At the end of each month, I like to sit down with a tea and reflect on the previous month's goals and what I would like to achieve in the next month. I find setting goals so motivating and keeps me on track with what I would like to do and achieve. So below, I have outlined the process that I like to do when outlining each month to hopefully help you set your goals for the future.
Step 1: Reflect -
When planning out my goals for the next month, I like to reflect on what I have achieved in the previous month. In order to do this, I will sit down with my 'goal board' along with a notebook and pen to start the reflection process.
I take each goal and reflect on whether I have achieved it or not. I will be quite honest with myself as well for example: I had set the goal in May to show an act of kindness each day. I feel like I have done this however I didn't track whether I had done this or not therefore I couldn't fully say whether I have fully completed the goal or not. Being honest with yourself will allow you to understand why you didn't achieve that particular goal and what you could improve on next time if you wanted to set the same or similar goal.
Step 2: Goal Setting -
The next step I like to take is to then set out my goals for the next month. This could be setting some of the same goals that I didn't complete in the previous month or setting completely new goals - the choice is yours!
When setting goals, I like to break them up into 3 categories: Business, Fitness and Personal. I like to do this so I can section out my aims a little bit more and give myself 3 key focuses throughout the month. Some other categories could be: Food, Hobbies, Financial, Self Care, Personal Development etc.
Before writing my goals out on my whiteboard, I like to draft them out into my notebook first so I have a clear understanding of my goals before writing them out 'officially.'
Step 3: Visuals -
I then like to hop onto my computer and find some images that reflect my goals. For example: for my fitness goals I use the app Strava a lot to track my progress along with setting myself challenges. So I will go onto their website and select the logo's they use for their challenges and put them onto a blank document.
Once I have all my images, I will print and cut them out ready to be attached to my cork board.
Step 4: Putting it All Together -
Once I have my goals and I have my images, I will then sit down and write out my goals on my whiteboard and pin the images to my vision board on the opposite side.
Step 5: Actioning Your Goals -
Now the final task is to put a plan in place to actually achieve your goals. It is all well and good writing down your goals and saying to yourself that you will achieve them but you have to have a clear outline and process on how you will get to and achieve this goal. For example: if you are wanting to read 2 books in the month but it gets to the middle of the month and you still haven't started (guilty!) then why not reflect on this and calculate how many pages are in each book and divide this by how many days are in the month. Once broken down into smaller goals you will find it easier to achieve the bigger, overall goal.
If you're looking for a way to do this or to track your progress for the month against your goals then I have a previous blog post on tracking your fitness in the month. Not only is this post good for fitness tracking but you can also apply it to other areas as well depending on the goals you are wanting to set yourself. You can find this blog post here.
I believe I have covered everything regarding my monthly planning routine. I hope this helps you feel inspired / motivated to plan out your goals for the next month and helps you stay on track. Let me know in the comments one goal you have set yourself and how you will achieve it.
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