Have you ever done a monthly review? No, it doesn’t have to be only for work or running your own business.
It can actually be therapeutic in itself.
Stop beating yourself up over things you may not have done or tasks not completed.
Maybe you had a rough month or challenges that distracted you or took your focus elsewhere.
You may not even realise what you have achieved in the month and it may surprise you what you have accomplished. Who couldn’t do with some inspiration.
Why not give a month end review a chance and see how it changes your opinion of yourself
Maybe you will learn more about yourself and the things that you achieve without even realising it.
What I achieved this month
It starts off with a tough one. Try not to be too hard on yourself. List some easy wins to ease you into the whole process. It is a review of your month.
- Didn’t buy new clothing
- Got some quotes for car insurance
- Visited recycle center finally
- Cleaned out the car
This can be motivating in itself as you reflect on the positives of the last month. A chance to boost your confidence levels.
What worked
Looking at what worked for you is a wonderful thing to do. Focusing on the positive first is an important thing. Again this can be the simple things that you tried out and realised they worked for you.
- Manage to get up earlier
- Organise your bills for the month
- Enjoy the first cup of your favourite beverage in the morning.
- Preparing your breakfast the night before.
- Deciding the outfit you are going to wear the following day.
What didn't work
This leads right into listing the things that really did not work for you last month.
It is ok to write down what didn’t work. This is only for you. A personal monthly review. Not posting it anywhere.
- Did you try a new routine and it just doesn’t work or make sense to you? Note it down.
- The new diet plan just is not working.
- New meal plan is not ideal.
- Leaving home earlier to get to work backfired.
- Getting to bed earlier.
What did I learn?
Yes we learn something everyday and this is a wonderful thing.
Learning more about yourself and what works and figuring out what really doesn’t work is a win. Even if we think we know ourselves and what works it may surprise you to find out that life changes and something that worked for months or even years just doesn’t anymore.
This could be a change in your life situation e.g. having children and working around them.
New job includes more responsibilities than you thought and you need more time to learn how to do your job.
What could I have done better?
Did you give yourself enough time trying out something and wondering could I work longer on it?
As you acknowledge what has not worked and realise you have learned something more about yourself it frees up your mind to thinking how else you could work it.
Need to be at work earlier to be prepared for the day. How can you get there earlier or leave home earlier? Maybe preparing breakfast and lunch the night before and organising your outfit for the day. This may allow you to get through the morning more efficiently and be able to leave earlier. Catch the earlier bus or train.
Do more of
Keep it simple and break down the steps e.g. drink more water.
- Spend more time outside in nature.
- Taking moments in the day just for yourself.
- Stop and take a breath
Think of the things that boosted your mood last month and how that made you feel. These could be the things you list. Yes, even one thing.
Do less of
Finding faults in yourself. It may feel negative but by realising what you want to do more of automatically leads to thinking what should or could I be doing less of and how would this make me feel.
Thinking about what slowed you down or held you back from achieving your goals for the last month and acknowledge.
Find out the basic things you can do to improve your productivity.
Goals for next month
As you look over what you have filled in for the previous month, think about what you want to achieve in the following month.
Keep you focus on the goals you really want to reach in the month ahead and keep it realistic.
A monthly review can be therapeutic
It is not a competition and it is not about anyone else.
This is only about you and finding out the simple things that may be holding you back achieving your goals.
We can all be self sabotaging ourselves and not even realising it.
If you want to try out the monthly review planner then download the size you want and print the pages you need.
Who knows what you can learn about yourself and organise your life in an easy to reach goal.
Keep things as easy and logical for yourself and it feels like you are not even working.
Why not try a monthly review for one month and then challenge yourself to do another one after the next month it may surprise you.
Have there been any improvements in your life? Have you noticed a difference at all?
Maybe you have become more present in the moment and more aware of what works in your life and reducing the things that really do not.
Find out what works for you.
Why not try it out!
Just click on the size that you are looking for and grab yourself a free download of the monthly review planner.
Print the page or pages you need at home and start filling it in.
This is a minimalist design printable planner to save on ink when printing but allows you to personalise to your own style.
Please remember it is for personal use only and not for resale. Thank you!
