Just like that, we are getting ready to enter into a new month! Where did February go? Even though it kind of seemed like it flew by it was also the longest month ever. So weird how that happens! Even though it could be because we were moving into our new home, getting adjusted, and then had to deal with the worst winter storm Texas has seen since the 80’s. Either way, I am looking forward to a new month with warmer weather and new goals to accomplish.
As each month wraps up there are usually a couple of things that I do to make sure I am set up for the next month. I am not totally sure when I started doing this, but I really enjoy having this as a way to keep me aligned with my goals and helps to set realistic expectations for myself. I use it as my own little accountability check in on myself.
I wanted to share just a few things that I do to prepare myself for the month ahead that you can use to apply to your own life.
Monthly Review
I use this mainly when it comes to the goals I set up for my blog, LiketoKNOW.it, and Instagram but the same method applies to daily life. I’ll explain more how that works. I am traditionally someone who likes to sit down and write out all of my wins/losses for the month to help in re-evaluating goals for my business. This helps me to see things I learned, things that worked well, things that didn’t work well, trends that I saw good or bad, etc. Having everything written down in my planner even helps me to content plan for months down the road because I can always go back in and check what didn’t work & re-visit a better way to achieve my goals. This also helps me when I am content planning for my post ideas that I had but didn’t get to either use because of time management, prior engagements, overlap, etc.
As someone who usually works 40+ hours a week in retail, and working towards becoming an influencer I have to have a plan to keep me on track. This way has truly helped me keep track of all things business that I need in order to help me plan down the road. I have so far seen great results with this method, and I totally recommend you to do the same. It may look a little different for you if you prefer to do things electronically, but I just write out a little grid (similar to an Excel spreadsheet) at the end of the month’s notes in my planner. That is a easy place for me to put my prior months stats so when planning I don’t have to remember exactly what I did when I have questions in my planning. This literally is like a “monthly business review” for me to check each month.
I know it is going to sound crazy, but I have a separate planner that I use for my personal life & career life but it is not as detailed as my “Blogger” planner. I take a look back on the month to looks at the trends I am seeing. What goals did I make for myself, and did I meet them?
Some goals I made this month were to get back into working out, eating healthier, and stop spending money on fast food. Looking backwards on your goals whether you have achieved them fully or not allows you to find the consistencies in the things you are turning into a habit. They say it takes 6 weeks for something to become a habit, so don’t be to hard on yourself if you don’t feel fully accomplished yet! So honestly for me eating healthier is a HUGE opportunity for this upcoming month, and I have my sisters wedding in April so luckily this will help me focus even more to stay on track! Also, last month I was killing it in my workouts so with this consistency it makes me want to work harder this upcoming month so I can see better results. That was just an example of how I evaluate my wins/losses for the month.
Settings Goals
Evaluating last months goals helps me to look forward to the new month and goals that I want to set for myself and for my business. A new month is a new opportunity for new goals, and it is a fresh start! If you had a rough month, don’t be too hard on yourself everyone has off days/weeks/months but it is all about your mindset and bouncing back from it. I truly believe the first day of the month has the ability to set the tone for how your month will go. It’s cheesy but- if you believe it, you can achieve it!
Some personal goals this month I have for myself is the obvious, healthier eating habits, work towards de-cluttering our house (closets, drawers, kitchen, etc.), and spend one day “screen free” with my husband. These may seem like very small goals, but I am a goal oriented person so having them written out helps to keep me accountable. I encourage you if you aren’t already, set some goals for yourself big or small and just see the impact they make on your month! When the new month rolls around and you see these goals were easy to accomplish begin to challenge yourself for even bigger goals! Everyone is different, so you can even take this method and make it your own so that you know it will work for you.
Budgeting
This is the hardest area for me, and honestly has to be done with my husband. I am truly the worst when it comes to budgeting and managing money. This is something every single month I am striving to be better at.
For the first time in a really long time, we are heading into a month with only one salary to base our budget around. I am currently not working right now, so this is a new area for me. My husband & I view everything as “our” money so we both have to be on board with our budgeting plan. Last month we had much higher than normal expenses (moving, unexpected things we needed for the house we moved into, etc.) so taking a look backwards helps us to plan for the new month ahead.
One thing I like to do, is go back in and truly look where I am spending the most money. AKA did I visit Dunkin’ Donuts too many times for an iced coffee, how much did I spend online shopping, etc. When you look back at where you are spending, it helps to establish where your main spending habits are. Yes, checking a statement balance is important, but really digging into the line items can help determine if you are creating a bad habit that you need to break.
After going through this, we will establish how we need to allocate all of our funds to make sure all essential bills are paid first and foremost, then on extra spending money we will have for the remainder of the month. Also- we are planning our honeymoon/one year anniversary trip in September and now is the time we need to be adding more money into our “Vacation Savings” account. One thing I am infamously known for is impulse shopping, so if we have all our money laid out with a place to go that helps me stay on track to not over spend in the month.
Gratitude
I also like to look back on the month for all the things that were good and all we have to be grateful for. This past month we had SO MUCH to be grateful for, our health, seeing families, and getting to move back to the great state of TX! Despite the challenges through the winter storm, we are still very lucky & blessed to have made it through as good as we did.
Head Into The Month
Now that you have gone through your prior months review and set new monthly goals you are ready to conquer the new month! This strategy is what I have been doing every month, and it truly always helps me! I highly suggest you try this out if you haven’t been doing anything like this before. Start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can! Let me know if you try this out and how it works for you!
xoxo- rhea♥
