I’ve been writing down monthly intentions or goals to help me focus in on what is important. Many of the things listed are daily habits I’m seeking to maintain or grow in. The goal is not to obtain perfection, but to make steady progress…and months when there isn’t any progress, to give myself grace and start again the next month. That is my hope for you too as you strive to implement daily/weekly/monthly habits. Here are my monthly intentions for March.

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Recap of Intentions in February
Things that were challenging in February: working in the basement with my husband, my morning routine (my youngest son and I both got sick the last week and a half of February and we’re slowly recovering), doing anything on the blog other than posting here (so no guest posts completed!).
Things that went well in February: Tracking expenses (second month in a row!), getting at least 6 hours of sleep at night, making our bed, meal planning, getting movement in on days I’m off, and going out with my friends. I did get to have two 1:1 dates with my oldest and youngest. My priority next month is with my middle son.
Reading and Listening to Books
Last month I wrote about goals – having them, not having them, and finally realizing that I did have things I wanted to write down as goals. One of the goals that I didn’t write down is a certain number of books that I wanted to read in 2017. I’ve never set a goal for myself in that area like some people do. I’m usually always reading at least one book.
This last month though I reserved a whole bunch of books in one day from my local library and they all started coming in at once.
I finished David Bach’s book Start Late, Finish Rich and my husband and I started reading Smart Couples Finish Rich: 9 Steps to Creating a Rich Future for You and Your Partner together during our weekly budget meetings. We actually met for a budget meeting 2 out of 4 weeks in February, which is progress for us!
David Bach’s system of getting rich is to pay yourself the first hour of each work day in a retirement account – and to make it automatic! That turns out to be a savings rate of 12.5%. Revisiting his site and re-reading his books motivated me to increase my retirement savings even though it feels like we can’t spare a penny right now.
When I started working at my job, I set it up to save 4% each paycheck because at that percentage, my employer would give me a 50% match. I should have steadily been increasing this with each annual increase, but I haven’t.
Instead of kicking myself over the past (okay, there may have been a few minutes of “woulda, coulda, shoulda”), I just resolved to increase it that day and increased my retirement savings by 3%. It’s not at 12.5% yet, but I hope to increase it again by the end of the year.
I also read The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz and listened to Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert and 10% Happier by Dan Harris as audiobooks. I loved Big Magic. It was inspiring, entertaining, and very down to earth. I loved the idea of inspiration looking for a human partner receptive enough to work with.
February’s Top 3 List:
As part of these monthly recaps and goals, I’m sharing the top 3 posts and top 3 things I was grateful for this past month.
TOP 3 POSTS IN FEBRUARY:
- Stress Free Meal Planning for Beginners: Finding what Works for You
- 10 Lessons Learned After a Year of Decluttering
- Meal Planning for Beginners
TOP 3 THINGS I WAS GRATEFUL FOR IN FEBRUARY:
- The wonderful, warm Spring-like days scattered throughout February.
- Reading and listening to books!
- The You Need a Budget program. I got a 4 month free trial with my Conquer Your Clutter Super Bundle as a special bonus. It’s been great so far and I hope to write more about what my husband and I love about it in the future after we’ve used it for a few more months.
Top 3 Posts and Top 3 Things I was grateful for in February #gratitude #top3 Click To Tweet
Monthly Intentions for March:
SPIRITUAL:
- Daily bible reading from The Daily Message.
- Pray for my husband, children, and loved ones daily using the scripture God has given me.
- Take at least 3 slow, deep breaths in the morning. Silent prayer and meditation for 12 minutes.
PERSONAL:
- Finish reading 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam, On Writing by Stephen King, and Hands Free Mama by Rachel Macy Stafford.
- Going out with friends at least once a month.
- Intentional movement 5 days of the week (running or HIIT video at least 2 of those days).
- As the weather warms up I’m hoping to start running again. My 1:1 date with my oldest son was going on a run together.
- Be in bed by 11pm. Sleep at least 6 hours a night, with 7 hours being ideal.
- Write down 3 things I’m grateful for daily each evening.
HOUSEHOLD:
- Meal Plan dinner for the weeknights (get FREE Meal Planning printables)
- Finish setting up the boys’ rooms. My oldest son wanted to stay in a room alone, and I wanted to honor that. We’re trying to figure out the best use of the bedroom spaces for the boys and making it homey.
- Work at least 15 minutes in the basement (with or without) hubby on Sunday evenings when I put in a load of laundry.
