Setting monthly goals can be a game-changer. They create balance between long-term and short-term, and you can easily overview your progress.
Most people only set goals once a year, right at the beginning. Setting big goals for your year can definitely be empowering, but those goals tend to lack flexibility. A lot of things can also change during the course of a year. Setting monthly goals is a powerful strategy that offers numerous benefits.
Quick Access
Why Monthly
When you have an entire year to complete your goals it can feel like you have all the time in the world.. in the beginning. But as the months quickly slip by, you may find you haven’t made much progress towards those goals.
By having a narrow defined period of time, you increase your level of accountability when it comes to actually completing your tasks. Monthly goals represent a balance between long-term and short-term aspirations.
Instead of lulling you into the idea that you have plenty of time, setting goals monthly pushes you to act and adapt quickly. Achieving goals monthly can accelerate your development in ways that yearly goals may not.
Breaking down your larger goals into smaller goals is so important. Each small goal you are able to achieve on the path to your overarching big goals can help motivate you to push through any challenges you might face.
Set goals that you can realistically achieve within a month and make them highly actionable.
When you’re setting goals monthly, you can adjust to accommodate what is currently happening in your life. You also get quicker feedback on your progress to help maintain your momentum.
Being able to adjust your strategy on a monthly basis can be key towards achieving your objectives.
Yearly goals can be difficult to get started on because they seem so daunting. By breaking them down, you can reduce to feelings of overwhelm making it easier to start.
Setting and achieving goals monthly can also accelerate your personal growth and development when compared to yearly goals.
Setting Effective Goals
When setting any sort of goals, monthly or not, you always want to make sure that these goals are S.M.A.R.T.
Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound
Specific + Measurable: What do you want to achieve? How can you measure this?
Bad examples: Lose weight, save money, eat healthier
Good examples: Lose 5 pounds, have $1,000 in savings, eat 4 healthy salads a week and no fast food trips
Attainable + Realistic: Setting goals for yourself that are unattainable and unrealistic is only going to lead to disappointment. Setting a goal for yourself that you can’t realistically achieve can be incredibly demoralizing.
While goals should certainly challenge you, it’s important to make sure that they aren’t overly ambitious. The key is to strike a balance, allowing your progress to be sustainable instead of leading to burnout.
Time-bound: When it comes to setting monthly goals, the timeframe you are limited to is obvious – a month. However, when you’re setting other goals, this may require some thought. Make sure the amount of time you give yourself is enough.
Regular Reflection
Setting monthly goals will lead to natural review and reflection periods. Being able to evaluate yourself regularly will make sure that you stay aligned with your objectives.
Revisiting your goals on a monthly basis also helps you maintain focus on what you need to get done by providing a clear direction. It’s also a reasonably short timeframe, allowing you to quickly assess what’s working and what’s not.
Being able to adjust your strategy on a monthly basis can be key towards achieving your objectives.
For example, if you goal is to grow on social media, you can’t control how many people will follow you or how many likes you will receive. What you can control is the quality of your content and the frequency at which you post it.
Staying on Track
Sometimes, even a month can seem like a long time to stay committed to your goals. Especially if you’re faced with unforeseen obstacles or other issues. Support your monthly goals with weekly check-ins.
Set aside time each week to review how things are going. It’s important to identify what is working, and what isn’t, so that you can adjust your actions accordingly.
It’s also beneficial to be able to measure your progress on a weekly basis to see if you can realistically achieve the goals you set for the month.
Life is unpredictable, circumstances change, and there’s nothing wrong with finding out that your goal is unattainable give the month timeframe. It’s okay to reassess and realign – in fact, I recommend it! We can learn more from setbacks than successes at times.
Our lives can become so busy, making time to check in on yourself can help you keep your life on the right track. A fantastic way to remember to check in the goals you set monthly is by instituting a monthly reset routine.
Of course, a monthly reset routine isn’t just about your goals – you want to take a look at your life as a whole. Looking at the big picture can also help you understand what does and doesn’t work when it comes to achieving your goals. You can ask yourself questions, like how did you prioritize your time this month?
Reward Yourself
Setting monthly goals give you the flexibility to change your mind, but makes sure you put in enough effort to start seeing some progress before you throw in the towel. There are a lot of opinions about how long it takes to make something habitual, but all experts agree that it doesn’t happen overnight.
Another important way to support yourself if through celebrating your achievements, no matter how small. Your efforts and progress should be rewarded, so take the time to do so.
Rewarding yourself is one of the most effective ways you can maintain motivation while you work towards your goals. It’ll make the entire journey more enjoyable, as well as reinforce your commitment to making your goals happen.
One important note is that your rewards should align with your goals, not work against them. If your goal is to save money, rewarding yourself by splurging on items you don’t actually need is not effective.
In Conclusion
So now (hopefully) you’re exciting about setting goals, but you just aren’t sure where to start. You may consider trying a 30 day challenge, there are so many options out there.
Remember, setting monthly goals is a powerful strategy that offers numerous benefits. Yearly goals are great for a broad vision, but monthly goals surpass them when it comes to actionable steps.
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