How to Plan the New Month for Success

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New month, new you…right? Well, it depends on how you plan for the month that’s ahead of you!

In this post, you’ll learn the 5 steps you must take in order to plan your month for success.

So, if you’re tired of letting the months slip away from your fingertips and want to finally make the most out of each of them – stick with me!

Are you ready? Then, let’s get started!

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5 STEPS TO BEST PLAN THE NEW MONTH

1. REVIEW THE PAST MONTH

If you want to make any progress, you need to first analyze what’s going well and what you’re struggling with.

So, before the start of a new month, it’s always a good habit to look backward – reviewing the past month.

Here are some thoughtful questions that you could ask yourself when reviewing the previous month:

• What achievements am I proud of?
• What were the challenges I faced?
• How did I handle those challenges? Did I overcome them or not? If I didn’t, why not?
• What are three core memories of the month?
• What habits was I consistent with?
• What habits wasn’t I able to stick to? Why not?
• What would I like to improve next month?

Answering truthfully to the questions above will provide you with the right roadmap to follow when planning for the new month.

Once you start learning more about your negative patterns and bad habits, you’re able to make the proper adjustments to avoid committing the same mistakes in the future.

So, at the end of each month, take 15 minutes of intentional time to spend reviewing and reflecting.

2. SET NEW GOALS

Once you’ve completed your self-reflection process, you’re ready for the second step: setting new goals.

Do you want to know why you fail at sticking with your goals, most of the time? The problem lies in the way you’re used to thinking of them.

Even if you should set goals that make you step out of your comfort zone, in most cases it is also true that we tend to set goals that feel unachievable and scary.

If you set a goal that makes you feel scared before even starting, how do you expect to find the motivation to keep moving forward?

So, here is the formula for setting new goals that will actually make you feel excited and thrilled:

• Choose 1 to 3 areas (max) of your life where you’d like to make improvements
• Before choosing a goal, make sure it is SMART:
  • SPECIFIC – What is it exactly that you’re trying to achieve?
  • MEASURABLE – What’s the threshold you have to surpass to consider your goal ‘done’?
  • ACHIEVABLE – Do you have the time, energy, and resources to work on this goal as of right now?
  • RELEVANT – Why do you want to achieve this goal?
  • TIME-BOUND – What is a doable deadline that you can set for yourself without risking burnout?
• Start small and build your way up
• Focus on the behavior, not on the outcome

In particular, I’d like to emphasize the last point – as it’s crucial to ensure your success in achieving any goals.

One common mistake when setting goals is focusing on what you want to achieve, rather than on what you have to do to actually get there.

Here is an example of an outcome-based versus a behavior-based goal, and why the latter is better than the first:

Guess which of the two will set you up for success? Yes, it’s the second one!

Why? Well, in the first case, the result doesn’t really depend on you.

You could eat clean and exercise a lot, but maybe you could have some health-related problems you’re not even aware of (and that don’t allow you to lose weight that quickly).

Or maybe, going after such a goal will have a negative toll on your mental health, making you develop an unhealthy relationship with food and your body image.

On the other hand, if you set a behavior-based goal, you’re shifting your focus on what’s in your control.

To stay on track with your goal, you only need to make sure to get in that daily movement 5 times per week. Doesn’t that seem way more achievable?

There’s a lot of flexibility around this behavior-based goal. For example:

• one day you could walk 10.000 steps
• the next day you could run
• the one after you could go to a spinning class
• then you could do 30 minutes of Pilates
• finally, you could bike around town.

You are able to get closer to your final goal of getting in shape, but without the pressure and restriction that only a result-based goal entails.

Didn’t I convince you yet?

Then, go check out what the one and only James Clear, the guru of habits, says in his best-seller book Atomic Habits. In particular, pay close attention to the concept of “identity-based habits”.

3. CREATE A MONTHLY ACTION PLAN

Now that you’ve identified the 1 to 3 goals you’d like to work on in the new month, it’s time to create your monthly action plan.

Considering the unpredictability of life, if you want to achieve any goals, it is essential to ideate an action plan that allows you to move toward your dreams.

The key habit to make consistent progress toward your goals is to break them down into a set of smaller and more achievable steps.

“You don’t have to see the whole staircase; just take the first step”

– Martin Luther King Jr

Take the 1 to 3 goals you’ve decided to work on and break them down until when taking the first step will seem so easy that there won’t be any friction between you and the action you need to take.

Let’s say, for example, that your goal is to launch your blog. How can you create an action plan for this goal?

• First, make a list of all the things you need to do, such as:
  • Choose a web host and buy a domain name
  • Decide your niche
  • Write 10 blog posts
  • Design your About Me page
  • Create a contact form
  • Set up one or more social media accounts
  • Create a content calendar
  • Learn some basics about blogging
• Set deadlines for each of the tasks above
• Specify the day and time when you’re going to work on each specific task
• State the desired outcome you want to achieve for each task to align your efforts and expectations
• Don’t forget to leave some time just for fun in order to avoid burnout
• Make the appropriate adjustments, if needed

Even with an action plan, your goals might seem too complicated to reach. How can we make them more manageable?

Stick with me because you’re about to discover just that!

RELATED: Grab my FREE “Blogging Plan” to set your blog up for success even before it’s online!

4. SET MICRO HABITS

While you’re planning the new month, there’s a fundamental step you need to take: set tiny habits.

Habits are the key to success!

It’s not what you do every once in a while that will allow you to achieve your goals. The real power lies in those small actions you take on a regular basis!

Your habits will determine your success, so you’ll want to spend a proper amount of time deciding which ones to adopt and the ones to skip.

When I talk about small habits, I mean tiny – micro – habits.

Here are some examples:

• Want to exercise more? ➪ Before aiming to work out for 1 hour at the gym, practice the habit of setting out your workout clothes the night before
• Ready to start a blog? ➪ Did you master the habit of writing 500 words every day?
• Want to eat healthier? ➪ Start by adding one portion of fruits or veggies to your meal plan
• Are you aspiring to get out of debt? ➪ Start by saving 10$ each week
• Ready to reduce your alcohol intake? ➪ Replace only one drink with one non-alcoholic beverage

The trick to sticking to new behaviors is to make them so easy that it will be (almost) impossible for you not to perform your desired habit.

Start small, then build your way up.

You have to make it so easy to change that it will (almost) feel natural.

So take your goal, and then break it down as much as possible.

5. USE SYSTEMS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY

The final step to planning the new month is to use systems that make you accountable.

So, you’ve set your goals, you developed an action plan, and you’ve decided on your tiny habits. How to make sure that everything is working out, though?

The only way to do so is by using an accountability system! There are different options you could opt to:

• Use a habit tracker
• Find an accountability partner, whether live or online
• Set specific rewards
• Share your goals with others, so that you’ll be more motivated on acting on them
• Write everything down on a planner

Find a way to track your progress so that you can build momentum – and that will motivate you to take further action!

BONUS: Grab my FREE Weekly Planner to help you stay on top of everything!

BONUS 2: Download my FREE Habit Tracker📌

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If you follow the 5 steps mentioned in the article, you’ll have the right process to follow in order to plan the new month for success!

“What does your monthly planning session usually look like?” Share it in the comments below! (And, if you liked the post, why don’t you give it a share? Thank you! 😉 )

Until next time,

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