If you really want to start accomplishing more in life, it starts by setting goals. In this case, mad goals.
I’m sure hearing the term “mad” goals seems a bit intense, but I assure you that it’s not. It’s actually a quick way to create goals that you can ultimately stick to.
So if you have some really big things that you want to accomplish in your finances, career, or even health, consider using the mad goals method.
In this post, I’ll dive into the concept of MAD goals and provide over 75 mad goals examples across different categories to inspire you as you set your goals.
First, let’s start with defining what mad goals are.
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What Are MAD Goals?
Mad goals is a simple framework for developing goals. It simply stands for having goals that are:
- Measurable – This means that you can measure or quantify what you want to achieve
- Attainable – This means that is something that is realistically doable, yet still stretches you out of your comfort zone
- Deadline driven – This is the specific date that you want to achieve your goal
By ensuring that your goals are able to meet these three simple criteria, you can develop a clear and practical roadmap for goal setting.
You know exactly what you want to achieve and when you want to achieve it—which is the basis of great goal setting.
MAD Goals vs SMART Goals
Now, you may have heard the term SMART goals before. Although there are some variations, this acronym is most widely known as goals that are:
- Specific – Are clearly defined so you know exactly what you want to accomplish
- Measurable – Can be quantified so that you can measure if they’ve been achieved
- Achievable – Something that can be realistically achieved
- Relevant – Align with your overall vision for your life or finances to ensure that it’s a meaningful goal
- Time-bound – Have a target date for when you want to accomplish your goals
As you can tell, these two goal-setting frameworks are very closely aligned. The SMART goals are a bit more comprehensive with the inclusion of relevance and specificity. Whereas the MAD method solely focuses on your goals being doable and time-bound.
Nonetheless, the MAD method provides a much quicker and streamlined way to set your goals.
75+ Mad Goals Examples To Adopt This Year
So now that you understand the difference, here are some ideas for MAD goals that you can set for yourself.
Because this list is pretty long, I’ve broken it up into specific goals for different categories to make it easier to navigate.
Although these are all good ideas of goals that you can adopt for yourself, remember that it’s just the beginning. Use them as inspiration as you create your own.
MAD Goals Examples for Finances
It’s important to have both short-term and long-term goals for your finances. Here are some financial goals that you can set for yourself this year. For more financial goal ideas, check out our post on money goals to set each year.
- Save $1,000 for an emergency fund within 12 months.
- Pay off all credit card debt by the end of the year.
- Pay off student loan debt in the next 18 months.
- Pay off medical debt in the next 12 months.
- Save $10,000 for a new car over the next 18 months.
- Increase side hustle income to $1000 per month by the end of the year.
- Increase monthly savings by 15% over the next six months.
- Increase retirement savings to 10% of income over the next 12 months.
- Achieve a credit score of 750 within 18 months.
- Invest $1000 into an index fund over the next 6 months.
- Reduce monthly expenses by $200 dollars within 60 days.
- Save $20,000 for the down payment of a home over the next 18 months.
- Give $500 to charity over the next 6 months.
- Save $5,000 for vacation over the next 9 months.
- Read 3 personal finance books within the next 90 days.
- Buy a new home in the next 2 years.
- Pay for a car in cash within the next 2 years.
- Become financially independent within the next 5 years.
- Reach a $1M net worth within the next 10 years.
- Acquire a real estate investment property in the next 5 years.
MAD Goals Examples for Fitness & Health
Taking care of your physical health is one of the most important things that you can do for yourself. After all, if you aren’t in good health it’ll be impossible to achieve any of the other goals that you set for yourself. Here are some fitness goals to set.
- Run a mile in under 10 minutes within the next six months.
- Run a continuous mile in 4 weeks.
- Run a 5K in under 30 minutes within the next 12 months.
- Complete a 5K race in the next 3 months.
- Drank 64 oz of water daily.
- Take 10,000 steps every day for the next 30 days.
- Complete 100 consecutive push-ups by the end of the year.
- Lose 20 pounds by exercising and eating a balanced diet in six months.
- Exercise for 30 minutes 5 days a week over the next 3 months.
- Achieve touching toes within three months from consistent stretching to improve flexibility.
- Achieve a 15% body fat percentage within a year through regular workouts and healthy eating.
- Incorporate 2-minute movement breaks every hour during work over the next 30 days.
- Benchpress 100 pounds within the next 6 months with incremental weight increases every week.
- Complete 10 pull-ups in the next 30 days.
- Lose 2 inches around the waist in 30 days.
- Reduce cholesterol to within the healthy range over the next 6 months through proper diet and exercise.
- Reduce blood pressure to within the healthy range over the next 6 months through proper diet and exercise.
- Complete annual physical in the next 3 months.
- Meal prep all meals and avoid eating out for the next 30 days.
- Give up snack foods for the next 30 days.
MAD Goals Examples for Career
Most people want to be successful in their careers. In order to do this, you must have clear goals that will help take you to the next level. Here are some career goals that you can set for yourself, no matter what industry you’re in.
- Secure a promotion within the next nine months.
- Negotiate my salary by 10% within the next 3 months.
- Achieve a professional certification within my field in the next six months.
- Take 4 continual education courses/trainings over the next 12 months.
- Read 12 personal development books over the next 12 months.
- Complete 3 Toastmasters speeches over the next 3 months.
- Attend 3 networking events within the next 30 days.
- Present at an industry conference within the next 12 months.
- Submit 5 job applications for a high-level position within the next two weeks.
- Reach VP level within 5 years.
- Become a Senior Partner within 5 years.
- Retire in the next 15 years.
- Attend two professional conferences this year.
