As a brief intro, just in case you are new to CEO of My Own Life® planners - our daily and weekly life planners have been purposefully designed to encourage you to plan and organise each area of your life: business & career, home & family, health & fitness, personal.
A complete life planner with annual, monthly, weekly and daily pages, habits trackers, financial pages, motivational quotes, self-reflection projects and more. Really, everything you need to be organised in no time!
In this post, I will share with you my 6-step monthly planning routine. It is simple, straightforward and something I do at the beginning of each calendar month to ensure I stay organised.
To download a PDF version of this post, please click here.
1. Looking back - review and reflect
Pages used in the CEO of My Own Life® planner - Monthly Master Plan and My Big Master Plan.
Evaluate last month's progress by taking a look at the goals and to dos you set at the beginning of the previous month in your monthly 'Master Plan'.
Think of this process as an appraisal.
- Tick off all the items you have completed
- Review the items you did not and evaluate why
- Update sections ‘What I Have Learned’ and ‘Memories to Cherish’.
For the latter, capture the spirit of the month gone.
- How did you feel?
- What really stands out when you think about last month?
- What would you like to remember from last month?
2. Looking ahead - decide on next month's goals
Pages used in the CEO of My Own Life® planner - Monthly Master Plan and My Big Master Plan.
Prioritise and decide on your goals for the month ahead. Add them to the 'Master Plan' page along with anything you did not get to finish last month.
Take a look at the ‘My Big Master Plan' page to check you are making good progress with your overall goals for this year.
Important! Remember, your monthly goals should not be so big you can not achieve them. Be clear and concise when setting them.
As an example, if your goal for this year is to buy a property, a monthly goal should not be ‘buy a house’, but an actionable task, - put my house on the market, make an offer on the house, find a solicitor, get a mortgage in principle etc.
3. Write down all key dates and appointments
Pages used in the CEO of My Own Life® planner - Monthly View, Weekly and Daily pages.
As the header says, write down all known appointments and key dates in the 'Monthly View', daily and weekly pages for the entire month in question. Consider using colour and/or stickers to highlight any special dates.
4. Schedule time out
As the saying goes, all work and no play ...
But on a serious note though, schedule in your time out. This is especially important if you are self-employed or running a business alongside a full-time job.
Running a business is tough! While some manage to work four hours a day, most of us work all the hours under the sun and forget the importance of taking some well earned time out to unwind. Our brains need to rest to ensure we can be productive, creative and do our jobs (or both jobs!) well.
Consider:
- workouts/physical activities
- time outside: 30mins a day of fresh air etc.
- time with friends and family
- meditation/ prayer/ journaling
- time for activities you enjoy (your hobbies)
- etc.
5. Update the Habits Tracker
Pages used in the CEO of My Own Life® planner - Habits Tracker.
Decide what you will be focussing on this coming month and add it to the habits tracker.
Habits trackers are awesome! Not only for cultivating new habits, but also as a prompt/reminder to complete an activity.
- It acts as a visual reminder
- Encourages you to stay focussed and work towards your set goals
- It creates a sense of satisfaction. Seeing those ticks is a sure way to motivate you to continue your streak
- You can be as creative as you want with it
- See your progress over a period of time
If you are stuck for ideas, read Part 5 of this series 'More Than Just a Habits Tracker'.
6. Review your spend and set a budget
Pages used in the CEO of My Own Life® planner - Financials.
Review last month’s spend and set a new budget for the month ahead. Consider adding 'review finances' as an item to your habits tracker.
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Our all-in-one CEO of My Own Life® planners are carefully created to enable you to be better organised and more productive every day in each area of your life. With our well structured annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily goal setting worksheets, habit trackers, financial planning pages and self reflection projects, you will be on top of your goals and to do lists in no time. If you enjoy bullet journaling, then this is a pre-made version.
