The Monthly Reset Routine You Didn’t Know You Needed [+ FREE Checklist & Journal Prompts]

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The end of the month is the perfect moment to reflect on your goals, habits, and routines. If you want to improve your life, you need a monthly reset routine. Don’t know where to start? No worries – I got you! 

Thanks to the fresh start effect, every month feels like a new beginning. As you flip through the page on your calendar, you feel more empowered to take action and make the life changes you’ve always wanted to make.

Whether you’re looking for inspiration or a step-by-step guide to navigate through the end of the month and the start of a new one – this post has got you covered!

In this article, you’ll discover:

• Why you need a monthly reset routine
• 15 monthly journal prompts for reflection
• A 6-step checklist for the ultimate monthly reset

So, are you ready to make every month the best? Then, let’s get started!

DISCLAIMER: I will receive a small commission – which won’t affect your final price – on the mentioned products. I am only promoting products that I consider valuable and beneficial. If you decide to make any purchase, well…thank you for buying me a cup of coffee today! Xx

Why You Need A Monthly Reset Routine

“Nothing changes if nothing changes”

– Donna Barnes

How often have you felt disappointed by how little you accomplished, despite your best intentions?

When you don’t take the time to look back, nothing will change. Things will keep being the same.

You will keep feeling stuck and unsatisfied with your life.

Unless…

Unless you do something about it!

A monthly reset routine will allow you to understand how you’re doing in life, month after month.

By acknowledging how you’re doing, you can then make the proper adjustments. 

So, if you’re ready to change your life, one month at a time – keep reading! 😉

Monthly Reset Journal Prompts

To know how to improve, you must be aware of where you’re at.

Awareness is the first step of change.

Only by becoming aware of a problem can you find a solution and address it.

Before planning for the month ahead, you need to first take a look back, at the month that has just passed by.

Some journal prompts that can help you reflect on your past month are:

• What are three things I’m proud of?
• What are three challenges I’ve faced?
• What’s one lesson I’ve learned?

Once you reflect on the past, you can act differently to create a better future.

Step-By-Step Monthly Reset Checklist

Here is the ultimate monthly reset checklist:

Stop – Start – Keep

If you’ve grabbed the journal prompts above, by now you should have a better idea of what’s serving and what’s not serving in your life.

Now, it’s time to draw a clear line and decide on:

• What activities you must STOP doing
• What activities you need, or want, to START doing
• What activities you would like to KEEP doing

Get rid of all those unhealthy habits that aren’t helping you become your best self, such as:

• Complaining
• Negative thinking
• Wasting your time
• Procrastinating
• Mindless scrolling
• Self-loathing
• Comparing yourself to others
• Eating junk food
• Sitting for too many hours
• Being late
• Not believing in yourself
• People pleasing
• Chasing others’ dreams

Removing what’s no longer serving you will automatically make more room for what can get you closer to living your dream life.

Read here: “24 Healthy Habits to Start This Year”

Finally, it’s also important to recognize what’s already working.

Sometimes, it’s less about removing or adding, and more about keeping what you’re already doing right. 

If you’ve managed to meditate every day – amazing!

Do you hit your step goal every day? Great work!

On track with your daily water intake? Look at you! 

Acknowledge all the good things you’re already doing right in your life.

Notice what’s already working.

Be proud of your progress as you move further down your path to success!

Choose Your Area of Focus

Have you ever noticed how all your life-makeover attempts failed, sooner or later? It’s probably because you’ve tried to make too many changes, all at once.

“Nothing good and worthy happens overnight” 

One crucial step of your monthly reset routine should be to choose your area of focus for the upcoming month.

What is your number one priority now? What’s most urgent? What do you need to work on the most?

Here is a list of areas of life you could decide to focus on:

• Fitness
• Nutrition
• Finances
• Learning
• Hobbies
• Fun
• Creativity
• Mindfulness
• Friendships
• Romance
• Family
• Spirituality
• Community
• Self-care

The key takeaway is to focus on one area per month only.

In this way, you won’t overwhelm yourself too much with too many goals and changes all of a sudden. 

Pick 3 Habits

“The quality of our lives depends on the quality of our habits”

– James Clear

Now that you’ve decided on your area of focus for the next month, there’s another essential step you must take: pick 3 habits to start improving in that area.

