10 things to do start of every month- Monthly planning checklist
I have spent a lot of time, basically planning my life, every year setting new goals for the new year with enthusiasm ( still do) but miserably failed to accomplish them! Only This year, I was able to make the most of my time and accomplish my goal by planning things to do every month and create a monthly planning checklist!
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How can I make the most of the month?
Today I will be sharing with you, the monthly planning checklist that keeps my enthusiasm and actions going!
Planning yearly is great but it can feel overwhelming! And planning weekly can challenging! as we need to plan in-depth and sometimes we are confused about our goals
Hence, incorporating things to do at the beginning of every month can make you super organized and stress-free!
Here are 10 things I do at the beginning of every month as part of monthly planning checklist
But first!
1. Reflect on the past month
Reflecting on your past month is the best way to begin the next!
Why?
Looking at our past month’s activities and goals, just overall reflecting on how the month went can help us learn things we need to work on!
You will get to know your strengths and weakness by reflecting
Keep track of everything you did the previous month! How much time do you spend working and how much just lounging!
It is tough to face it and can make us feel demotivated too, but that is exactly what we need to accept where things went wrong so, we can move forward and Improve our life!
Tools and ways I like to do
For my work-which is blogging, I like to use notion which helps me keep track of all the things related to work
I even write my goals and what is the post I want to post on the particular month
At the beginning of next month, I like to check and reflect if I accomplished my goals or not
If not, what are the reasons? Where I was spending my time and doing what?
Introspecting helps me know myself more and then I can look for ways to improve!
2. Set the theme and goal for the month
Once you have reflected on the past and examined everything, it is time to make new goals and set a theme for the new month!
You might be wondering what setting a theme even means?
I recently learned this from a podcast I listened to, in which the alien would set a theme for her every podcast season!
Each season would have a particular theme and all her episodes would revolve around them
For eg- self-love, manifestation, and so on!
I found it interesting and wondered how about setting a theme for each month?
Instead of setting yearly as I find setting a theme for each month is amazing!
What I do is-
I give each month a title, what the whole month will be about, and keeps my main focus like that!
For example- This month’s focus is to make tons of content for my audience
For next month I want to focus on my body more! I still do workouts occasionally but I want to go back to my old track and give my health more focus!
Quote by Esther Jno-Charles: “What you focus on expands“.
Hence, setting goals and a theme for the month where you give full attention to that area of your life will give you enough time to work and learn, and eventually it will grow!
3. Plan
Now that you have set a theme for the month and written down the goals you wish to achieve, It’s time for planning!
Planning becomes easy when you know what you want to achieve, which is why it was important to do the first two steps!
Tips on planning
Start by doing some research, Whatever goal you have, get some more knowledge on that topic!
Maybe it is to eat healthily, then look at blogs, books, or go to an expert to find the best way to eat healthily!
If it is to learn a particular language, then look up the best way to learn, whether you want to do self-study or have a coach or go to an academy, which academy would be best!
Get a plain notebook or planner, and write down things you learned!
Write down all the steps you will take to reach the goal!
4. Start a 30-day challenge
One of the best ways to make the most of the month is to start a 30-day challenge!
Especially if you are confused and don’t know what you want to do, finding 30-day self-improvement challenges can be helpful! Here is my post on 30 self-improvement challenges! Click here
If you have a goal, even then starting 30 days challenge can keep you motivated and help achieve it better!
For example- getting fit is the goal for the month, then you can follow a 30-day fitness challenge video on Youtube!
5. Check and plan your finances
The beginning of the month is a great time to check your past expenses and plan for the upcoming month!
If you splurged a lot last month, then this month planning out to save better and spend money intentionally is great!
Also, a great time to invest in yourself! Investing in yourself is never a waste of money, so go ahead!
Tips on planning your finances!
- Write down your income for the month, or goal if you are an entrepreneur
- List out How and where you can spend money for it to grow more!
- Write down your Current budget for the month
- List out the expenses you have this month
- Remove the expenses you can avoid or find to be meaningless
6. Declutter
A new month means new & fresh energy!
Getting rid of the items you don’t need anyone and just decluttering as much as you can help simplify life!
We have some junk and clutter that only makes us anxious!
The more things you own, the more responsibilities you will have to take care of them!
Looking around all the things you have intentionally and asking yourself- if they are serving your life in a better way or just owning them makes you anxious?
If you find it does really add any meaning in life, you probably don’t use it anymore-thinking one day you will ( which by the way never comes!)
It is damn time you get rid of them girl!
7. Schedule me-time
A must on the list!
If you did not put in your monthly goals, which I believe you probably did not, Scheduling- me-time is compulsory!
We all tend to prioritize other important tasks in life except for ourselves! Prioritizing- career, friends, family, and keeping ourselves last
Self-care is a form of self-love, if you do not take the time to give love and care for yourself, eventually, you will be disconnected and burnt out in life!
Involving in self-care activities feel help you feel relaxed and even more energetic to achieve your goals
I personally experienced, that whenever I push me-time or just taking care of myself aside, my mental health gets affected and even I get into this negative mind space which eventually leads to unproductivity
You see how everything is connected right?
If you want to know what self-care activities you can indulge in then click here!
8. Plan meetup with family and friends
Life is all about balance, we started with working on our career goals for ourselves, and now it’s time to work on our relationships!
Spending quality time with our friends and family will nourish our relationships!
Increase our bond and make us feel loved and joy
9. Schedule important dates
How many times do you guys miss an appointment or important billing date? Because I tend to do a lot!!
I would keep the date in mind only to forget it later and miss them!
Hence, at the beginning of the month schedule all your deadlines and appointments and turn on the reminder so you do not forget!
10. Invest in yourself
Lastly, I talked about this above, but I feel it definitely needs to be a whole separate point!
Investing in yourself is one of the best financial steps you will ever take, not just for yourself but for others!
Anything or any person, that can help you grow in life, you should invest in that!
I have people around me who usually avoid spending on things that will improve their life better and faster! They will however spend time and money on things that they even don’t need!
If you find that owning a good quality laptop will increase your productivity and get tasks done faster, then do it!
Don’t waste energy on a low-quality slower laptop!
Because in return you will benefit from it!
End note
These were the Monthly planning checklist sharing 10 important tasks that everyone should do every month to keep their life organized and balanced!
After following these tasks, I have never felt as super organized as I do now! I also find myself being consistent and seeing its result
All the best!
Pin for later!
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