that your family set will be very different to those set by another family, however this list of goals for families will give you a few ideas to help get you started:

  1. Renovate a room in the house
  2. Save for a family vacation
  3. Plan a trip to Disney
  4. Save for a backyard pool
  5. Host a weekly family game or movie night
  6. Cook dinner together as a family once a week
  7. Create a family vegetable or flower garden
  8. Complete a community service project together
  9. Organise a family photo album or scrapbook
  10. Save for a new family car
  11. Plan a camping or road trip adventure
  12. Adopt a family pet
  13. Declutter and organize one area of the house each month
  14. Set up a chore system that works for everyone
  15. Create a fitness goal, like walking 10,000 steps a day as a family
  16. Read one book together each month
  17. Learn a new skill or hobby as a family, like baking or painting
  18. Save for a home improvement project, like a patio or deck
  19. Plan a surprise party or event for a family member
  20. Reduce household waste and implement recycling habits
  21. Start a family savings jar for a fun treat or activity
  22. Take an educational trip to a museum or historical site
  23. Celebrate each family member’s birthday in a unique way
  24. Try a no-spend weekend or month to build better financial habits
  25. Teach kids about saving money by opening their own savings accounts
  26. Plan a family technology-free day or weekend
  27. Volunteer together at a local charity or shelter
  28. Complete a 1,000-piece puzzle as a team
  29. Train together for a family-friendly 5K or fun run
  30. Take professional family photos once a year
  31. Host a neighbourhood or family BBQ
  32. Create a bucket list for the year and check off items together
  33. Work on improving family communication skills
  34. Learn a new language or culture as a family
  35. Commit to a monthly date night for the parents
  36. Save for a big-ticket family purchase, like a trampoline or gaming system
  37. Organise and decorate for holidays as a family tradition
  38. Visit all the local parks or landmarks in your area
  39. Start a gratitude jar to share what you’re thankful for daily or weekly
  40. Schedule monthly family outings, like hiking, picnics, or museum visits.
  41. Establish a “no phones at the dinner table” rule to encourage conversation.
  42. Start a family fitness challenge (e.g., 50 squats a day).
  43. Cook and eat at least three homemade meals together each week.
  44. Replace sugary snacks with healthier alternatives.
  45. Help kids set and achieve academic goals, like improving a grade or learning a new skill.
  46. Start a family business
  47. Work on a long-term project, like redesigning the garden or building a treehouse.
  48. Run a marathon.
  49. Plan for full-time travel.
  50. Move abroad.

BONUS IDEA: Start an A to Z challenge where each month you do an activity that relates to a letter of the alphabet. For example, in your first month, you could visit an aquarium or take an art class for the letter A. This is a fun way to lock in a regular family day and get outside your comfort zone with trying something new!

Free Family Goal Setting Printables

goal setting printables.

Turn your family goals into a plan with these free printable goal-setting worksheets. You will find them in my huge printable library and loads of other practical printables. Get them free when you sign up for my newsletter.

family goals sheet.

GET THESE PRINTABLES IN MY FREE PRINTABLES LIBRARY!

Setting family goals is a meaningful way to bring your family closer while encouraging personal growth, accountability, and lots of fun too. What family goal are you planning to kick off with?

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