The 1st of the month represents a fresh start.
A new beginning.
A new month to focus on what matters most to you!
For me, the current date is October 1st. 3 months of 2024 remain. I have 3 months left to continue working towards accomplishing my goals.
There is still plenty of time to tackle your yearly goals. Or to readjust your goals to fit what is most important to you now. It’s completely acceptable to modify them to your current needs and desires.
Let’s set some goals for this month! But first, why are monthly goals even worth thinking about?
- Goals can help keep us on track and prioritize.
- They can help keep us accountable to ourselves.
- Goals can help us reflect on what’s truly important to us.
- They can help us stick with the daily habits we want to implement.
Now it’s time to dive in! We’ll start with the steps you should follow to set your monthly goals and make a game plan for achieving them this month.
Success is just around the corner.
If you can get 1 percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done.
James Clear
Step-by-Step Guide to Monthly Goal Setting
#1-Identify the areas you want to focus on this month.
Reflect on what is most important to you for this particular month (October for me). I’d encourage you to start with no more than 3 focus areas, especially if monthly goal-setting is brand-new to you!
- Do you want to get back on track with your fitness routine?
- Spend more time with God?
- Invest more time and effort into your marriage?
- Work on decluttering areas of your home?
At this point, just write down a few areas to focus on. These are broad topics; we will narrow it down in step #2!
Some examples are: Read more. Start working out more consistently. Focus more on my marriage.
#2-Write down more specific SMART goals.
In this next step, you will be narrowing down your general themes into more specific ones. You need to describe more precisely what the goal will entail for you. Make sure you have SMART goals, which stand for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.
Here are some examples to help you understand the concept of a SMART goal better.
Start working out more consistently —> My goal is to complete 3 (30-minute) workouts each week.
Read more —> My goal is to read 1 fiction book this month.
Invest more in my marriage —>My goal is to go on 1 date night with my husband this month and spend 15 minutes in intentional conversation each evening.
At first, you have a general idea, then you will make it very specific as to what that looks like for you personally. Take time to complete this step now & you’re getting closer to the finish line!
#3-Plan how to fit these monthly goals into your everyday life.
Once you have your specific goals ready to go, now you have to make a plan. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “If you fail to plan, plan to fail.” You can’t expect to succeed just because you have goals written down.
Planning is the next step! You cannot neglect or overlook it.
You’ll want to identify when, where, and how will you fit each goal into your day, week, or month. Again, I’ll share some examples to get you thinking about how to apply to your own goals.
Example #1: Your goal is to complete 3 (30-minute) workouts every week.
When: Monday/Wednesday/Friday mornings at 6:00am
Where: In my living room
How: A MadFit workout video on YouTube (for about 30 minutes)
Plan specifically when (what days/times) and where you will work on this goal. Plan specifically how you will complete your goal. I know life doesn’t always work out perfectly. Things get in the way and keep us from what we plan to do.
It’s not always avoidable, but sometimes it is. Which leads us to step #4.
#4-Plan to eliminate obstacles that may stand in the way of achieving your goals.
Things are not always going to go smoothly. You have to plan ahead for any potential obstacles you foresee encountering.
Back to the workout example, what obstacles might arise?
- Being prepared ahead of time will help limit some excuses. Your solution is to set out your workout clothes and any equipment you need the night before.
- Not knowing which workout to complete & wasting all your time trying to find one. The solution here is to again be prepared the night before, by already having chosen which workout you’re going to complete. It eliminates decision fatigue too.
- Not waking up on time or feeling “too tired” could also prevent the workout from happening. The night before, plan to get to sleep earlier and put your alarm in a different room. That way you actually have to get up and out of bed.
There’s a common theme here! Preparing & planning the night before. Preparing & planning ahead of time.
Consider any obstacles you might face, so you can adequately prepare for them and hopefully (fingers crossed) avoid them. Most of your obstacles can be taken care of with a little preparation.
My Monthly Goals for October
I want to preface this by saying that I have planned and executed monthly goals for numerous months now. Some of these are ongoing (comparable to habits), but still important goals I want to incorporate into my month. Many goals you may be able to fit into your daily routines and rhythms.
Please don’t let my goals list overwhelm you! I wanted to include them all, to give plenty of examples for deciding on your specific goals and how to plan for them.
I have several categories for my monthly goals: personal goals, homemaking goals, health & fitness goals, relationship goals, & work goals. Some months I focus more on one category than another, but overall, these are what I choose to focus on this month.
I hope you will be motivated to set your own goals and crush them this month!
Personal Goals
Reading
My goal for the month is to read 3 fiction books and 1 non-fiction book.
Where, when, & how will I accomplish this?
I plan to read for 30 minutes every night in bed before going to sleep (fiction). I will read for 15 minutes while eating my lunch each day (non-fiction).
I can also make time on Fridays and Saturdays to read extra in the evenings, as I tend to stay up later on the weekends.