- Budget and track daily expenses with the You Need a Budget program. Meet weekly with my husband, read a chapter together from Start Late, Finish Rich and get on the same page with our money.
WRITING & BLOGGING:
Elite Blog Academy (EBA) has been my main blogging course that I’ve been going through all year. It’s been instrumental in giving me direction and guidance every step of the way. The course is open now for 5 days only: February 27-March 3.
EBA is closed now and only goes on sale once a year. If you’re interested in starting or refining your blog, the EBA Blog Structure Blueprint is a must have! You can download it immediately when you sign up for the wait list HERE.
- Post at least once a week (ideally twice) on my blog for March
- Write 500 words at least 3 times a week (daily is too much for me right now!)
- Write one guest post for February, featuring ideas from my eBook (still working on this!)
- Figure out FB ads to let more people know about my FREE 7 Day Decluttering eCourse. (still figuring this out!)
- Contribute an old post on Huffington Post. I was so excited to become a contributor to Huffington Post. You can find my entries so far here.
Monthly Goals:
- Date night with hubby- this may even become a twice a month thing now that we can use my oldest son as the babysitter! We’ve also starting streaming $1 movies through VidAngel . We used to use Redbox, but the convenience of not having to go out of the house to return the movie, is awesome.
- One on one outings with each son.
What are some monthly intentions that you have for March?
This post shared at these lovely link ups.
Isn’t it awesome to be able to listen to books and podcasts? I don’t even remember what I used to do while I cooked, showered, or ran errands. It’s great to feel productive while doing mundane things. In March, I want to figure out and set up how I’m going to structure offering some printables I’ve made. I also want to get posts for April planned and mostly written and photographed. Personally, I plan to spend time one-on-one with each of the older kids; my four-year-old has been acting out lately and we’re hoping increased undivided attention (in addition to punishment) will help.
I love listening to books and podcasts – especially while cooking or washing the dishes. I try to make time for silence, but mostly on my daily walks and early in the mornings. You sound like you have a great schedule planned for the month Abby!I hope you have a special time with your 4 year old – I’m sure the undivided attention will only help!
You have some great ideas! I do a lot of listening to books and podcasts when I’m sewing (which is what I do for a living). I have been getting more intentional about making monthly goals but march seems to have crept up on me without me putting concrete goals down.
I have made goals of meal planning for the month but haven’t been 100% successful at that
Hi Naomi! I love to listen to books and podcasts when I’m cooking or doing dishes. They really make the time fly by. March isn’t over – it’s not too late to set one concrete goal. 🙂
You are a busy lady! February just seemed like a hash over here, but I am hoping the last few weeks of mindful follow through proves to be a little more effective. Like you said though, grace is so important. Thanks for sharing so many great resources and links. There is a lot of good here!
Thanks Jen! February did fly by – I agree! You’re so right that mindful follow through on your top priorities is so important.
Have you heard of CreativeLive? David Bach did a talk on there at the beginning of the year and it was great! Their classes are available for purchase, but they broadcast free when they’re live the first time and then they have a rotating broadcast schedule with different freebies each day. A lot of the classes are for photography and things like that, but they have some other classes, too.
Hi Natasha! Yes! I actually caught that one in bits and pieces throughout that live broadcast. It was great – I like his teaching style and the interaction in those CreativeLive classes.
I am so glad you linked up to #fridayfrivolity and i discovered your blog! This post is wonderful. I love the attitude you have about making progress. As a perfectionist it’s sometimes difficult to accept “progress not perfection” as a motto but your post served as a wonderful reminder. I can’t wait to explore your page more. Thanks for linking up! Xx
Thanks so much Amethyst! The motto of “progress not perfection” is good for both perfectionists and people who are a little more “relaxed” (of which I tend to lean). Have a great week!
Mine’s to start EBA (I bought it last year and haven’t yet started it!), and a facebook course I’ve also bought. That’s a work along one so that starts in a couple of weeks, so I’ve a bit of time to get started on EBA in the meantime . Hope March goes well for you. #sharingthebloglove
HI Emma! It sounds like you’ve got a lot to look forward to! Good luck with the FB course!
Thank you for sharing your Intentions with us at #OvertheMoon Link Party. It is good to recap and see how we are tracking however important not to beat ourselves up if we go off track. I’ve pinned and shared. Have a beautiful day.
Thank you Sue!