New month new goals: How to set great goals in 4 simple steps

New month new goals: The motivation you need

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If you’re reading this, you’re probably planning out a new month. I love goal setting. I don’t know the science behind but once you set goals, your mind will want to achieve those goals. I mean, that’s why you set them in the first place right? Unfortunately, we sometimes give up before we even give those goals a chance.

According to research, a lot of people dump their New Years’ resolutions by the first week of February. That literally the beginning of the second month of the year when you still have 10 more months to try your best and achieve those.

There are so many reasons why people give up on their goals but here are some of the few major reasons:

1. They set unrealistic goals. We will talk more about that later but setting goals you know you can crush will make you give up in no time. You were already defeated before the game even started.
2. They set way too many goals. If you really want to achieve your goals, take your top 5 goals and make them happen first.
3. They have no plan. What I mean by no plan is that they have no strategy in place to help them actually achieve those goals. Just like one of the most popular quotes says:

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

If any of these 3 reasons resonated with you, don’t worry, we are going to change that today! In this post, I will be sharing why you need to have monthly goals, some great monthly goals ideas, Great resources to help you with planning, and how to set goals you will achieve.

It’s a new month so start this month with a new mindset and new intentions. Just like it’s never too late to reset your life, it’s actually never too late to work on your goals. Once you’re focused, consistent and dedicated, you can do it.

CHECK OUT: 10 toxic habits to let go today

Why setting goals are important

If you don’t have goals, how can you make the most of your life? Just think about it. Goals are what keep us going even when we want to give up sometimes. You know it’s not going to be an easy journey but the destination will be worth it.

Goals are what get us out of bed every single morning. They give us a sense of purpose and they allow us to make use of the resources we have even better.

Now that you know why it’s important to have goals, let’s talk about some great monthly goals you can set.

Monthly goals ideas

You should set monthly goals that you think will help you become a better person, take you to a better place, or based on what you think you should prioritize in your life right now. If you’re stuck, here are some monthly goals ideas:

Financial goals

Save X amount
Make an extra X amount
Spend only X amount
Open an investment account
Pay off some debt
Donate to a cause
Sell things you no longer need
Start a side hustle
Eat more at home

Physical health goals

30 day no sugar challenge
Drink 8 glasses of water daily
Workout 3-4 times a week
Do yoga
Go for evening walks
Eat more fruits and veggies
Create a morning routine
Practice gratitude daily
declutter more often
Sleep early

Mental health goals

Say no more
Learn a new skill
Learn a new language
Go for therapy
Read more books
Cut down screen time
Volunteer somewhere
take yourself out on dates
Meet up with friends weekly
Stop self-sabotaging
Stop self-doubt

Start romanticizing your life

School goals

Hit a 4.00 GPA
Study 2 hours daily
Have a study routine
Have a daily routine
Create a great morning routine
Learn new study tips
Get a new iPad
Get a new laptop
Move into an apartment
Redecorate your dorm room
Buy new dorm room essentials
Attend one school party
Dress nicer
Ask for help

CHECK OUT: 7 habits of successful people you need to adapt

Business/career goals

Start a small business
Ask for a raise
Go for a networking event
Make X amount in revenue
Make X sales
Start a new career course
Prioritize new products
Improve customer service
Hire a PA
Update your resume

Now that’s more than enough monthly goals ideas. I will recommend having less than 5 monthly goals for maximum productivity.

Let’s talk about things that can make planning for a new month easier.

Monthly planning Resources

When it comes to planning, I love to use a blank monthly calendar to quickly draft out what I want my month to look like. Once I have done that, I break them down into weekly goals and then to daily goals using this notion template or my life planner.

There are so many monthly planning resources out there but if you’re looking for very affordable resources (some are less than $2!) I highly recommend you check these out:

Blank monthly calendar
Weekly planner
Daily planner
Life planner Notion template
Budget planner notion template
Pomodoro planner (I love using this when I want to really focus on something)

Now that we have our monthly goals ideas and planning resources, let’s go ahead and set goals we will achieve.

New month new goals: how to set goals you will achieve

Set SMART Goals

SMART is an acronym that describes the criteria you should use to set your new goals. If you follow it, you’ll come up with goals that you’re much more likely to achieve.

For this example, let’s say we start with a general goal like, “I want to make money.” Look at how the goal transforms as we make it SMART.

Specific – We want to define a specific outcome for our goal. Instead of just saying that I want to make money, I can make it more specific by saying, “I want to make $500.”

Measurable – We need to be able to measure our progress. To make it measurable, I can change it to, “I want to make $100 weekly.”

Attainable – We need our goal to be something we can actually do. $100 weekly is doable but if you feel like you can do it, you can change it to “I want to make $50 weekly”

Relevant – We need our goal to be aligned with our other goals. If I was trying to start a business, making an extra $500 monthly is relevant because I can use that to buy the materials I need for my business.

Timely – I can set a specific time frame by saying, “I want to make $500 in the next 30 days.”

Now that you know how to set new goals, go ahead and write your goals down.

CHECK OUT: 20 New Selfcare Sunday ideas to spice up your routine

Prioritize your goals

once you’ve written down all the things you want to achieve this month, go ahead and rank them In order of priority. The goals that need more priority should be at the top and those are the goals you should work towards achieving first and then you can focus on the rest later.

Sometimes life happens and we are not able to do all we want for the month but since we have done the most important things, we will still be feeling fulfilled.

Break down your goals

Break down each goal into small tasks. Take a monthly. Goal and break it into weekly goals and then daily goals.

Let’s say you want to start a small business (main goal) you can break it down into weeks by making week 1 about site setup, week 2 about product creation, and so on. Then you can take those weeks and further break them down into daily goals. Since we are focusing on on-site setup for week 1, our daily goals could be: create a logo, register a domain, etc.

Review as you go

It’s always a great idea to go back and review what you’ve been doing. If you need to make changes, go ahead and do so. What’s important is that your daily actions are leading towards the final goal.

Final thoughts on New month new goals: How to set goals you will achieve

By now, you should be able to set goals that you will achieve. Comment down below what some of your goals for this month are. Mine will be to create more content for you and add more exciting products to Rumieprints.