Hey guys! Happy new month! I am so thrilled about all that lies ahead for us in this new month; the accomplishments, lessons and challenges. My prayers and hopes are that we learn to love and embrace our journey with an open mind and so must positive anticipation!

There is a very thin line between living and surviving, and time tends to go by quickly when you are living your life either on auto pilot or with intention.

The start of a new month is a reminder to pause time, not literally (because this is an impossible act) and slow down to really retrace our steps in case we have lost track of our ultimate goal. This might not be an easy task for many, but the fact that you are even thinking in that direction is applaudable.

It can be quite daunting to go through life on survival mode, and it really takes courage and an intentionality mindset to come out of that and live your life purposefully.

This is why activities like New Month Reset are a thing to actually bring you to that mindful state of living your life. My encouragement for you today is to keep on moving and being intentional about what you want, and in no time, all these tiny bits will fall in place just like a perfectly outlined jigsaw puzzle.

In a lot of my posts, I talk about habits…not because it is a fun thing to do or the trendy thing in the productivity space, but because they are very key ingredients to living a good and fulfilling life that is free of stress and unnecessary worries of life.

I believe this is the goal for most people because who wouldn’t want that?

Organization and planning are so important that if you want to live a purposeful life free from chaos and things that will take you unawares you have to plan.

This is why it is important to prepare for a new month just as you did for a new year, to remind yourself of all that you set out to achieve in your new year goals.

Without that monthly plan, our yearly goals are thrown in the back burner, and there is no new fire to re-ignite that flame.

Monthly reset are also important because it is a perfect time to reassess the goals we set out to achieve for the year, and equally see how well we are doing with our aspirations so far.

Most of what I’ll be sharing are from my own personal experience. You see, I use to be a very clumsy and disorganized person. My orientation then was nothing to write home about.

I’d always say to myself that if I can change my mindset and the way I did things, then anyone is capable of changing too. I was in such a bad state that it took so much grace and a willingness to change to be able to move out of that condition. My life was a complete mess!

One of the things that helped me a lot were the habits I formed…and I was able to do these through planning intentionally.

So, in today’s post, we will be outlining and elaborating on the 10 things to do when preparing for the new month, and how these things can be beneficial to the overall success of the month.

At the end of this article, I have attached a 30 days personal development challenge that you can join that is guaranteed to drastically improve the quality of your life.

Let’s get to work guys! These are 11 things that you can do at the start of every month to prepare you for a stellar month ahead.

1. DO A SOLEMN REFLECTION ON THE PAST MONTH

I am not one to tell you to dwell on past events, but one profound lesson that the past brings with it is its wealth of experience, and this is relevant to the success of our future.

At the start of every month, it is pertinent to look back and really think on how the previous month went. This exercise is important not because we want to blame ourselves for past mistakes or misdoings, but because we really want to see and sieve out what led to either our accomplishments, failures and struggles.

Doing this effectively will be beneficial to help us chart our course for the coming month.

Personally I love to write down my thoughts and ask questions like;

1. What went wrong?
2. What went right?
3. What can I do better?
4. Where do I need to improve on?
5. What can I remove from my routine?
6. What is more important?

Asking these questions and answering them without bias allows me to really see where I need improvement and where I need to change strategy in the coming month.

I recommend you write down your thoughts too as this will serve as evidence of your growth that you can look back on and smile on how far you have come.

2. ENLIST YOUR GOALS FOR THE MONTH

After your monthly review and reflection, from the results you got, you want to use this to build on the goals you want to achieve for the new month.

One of the ways to do this is to convert to goals the things you want to improve on.

For example, if from my self reflection and review of last month, I discovered that I was lagging behind in my self-care routine, I can now use this information to enlist a goal that will avail me the opportunity to incorporate self-care practices into my routine.

Be sure to set goals that are not too demanding of you. The thought of achieving over demanding goals can seem burdensome and even sap out the energy needed to achieve those goals.

Make them simple, realistic and achievable and keep it going. It is better to go slow and steady as this is still progress.

These are a list of monthly goals that you can use for inspiration;

• Meditate for 5 minutes every day

• Go to be by 9:30pm every day

• Do 200 skips 4 times weekly

• Read 5 pages of a book daily

• Post on my YouTube channel bi-weekly

Related post: 9 things to do on a Sunday for an effective week

3. DECLUTTER YOUR PHYSICAL SPACE

I don’t know about you, but I always feel some kind of lightness and freshness whenever I declutter and clean my surroundings. There should be some kind of connection between your environment and your mind.

Engaging in this act is such a mood booster as it gives you this productivity vibe to go out and conquer. Yes, you will feel physically exhausted after your decluttering and cleaning spree but after a much-needed rest, you will wake up to a home filled with so much clean air and energy, as it just naturally sets you in the mood to be productive.

Places to consider when decluttering are;

• Your bedroom, as this is your place of rest and you want to maximize your rest when you need it

• Your work station – especially if you work from home, you want to dust your furnitures and clear out your desk.

• You also want to arrange your book shelf

• Clean out your hand bags and make-up bags

• You can even take it up a notch by extending these services to your car, especially if you spend a lot of time driving around.

You want to make your physical space a comfortable place where you can be productive and function at your best!

