I’ve been writing down monthly 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.
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission if you choose to make a purchase. Thank you for your support in this way!
RECAP OF GOALS IN August
Things that were challenging in August: running twice a week , decluttering in our basement, meal planning (hubby did most of the cooking during the week for the month of August without a meal plan), and blogging! I had an unintentional break from blogging and social media for most of August and the beginning of September. We went to a friends’ house for a week without wifi and I never reconnected!
Things that went well in August: my morning routine, making our bed, keeping my gratitude journal, getting at least six hours of sleep, spending quality time with the family on vacation, and tracking expenses. My husband got a new Android phone and installed the EveryDollar app – now he’s tracking expenses too and it makes it SO much easier now that he can enter his expenses daily versus sitting down with receipts once a month.
Finding my rhythm
In July I wrote about how I’ve become an early morning riser. Goals with Grace helped me to come up with my first personal mission statement: “Relationships Over Results”
It reflects my intention to put my family first before any other goals that I have for my time. Is it easy to do? Yes and No. August was great for getting offline and reconnecting with my family. We spent a lot of time outside and watched old dvds together (with no phone or laptop trying to multitask – just sitting together eating popcorn and watching a movie!)
The challenging thing for me now is how to relate and spend time with my kids now that we’re back in wifi land. We’re still figuring out how to balance out our time on and off screens. This is going to get easier now that school’s in session. Our general family rule is no screens on weekdays unless you need it for school.
Getting back into the swing of things is going to take me awhile. I’m finding Newton’s first law of motion very true in my own life related to blogging – an object at rest stays at rest!
August’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 August
- 10 Lessons Learned After a Year of Decluttering
- How to go from Poor to Rich in Just One Day
- Stress Free Meal Planning for Beginners: Finding what Works for You
TOP 3 THINGS I WAS GRATEFUL FOR IN august
- Going on vacation with my family.
- The rewarding work of supporting families in crisis for my full time work.
- Being disconnected but not anxious about results.
MONTHLY GOALS FOR September
SPIRITUAL GOALS:
- 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.
PERSONAL GOALS:
- Intentional movement 5 days of the week (running at least 2 of those days).
- 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 GOALS:
- Meal Plan dinner for the weeknights
- Maintaining the decluttered areas
- Work at least 15 minutes in the basement with hubby.
- Budget and track daily expenses using the free EveryDollar app.
WRITING & Blogging GOALS:
- Continue with a blogging editorial calendar for the month! The Elite Blog Academy has been super helpful in helping organize all my ideas so that my editorial calendar is a cinch to plan.
- Post at least once a week on my blog for the rest of September (UPDATED)
- Write 500 words a day
- Complete my first e-book that I’m working on
- 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 (where we actually go out of the house together…without kids)
- One on one outings with each son.
What are some goals that you have for September?
This post shared at these lovely link ups.
Sounds like a perfect mission statement, Angela.
Thanks Melinda!
I haven’t been in a habit of setting monthly goals for myself in a long time. But, at the beginning of this month, I started a really big project. Adding that on top of everything else is making it hard for me to stay in the right mindset and keep all things in perspective.
I always set daily goals but, I think it’s a really good idea to connect them with bigger picture goals too. My daughter is supposed to set some goals for her school year – it might be a good time for she and I to sit down and make some vision boards together 🙂
I am with you on the meal planning! I made one for September, but I need to stick to it…