Preparing for a New Month
I know I have always stuck to recipes and meal plans in the past, but today is time for a new type of post! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – healthy living involves so much more than healthy eating. From now on, I’m going to start sharing different aspects of my life as well, beginning with today’s post on how I set myself up for success at the start of each month.
I’ve been working on this process all year, and one perk of COVID has been the ability to use a continuous quality improvement (CQI) method to find the best process that works for me. I’ll share what I do at the start of each month below, but I first want to highlight that this is just what works for ME! We’re all different, and while I’m sharing this as a resource to help you, I wholeheartedly believe that you will need to modify it based on your priorities, challenges, employment/side hustle status, etc. Just like meal planning/eating styles, there’s no one right way to do it – find what works for you!
At the start of each month (sometimes the day before the month begins, sometimes on the first of a month), I sit down and complete this process. I highly encourage you to block off 1-2 hours, dedicated solely to this, so you can start the month off right!
Set the mood – get a beverage (coffee, tea, wine, what have you!), light a candle, put on some comfy clothes. Just do whatever it takes to help you get relaxed and focused.
Finances: I always start by reviewing my spending from the past month.
I pay off all credit cards, then review my spending tracker.
If you have credit card debt, you could use this time to develop a plan to pay them off – how much money will you set aside each month to pay these off?
I track my spending using a basic Excel spreadsheet – like below. I separate spending into various categories, and subtract from my allotted spending (income - money I want to save/invest). This way I can review how much money I have leftover (and move it into savings, or use to pay off loans, or add to a retirement/investing fund). I also review the spending by category and evaluate if there were any areas where I overspent, and why that might have been. I try to set myself monthly limits in each category
I know a lot of people use apps like Mint, which could also accomplish similar goals.
I also add in any known/expected expenses to this spreadsheet – rent, utilities, tickets to an event, planned daycare for the dog, subscriptions, etc.
I also try to set a financial goal each month – am I saving for something in particular? Do I want to cutback on spending in a particular category? Pay something off? This informs the limits I set myself.
Personal reflection, goal setting, and planning
I start out by reflecting on the past month – I review my calendar and planner to answer the following questions
What are things I’m proud of this past month? What am I not so proud of?
What were your favorite moments? What moments were more difficult?
What do I want to stop doing? Start doing? Keep doing?
Then I move on to the upcoming month – what are my goals?
Mental health, personal life, physical health, key relationships, professional, financial (obviously already done, but I like to write it all in one place.
Mood tracker – pick 6 or so moods to track this month
Habit tracker – pick 7-10 habits to nurture regularly; I pick habits that will support the goals I’ve already written out
Then I fill in my planner for the month – events, birthdays, trips, meetings, appointments, to do lists
I also sketch out an outline of my meal plans for the month, including selecting my meals from my meal kit subscription box and a shell of grocery lists. I finalize this the weekend before each week begins, and grocery shop every Sunday.
Here are pictures of my Mood Tracker and Habit Tracker – these are in the Silk & Sonder planner I use. The planner also includes pages for goal setting, reflecting on past months, and setting intentions. Using the method above, combined with my Silk & Sonder planner, helps me to begin each month with purpose and intention. This way I can stay grounded, and have given myself the resources I need to meet my goals in all aspects of my life. When I don’t meet my goals, I have an opportunity each month to reflect on why, and make changes in my goals or my approach for the next month.
*If you don’t want to purchase a planner, it would be quite easy to sketch these sections out in a plain notebook! If you’re a creative person (which I am NOT) this actually might be more enjoyable for you.