Obstacles: Starting a new book is always difficult for me, as I need to get into the storyline first. I will attempt to start a new book when I can dedicate a larger chunk of time. I will have books readily available from the Libby app (or library) so I always have a book on hand that I’m interested in reading.
Spiritual Health
My goal for the month is to spend time with God every day.
Where, when, and how will I accomplish this?
I will set aside 25-30 minutes in my morning routine (before getting ready for the day) to spend time doing the following quiet time activities:
- Gratitude journal
- Biblical affirmations
- Bible reading
- Bible verse meditation/memorization
- Prayer time
I have my morning basket with all the materials I use during this time. I will complete my devotional time on the couch.
Obstacles: Weekends. Because I do tend to sleep in and by that time the kids are up & quiet time happens less often. I will need to ensure I wake up 30 minutes before my children or set up a quiet activity for them so I can spend that time with God.
Health & Wellness
Workout
My goal this month is to complete 4 or more gym workouts and 4 outdoor walks per week.
Where, when, & how will I accomplish this?
At 2:00pm each weekday, I will go to the gym and complete cardio for 30 minutes & strength training for 30 minutes.
After dropping the kids off at school, I will take a 30-minute walk outdoors in the neighborhood.
Obstacles: Not being ready in my workout clothes before bringing the kids to school. If I am prepared, then I can head out for my walk right after school drop-off.
I am good with motivation at the start of the week, so I will make sure to start Monday strong and then continue that momentum throughout the week. The goal is to complete 4 workouts before Friday.
Homemaking
Cooking/Baking
My goal is to make at least 4 new recipes this month.
When, where, & how will I accomplish this?
Every Sunday while meal planning & making my grocery list, I will decide on a recipe and buy the ingredients needed. On Monday morning, I will spend time in the kitchen baking or preparing that recipe.
Obstacles: Indecisiveness on what recipe to try. I need to have ideas pinned on Pinterest ready to go.
Learning something new
My goal is to learn as much as I can about sourdough bread baking & start making bread.
When, where, & how will I accomplish this?
I have already purchased my sourdough starter (no, I wasn’t brave enough to make my own). I have begun feeding it & doing the whole discard process. I have made sourdough discard pancakes, which the kids loved.
Although this goal isn’t entirely specific, it’s hard to be specific while learning something new. Basically, my goal is to learn as much as I can about sourdough bread & baking.
Obstacles: Making time to spend on this. Learning something new isn’t necessary, so it’s left on the back burner. I need to make intentional time each week to spend researching & trying new recipes.
Home Projects
My goal is to complete three or more home projects this month.
- Declutter the Master closet.
- Declutter/organize the garage.
- Plant fall flowers.
When, where, & how will I accomplish this?
For the master closet, I will need to set aside time on a weekend to work with my husband to declutter his clothes. Also, I will need to schedule a time to bring all the clothing items to be donated, since I don’t consider the task complete until the clutter has left my house!
The garage has been looming over me for a while, so I need to schedule a date (October 4th!) to dedicate to it. I plan on selling some items, so I will need to take pictures & attempt to sell the items.
Obstacles: I also lack motivation to get started on decluttering & organizing projects especially, so I just need to plan a day for each & stick to it. Have supplies ready (trash bags, boxes) to donate.
Work Goals
My goal this month is to post 8 new blogs posts.
When, where, & how will I accomplish this?
I will need to complete an average of 2 blog posts per week to be complete by October 31st.
This requires planning content ahead for the entire month of October. This will include spending one morning a week to work at a local coffee shop, which helps me focus much better and be more productive.
Obstacles: Sick kids, home tasks, & other things can get me off track. Setting aside adequate time to write & planning ahead.
Relationship goals
My goal this month is to have 1 date night with my husband.
A second goal is to have an intentional “day date” with at least 2 of my children.
When, where, & how will I accomplish this?
The details are to be determined for these goals since days and times will need to be scheduled with my husband, as well as any necessary childcare.
Definitely get any dates scheduled on the calendar as soon as possible. The earlier the better!
Set your Goals Today!
I hope by now you have been able to reflect on a couple of goals you want to tackle this next month. Write them down and plan how to work on them daily or weekly.
The Key is Planning! Goals can’t just exist in your head. You must make an intentional plan and follow through with it. It has to be realistic, with your current season of life & your demanding responsibilities.
It’s totally fine to have only one goal, one sole focus for the month. Buckle down and work hard on it & you will feel so accomplished by the end of the month!
Related Productivity Posts to Check out Next:
Curious about using your time more effectively with time blocking? Check out: TIME BLOCKING: A BEGINNER’S GUIDE
Want to get on track with your night routine? This blog post is sure to be helpful: THE IDEAL NIGHT ROUTINE TO SET YOU UP FOR SUCCESS THE NEXT DAY.
Ok, we all could use some help being more productive but also present as a mother. This one will be beneficial to read: BE A MORE PRODUCTIVE, YET PRESENT MAMA TODAY.