For example, if you want to focus on fitness, you could:

• Start doing 5 minutes of yoga every morning
• Go on a 30-minute walk three times per week
• Stand up every hour when sitting at your desk

Or maybe your area of focus is learning, so you decide to:

• Read 10 pages of a book every night before bed
• Watch 20 minutes of a Skillshare class every day
• Listen to an educational podcast on your way to work

Let’s say your area of focus is self-care, instead. In this case, you could:

• Have an “everything shower” once per week
• Take your vitamins every morning
• Meditate every night, before bed, to reduce anxiety

When a new month begins, it’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to change your life overnight.

But, it’s not easy to create long-lasting habits – which is why you shouldn’t pick on more than 3 new habits at a time.

Set 1 to 3 Goals

The same thing goes for goal-setting: the easiest way to fail is to set too many – and too vague – goals!

For this reason, you should set only one to three monthly goals maximum.

Ideally, you’ll want to set goals tied to your focus area and supported by your habits. 

Going back to the previous examples:

AREA OF FOCUS	SUPPORTING HABITS	GOALS
Fitness	– 5 minutes of yoga every morning – 30 minutes of walking 3x week – Stand up every hour	– To become more flexible – To get rid of your back pain – To improve your sleep quality
Learning	– Read 10 pages – Watch a class on Skillshare – Listen to educational podcasts	– To boost your focus – To learn how to launch your blog – To learn more about a certain topic
Self-care	– Have an “everything shower” – Take vitamins – Meditate	– To feel put together all the time – To have more energy – To become more mindful

Creating a plan where your goals and habits support each other is essential to ensure you’re taking the right steps and in the right direction.

Schedule Some Fun

When you were a kid, you didn’t have to worry about scheduling “fun” because – well, everything was fun!

If you were bored you would find something to do.

Your parents would set up weekly playdates with your friends.

The smallest things in life brought you the biggest, purest joy. 

Life was easy. And simple. Life was fun!

Then you grew up.

You became an adult.

Responsibilities started to pile up and, somewhere in between, you lost sight of the fun. 

Being a grown-up doesn’t mean you should leave fun out of life’s equation!

But, if you want to know the truth, here it is: if you don’t set aside time to do fun things, no one else will plan them for you! (And your life will be just boring…)

So, this is your sign to add some fun to your month!

It’s time to start brainstorming activities, things, and experiences that can bring you joy – and add them to your calendar.

What is it that you’ve always wanted to try? What did you enjoy doing as a kid? What’s something you’re dying to try out?

Whether it’s:

• Water coloring
• Crocheting
• Writing
• Cooking
• Scrapbooking
• Sewing
• Doing pottery
• Reading
• Baking
• Knitting
• Gardening
• Journaling
• Dancing

Make fun a priority this month – cause life it’s meant to be enjoyed!

Do Something New

Does every day feel the same? Are you sick and tired of your routine? Does life feel dull?

It’s so easy to fall into the boredom of our routines…

You complain you’re tired of the same old things, yet you don’t do anything different – or differently.

Why is it that you cannot recall what you ate yesterday, yet you clearly remember the first time you met your best friend? Or when you first went to your now go-to restaurant? Or your first day at work?

I’ll tell you why: you were doing something new!

Your mind and body were alert because you didn’t know what to expect from those new situations – so your senses were all fired up!

How can you bring more of that awareness into your life? By adding elements of novelty to your routine! 

Every month, commit to doing at least one new thing.

What’s something small and new you could do, this month, to “spice up” your life?

It could be as simple as:

• Cooking a new recipe
• Trying a different workout class
• Taking a different route to work
• Going to a new coffee shop
• Styling some clothes in a different, unique way
• Trying a new hobby
• Exploring a new city

Find some elements you can add to your month to get that “first-time” feeling that makes you savor every moment more intensely and deeply! 

15 Journal Prompts for Your Monthly Reset

Monthly Reset Checklist

Conclusion

That’s all for me today!

I hope this post inspired you to adopt a monthly reset routine – if you haven’t one already! 😉

Q: “What’s one new thing you’re going to try doing, next month?” – Let me know in a comment! 🙂

Until next time,

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