How to Set Goals for a New Month

How is it already July? It seems that this year is just flying by and I’m not sure how I feel about it! Every year, it’s like we get to July and start wondering where the year has gone and what have I done with these six months?! One thing that I’ve put in place this year is monthly goal planning. It’s great to do the vision board every year, but unless you’re actively working to accomplish things, it’s just words on paper. At the end of each month, I spend about an hour planning for the month ahead. I look at my business and personal life, make a plan, and update my calendar with important dates. Here’s how to set goals for a new month without the stress.

Start with the big picture

If you set monthly goals, that don’t align with your bigger goals, you will soon find that you are not moving forward in your business or in your personal life. Break your long-term goals down into smaller, monthly goals. Sure, you want to read 20 books this year. But what does that actually look like? Two books a month? One? Set a realistic goal that you will make time for achieving.

Review the previous month

Did you accomplish everything you wanted to last month? If not, assess them to see if they still align with your overall vision. They may need to be revised. Don’t worry if there are goals you didn’t meet. That’s not the purpose of this exercise. Maybe you didn’t reach certain goals because life happened. Maybe you decided that another goal took precedence. Or maybe it just stopped being important. Don’t just push that goal to the next month. Really think about if it’s something you want to be spending time on. If it’s not, it’s okay to let it go.

Prioritize your monthly goals

We have tons of things to accomplish in our business and personal lives on a daily basis. I suggest prioritizing your goals. Make the ones that are most important and will move you closer to achieving your long-term goals, a priority. You can adjust those priorities throughout the month. Don’t stack your plate too high either. Sometimes only have 1-2 goals is enough. I suggest no more than 5-6. We can only do so much at once!