Schedules and commitments can get a little unruly. Utilize the definition of S.M.A.R.T. goals to personalize them accordingly to preferences. Here is where you will gain a tremendous amount of personal development and set yourself up for success this year. Prioritize these 20 monthly goal ideas to help you grow the coming year and be amazed at how your productivity and success accelerate.
1. Read One Book
Education is key to learning and expanding your perspective. Reading opens up the mind to understanding how an idea becomes a motion that moves one to take action. If you read one book a month, that’s 12 new books for the year. Imagine what incredible ideas you will experience and be able to implement every month.
2. Flex Your Core Muscles More Often
Fitness is essential to healthy living. But one area that is not focused on enough is the core: upper legs, abdominals, and back. It’s here where confidence is physically built. Stand taller because your body is stronger. Get to the core of what matters, and flex your core muscles.
3. Donate Unnecessary Household/Office Items
There is so much stuff that’s accumulated over the years. Instead of drowning in the piles, donate the stuff that you don’t use. And if you want to be proactive, for every new thing you bring in, donate one old thing of equal size. This way, the accumulation will lessen, allowing the mind to stay centered on the goal.
4. Volunteer at a Local Charity
When you give to someone else, your gratitude grows. How powerful it is to help those in need, especially in your own community? It’s a great way to give back and feel good. Check out a senior center or a food bank. There are many areas in town where your gratitude can grow.
5. Try a New Recipe
How much does your menu change? Most people get stuck eating at the same restaurants or cooking the same main meals. Increase your selections by expanding your options on what to eat. Your palate will adopt a variety of new flavors from around the globe. Grab a local favorite and recreate the dish at home. Soon your menu will expand to the point where no meal is repeated, except your take-out pizza!
6. Learn a New Skill
To broaden your horizons, learn a new skill to enhance something you already know or something out of the ordinary. There is no end to learning and stretching your comfort zone. New skills build character and make you feel good.
7. Create One Healthy Habit
Healthy living comes with practice and consistency. Build upon what you are already doing by adding one healthy habit. This will reinforce what matters to your body while creating a healthier lifestyle that becomes more manageable as you get older. Age is only a number!
8. Get to Know Someone New
Increase your net worth by increasing your network—get to know someone new. The more you diversify your network, the more significant your impact will grow. Meet and greet to serve and grow.
9. Conduct a Random Act of Kindness
Regardless of what is happening in the world, everyone can give back by surprising someone with a random act of kindness. Put the hostility and fussy attitude in your back pocket, and extend a hand up with a kind act. You can make someone’s morning with a cup of coffee or lunch on the house.
10. Make a Dent Into Debt
Living outside your means is becoming easier every day. Lower your debt when you make an intentional commitment to paying it off. Start with the smallest debt that you carry and put what you can to lower what’s due. Soon, the debt will disappear, giving you more freedom in your finances.
11. Practice Forgiveness
When you experience hurt, it’s easy to hold on to the feelings. However, if you operate daily from hurt, it can dilute the good in your life and lead to bitterness. Therefore, you feel less accomplished and more slighted. Let go of what’s not serving you and practice forgiveness.
12. Attend a Community Event
There is nothing greater than the community in which you call home. Honor your home by attending a community event. These are opportunities to see what your community has to offer. You might be pleasantly surprised at the talents and gifts discovered at the local theatre, mom & pop restaurant, or even a holiday fair. Don’t forget the high school and community college where lots of new talent is waiting to be awakened.
13. Invest in Your Spirituality
Take your devotion to the next level. However you define spirituality, make time to grow deeper in your relationship. Dedicate a measurable goal that will elevate your discipline and pull you closer to what you desire in your spirituality. Here is where you can connect your head and your heart to impact the world that you touch. But first, it starts with you!
14. Clear the Cluttered Closet
How many times have you said, “I have nothing to wear.”? Most of the time, it’s because what you do have is getting buried by what you don’t wear. All you can see is what you wore last week, which doesn’t seem new and fresh. Streamline your closet by clearing the clutter. Donate what doesn’t fit and enjoy a new outfit—no more excuses for not having anything to wear. A clean closet is an organized mind.
15. Complete One Household Project
How long is your to-do list? You can feel highly accomplished by taking on one household project. It might be that linen closet that’s stuffed to the max. Or you might want to put up the new pictures along with trading out the new lamps in your living room. By the end of the year, you will have completed twelve in total. However, if the project is massive, then you can use a couple of months. A refresh is great for real-time inspiration to keep moving forward.
16. Find Your Miracle Morning Rhythm
Mornings are vital to jumpstart your day. Don’t let aging wrinkles or tired eyes determine how you look at your day. Dress your day for success by how you groom your day. Get up at a regular time every day, even during your days off. Prepare what you can before going to bed. Brain dump your thoughts and ideas into a journal. Drink water before your feet hit the ground running. Make tweaks here and there to find your miracle morning rhythm. Remember to play to your strengths.
17. Clean Your Refrigerator
Besides the bedroom, the kitchen is the room you spend the most time in. Leave the junk food behind by cleaning out the fridge. Whether you need a snack or a full meal, a clean refrigerator makes you want to eat the good stuff. You can see what you need quicker and what might serve your stomach later. Bon appetit!
18. Spend Time in Quiet
Listening is a crucial growth skill. When you spend time in quiet, you force yourself to slow down to see what’s right in front of you. This skill takes practice and does not come easy for most, especially since many are always on the go. When you make space to slow down, it creates room to speed up. Accelerate reaching your goals when you spend time in quiet. Listen to what the silence is telling you.
19. Unsubscribe to Email Lists
Who needs more distractions and junk mail? Delete what you are not using for the month. You can always re-subscribe if you must. Clearing your email gives you more time to do what you want, and who doesn’t need more time? Let your productivity begin by unsubscribing from what’s not required each month.
20. Repeat What Matters
If you are looking for a leg up on your personal growth and development, repeat what matters. You get to decipher what serves your long-term goals. Don’t hesitate. Say no, and strike out the stuff that depletes you emotionally and physically. You need to share your talents and gifts with the world. So, dream big and set those monthly goals.
Take A.I.M. (Action Ignites Motivation)
You’ve got this! Commit to what matters to you individually. Be specific about where you want to go every month. This cuts out the messy middle and keeps you hyper-focused on your monthly goals to help you grow this year. If goal-setting is a challenge, check out our guide Achieving Goals: The Ultimate Guide to Goal Achieving & Goal Setting. You are made for more! Keep in mind that all goals may not be met. So, don’t despair what you can repair. By setting monthly goals, you are permitting yourself to achieve that which you can imagine and see. Life isn’t about the results, but about the journey in getting to those results. Create yours now! Featured photo credit: 2H Media via unsplash.com