4. SCHEDULE OUT YOUR APPOINTMENTS

Our brain is so unreliable that it will be foolhardy to dwell on it. Depending on our brains is like throwing caution to the wind. It is bound to disappoint us.

This is why it is pertinent to schedule our monthly appointments on our calendar or planners.

To be a step ahead of activities, you have to plan.

You can start by placing important calls with your clients, family and friends, to schedule in important activities like meetings, doctors’ appointments, seminars, school meetings or even dates and birthdays (if any).

Ensure that the dates are accurate so that nothing takes you unawares and unplanned.

To further enforce this activity, you can set an early reminder on your phone and other devices. It is not enough to mark out appointments on your calendar. Make it a point of duty to set reminders. This is very helpful when writing your daily To-do lists, as a reminder for an appointment can become a to-do list for tomorrow.

5. PREPARE YOUR MONTHLY BUDGET

Creating your budget puts you in control of your financial footprint throughout the course of the month.

One of the habits of successful people is that they have mastered how money works and budgeting is at the heart of it. They are well acquainted with their finances and nothing takes them unaware.

To start with budgeting, you have to list out all the things that requires spending. Example of such are;

• Your savings (of course)

• Groceries,

• Mortgage,

• Utilities,

• Transportation

Some of these expenditures might be paid on a yearly, bi-annually or quarterly base. You can always divide down to get the value per month.

The next thing to do is write own your average monthly income and allocate the required percentage to each expenditure.

When you do this, it will be easy to avoid buying things that you don’t really need because every penny has been allotted to solve a specific need.

It is also good practice to set out some funds for emergencies and fun activities. It is OK to splurge on yourself once in a while. But make sure to strike a balance so that you don’t go overboard with unnecessary spendings.

6. DECLUTTER YOUR DIGITAL SPACE

Just as you clean and declutter your physical environment, the digital space (which is often neglected) is also in need of declutter.

Ps. I just paused writing this blog post to go and declutter my e-mail. It was long overdue!

One of the things I have found out after decluttering my digital space is the fast internet speed. There should be a relationship between these two things.

Some of the things you can do in this category are;

• emptying your trash both in your email and phone gallery,

• filtering your spam folder,

• organizing your folders,

• unsubscribing from unwanted e-mails and

• closing your expired browsing windows

You might be wondering, Ok! Where is the time to do all these? I know this can be quite time consuming especially if this is your first time at decluttering your digital space. But, with frequently decluttering and repeated cleaning, the lesser work you will have in future months.

One often neglected digital activity that can improve our output is making sure that our devices are protected from virus. So, having your anti-virus checked and updated can minutely work to avoid unforeseen outcomes in the months ahead.

7. WRITE OUT YOUR MONTHLY ACTIVITY IN YOUR PLANNER

In addition to scheduling your appointments on your calendar, it is good practice to list out those activities and events on your planner with the dates attached beside it.

You might be wondering…why the extra effort? It is because you don’t want to leave any stone unturned.

Your planner is where you ‘plan’ each and every bit of your life and events that makes up your routine. Therefore, you want to have your appointments and activities at stand by, so that you can easily factor them into your to do list and daily routine.

8. GIFT YOURSELF AN INVESTMENT

One of the fun things I like to do is to invest in myself or my future on a monthly base. Each month, I decide on one area I want to grow in and go ahead to make an investment. For example, in this month of June, I am investing in an affiliate marketing course that will help with my business growth.

You can even do this by investing in books by adding to your library (be sure to read them though). You can invest in your experience by travelling for conferences and seminars.

Remember the goal is never to be stagnant but to grow no matter how minute.

Every month, do something to move the needle in the right direction and in 3-5 years’ time, you will be amazed at how far you have come.

9. SCHEDULE AND AUTOMATE YOUR BILLS

In addition to budgeting your monthly expenditure, you also want to automate your bills. This saves you a lot of time and future embarrassment as your bills will automatically pay itself before they are due.

You can also take out this time to unsubscribe from paid subscriptions that you won’t be needing anymore. This is one smart way to protect your money from irrelevant subscriptions.

This activity is equally a sure way to simplify your life and free you from stress.

10. DECIDE ON AND BRING OUT THE BOOK(S) FOR THE MONTH

Reading is an essential part of our personal growth and self improvement journey. At the start of every month, it is a good practice to decide on the book(s) for the month. If you don’t already have it, you can invest in your self by purchasing it either in soft or hard copy.

If you have this book already in your personal library, you can position it in an easy to reach place so that it is not out of sight.

My own book for the month of June is The 12 week year by Brian P. Morgan and Michael Lennington.

I was so excited to start this book because of the amazing reviews I’ve seen online that I had to do a sneak peek in the month of May, and I can’t wait to dig in fully and execute the lessons therein.

What would you be reading this month? I’ll love to hear your answers in the comment below.

If you haven’t built the habit of reading and you really want to start, with just 10 minutes a day of committed reading for a month, you can put yourself 10 steps ahead of where you would normally be.

You don’t have 10 minutes? Ok, how about sacrificing 10 minutes of your social media time to focus on reading for 10 minutes.

I used the word ‘sacrifice’ because I know how difficult it is to break the social media addiction habit, and it will only take a dedicated amount of sacrifice to do otherwise.

There you have it friends! You can do this and I’m rooting for you all.

If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and share with your friends and in all your social media.

See you in my next post, remain blessed!

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