Do you do a review at the end of the month? If not, why not?
It is the perfect time to reflect on the things that you have achieved in that month and plan out what needs to be done for the next month.
An end of the month review is not a practice only to be completed for a business and does not have to be complicated or even boring. This is a step you can take to organise your whole life. Simplify things and have more time for yourself. Why not make it fun?
We all have things that we need to do every day and every week and this means that some things that are only done once a month or even once a year can easily be forgotten in the hectic lives we lead. Life has a way of complicating things without us even trying to do this.
Who can’t relate to that?
Somehow doing the most simple basic things drags out to take a few days, a few phone calls and waiting for replies or information before we can proceed. Frustrating at the best of times.
It can be hard to look at the things you have done without feeling overwhelmed with it all. How much have you achieved this month? Have you accomplished your goals or even ticked off things from your to do list?
What was working well?
Have you forgotten important deadlines?
Take some time to reflect over the month
Do a checklist for the month that has just passed or even the last few days of the month. This allows you a little bit of grace to get things done for the month.
- Write down the things that you are grateful for.
- List the things that you have achieved.
- Celebrate the wins no matter how small.
- Don’t forget to add some funny moments or special moments that month.
- Add a favourite quote or phrase that you heard or read.
- List any podcasts, books or videos you want to listen, read or watch.
- Any projects you want to get done or should have done or at least started by now.
- What has been getting in the way or stopping you?
- What steps can you take to alleviate the blocks?
Do you use monthly planners?
Does it work for you? Are you still using it or has it just become another pile on your desk and only once in a while opened to see what you actually wrote in it. Did you even start to use it at all?
If not, try another one. Maybe weekly planners are easier to manage. Or even have a month on a page planner to keep an overview and use weekly planners to break it down. There is no one size fits all. We all lead different lives and think differently. We all have different priorities and do things slightly differently. That is a beautiful thing and that is what makes us human. Don’t fight it, embrace it. Find your own way of organising your schedule that works for you and not against you.
How to do a simple month end review
Trying out something new is challenging. Why not make it simple and grab a piece of paper and answer the following statements.
This month I achieved
This task is easy to do and can be fun as you simply list the things that you have achieved. You can of course list the business and personal wins or just the personal ones.
Are you running your own business and want to acknowledge things you have done then have a separate one for your business and track your work progress.
Have some fun with the wins if you need the extra motivation. Eg washing dishes after your meal. Making your bed every morning. Making that call you have been procrastinating over.
What worked for me last month
Fill in what worked for you this month. This could be eg giving yourself half an hour in the morning to check your email inbox and quickly reply to the important ones and make a list of the others you need to focus on for the day.
If it is a personal one that you wanted to drink more water in the day and you have managed to, have you noticed any difference in how you feel?
What didn't work for me
Yes, we all try to improve our lives for work or personal reasons and may add in some new things to spice things up or even to slow things down. Have they worked?
Have you tried to plan out your month at the beginning and it has not worked or you gave up?
Wanted to be more active but have not achieved it.
Writing down the list of things that did not work makes you analyse the cause for it not working out and allows you to adapt to a new method.
Did you forget some important dates and deadlines and are mad at yourself for doing so?
Was there any personal time or did you do anything just for yourself this month ?
Do more of
When you have thought about the things that have worked for you this past month you realise what your priorities are and you can focus on how to change your habits to achieve those goals. Having that in mind simplifies the whole process.
Do less of
This is also true. As you reassess your personal or work life and realise what has not worked it frees up your mind to adjust things to streamline your time and become more productive.
Making a short list of the things you now know you should be doing less of means you are winning time to do the tasks or things that you want to do more of.
As simple as that you have done a basic end of the month review or checklist.
The next part of your monthly review
Do a brain dump and list all the things that you can think of right now that need to be done in the following month.
Both personal and work related. Using a blank page .
- List the main priorities that need to be focused on this month.
- Highlight any important dates to remember eg birthdays
- Mark in deadlines so you know when things really need to be done and plan out the time to achieve them
- Add in some fun time for yourself. Treat yourself! If it is lunch with a friend to catch up on things.
- Do you have any key plans or projects for the month
- Plan out the following month.
- What challenge am I going to give myself for next month
- Main focus of the month ahead
- Take out the planner you are using right now.
- If it makes it easier to follow, break down the things that you have to do into the weekly or even daily templates.
- If you want to try some templates out for the upcoming month check out the free monthly printables here.
- Every month the end of month review template is included.
- No sign up necessary just download the printables.
- Using this free month inventory template simplifies it all .
- You can fill it in and at the end of next month see how much you have achieved and what you have accomplished or what has not worked out for you.
- Motivate yourself to change your priorities and focus on the important things in life.
Treat yourself!
How a month end review can help you simplify things
We all lead busy lives and there seems to be less time than ever before.
Doing a simple month end review is a simple way of assessing things right now. It is like a checklist on your life, be it work or personal and gives you a snapshot of how your life is right now.
It could help you realise that the job you are in is not the best for you and is making you miserable as it takes up all of your life or most of it. Maybe it highlights areas of your life that you have been neglecting and subconsciously this has been making you miserable. Have you been forgetting to look after yourself in your hectic schedule?
It allows you to think about what is important in your life and why you should focus on your priorities and live your life. Feeling more motivated to do the things that you have to do while still making the time to do the fun things in your life. Make that personal time a priority too.
Looking for a template to help you organise your life and start a month end review then check out the free printables here.
Every month I add free printable planners for you to download and use. The set includes the month end review template with weekly and monthly planner templates.