- Win the top employee/salesperson award for the quarter.
- Learn a new career-related skill within the next 3 months.
- Hire a career coach in the next 30 days.
MAD Goals Examples for Business
Having a successful business starts by having great goals. Here are some MAD business goals that you can use in your own business.
- Start a new side hustle in the next month.
- Increase the number of active clients by 25% over the next quarter.
- Reduce monthly expenses by 5% over the next three months.
- Generate $100K in revenue over the next 12 months.
- Hire a virtual assistant in the next 30 days.
- Increase marketing spending by 5% over the next 2 months.
- Start a YouTube channel and post 1 video per week for the next 12 weeks.
- Sell 10 products in the next 14 days.
- Publish 52 podcast episodes this year.
- Send out 1 newsletter per week for the next 3 months.
- Start an Etsy shop in the next 30 days.
- Publish one blog post per week this year.
MAD Emotional Goals Examples
Taking care of your mental health is just as important as your physical health. Although, most people don’t tend to create emotional wellness goals, it is the key to a happier life. Here are some emotional goals to consider.
- Complete 1 daily journal entry over the next 90 days.
- Complete a 1-minute session of deep breaths & mindfulness every day over the next 30 days.
- Decrease my phone screen time by 25% over the next month.
- Read 3 mindset books over the next 3 months.
- Spend 1 hr per week doing self-care activities for the next 12 weeks.
- Complete a 7-day mental detox over the next 30 days.
- Walk outside 3 days per week for at least 10 minutes over the next 4 weeks.
- Take at least two mental health days over the next 30 days.
- Completely unplug 30 minutes before bed every night for the next 4 weeks.
- Complete a 30-day social media fast within the next quarter.
- Call at least one friend every week for the next 12 weeks.
- Pray/meditate for 10 mins per day for the next 30 days.
How to Achieve Your Goals Faster
Now that you have a list of goals to achieve, the next step is to create a plan to achieve them.
As the old saying goes, a goal without a plan is just a wish. So if you want to achieve the goals that you just learned and more, you need a solid plan.
Reaching your goals is more than just writing them down. That’s just the start. You actually need a plan to implement them in a way that’s simple.
It’s important to have realistic expectations when it comes to achieving your goals. Some goals will take a long time to achieve; however, with the right plan, you can always achieve your goals faster.
Here’s how.
1. Write your goals down
The best way to keep your goals top of mind is to write them down and even make visuals.
Statistics show that you’re 20-40% more likely to reach your goals when they’re written down and visible.
So if you want to achieve your goals, let alone achieve them faster, you’ll want to write them down. Even consider creating a visual of your goals like a vision board.
Once you’ve written your goals down, be sure to keep them in a place where you can see them. Seeing them will remind you to take the actions necessary to reach those goals. So keep them visible!
2. Focus on a few goals at a time
Divided focus can slow down your progress. So when you’re working to achieve your goals faster, only focus on a few at a time.
This doesn’t mean that you limit the number of things that you want to accomplish. Instead of creating a list of 10 goals that you want to reach, only focus on 2-3 at a time. Once you’ve accomplished one, then you can add another.
When your focus is divided, you can’t give the time and effort necessary to efficiently achieve your goals. So focus your time and energy on the few that are most important first.
3. Break them down into daily tasks
The easiest way to accomplish your goals faster is by breaking them down into smaller, daily tasks.
Breaking your goals down into daily, weekly, or even monthly milestones makes them more attainable. When your goals feel possible, you’re more likely to work toward them.
We’re human and we love rewards. So if you focus on accomplishing the daily actions that will move you toward your goals, you’ll have the momentum to keep going.
Create daily routines that include action steps for your goals. Having good habits for managing your time will ensure that you’re taking steps to achieve your goals.
6. Fine an accountability partner
An accountability partner can play an essential role in achieving your goals faster. This is someone who will check in to make sure that you’re taking action toward your goals. Simply, they’ll hold you accountable for what you said you’d do.
There is something about answering to another person that makes you more likely to commit to our goals. When you know that you’ll have to provide an update to someone else, you’ll likely do the work.
But there’s more benefit to accountability partners than just holding you to your world. They also provide support, advice, encouragement, and motivation, and they’ll push you beyond your limits. This is all necessary if you want to reach your goals faster.
7. Celebrate when you reach milestones
Track your progress so that you can acknowledge and celebrate your achievements along the way to stay motivated. Celebrating your wins is a healthy way to stay motivated to keep going.
Don’t forget to be flexible. Life happens and you may have to pivot. As long as you keep your goals in mind and continue working toward them, how you get there doesn’t matter.
Check out our post on how you can achieve your goals faster for more ideas.
FAQ
What does measurable mean in MAD goals?
Measurable means that you can put a value to your goals to know whether or not you achieve it. Ex. Losing 20 lbs is measurable because you can measure if you lose 20 lbs or not.
What does attainable mean in MAD goals?
Attainable means that it’s actually possible. An example of a goal that is not attainable is growing 5ft overnight. This is unrealistic and humanly impossible.
Final thoughts on MAD goals
Hopefully, this post has given your a new look at how you can achieve your goals. The MAD goals method is a great way to develop goals for your personal and professional life.
Whether you’re trying to reach financial goals, improve your health, or advance in your career, these MAD goal examples will help kick-start your journey toward a more fulfilling and successful life.
Now that you know how to create MAD goals, go create your own list and be sure to share them below.
As Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI), she has been teaching personal finances to women & youth for over a decade.
Fo is an established writer and expert contributor on the topics of personal finance, budgeting, debt payoff, money mindset, saving, entrepreneurship, investing, motherhood, personal development, and more.