5 Monthly Goal Ideas to Help You Grow as a Person
Monthly goal ideas are great drivers of action, no matter what time of the year. Usually, people put a lot of focus on them at the start of the year and tend to not revisit them.
But you should.
Maybe your New Year’s Resolution didn’t quite go to plan, and it’s now time to refocus on yourself and your habits. Or perhaps you did stick to your January goals, and by now, you can add more positive routines on top of what you’ve already achieved. Either way, keep reading for a list of monthly goal ideas which will help you grow.
There are many ways to track your goals, like using apps, spreadsheets, or a simple pen and paper. Whichever you choose, do your best to stick to tracking them. Falling off the wagon is easier if you’re not holding yourself accountable.
If you’re feeling extra ambitious, consider starting a journal to track your goals. Research habit tracking and bullet journaling for tons of ideas of how you can grow while also developing a beautiful and mindful hobby.
Improve your sleep
Sleep is top of the list for a very good reason.
If you aren’t sleeping well, it has a broader impact on other areas of your life. You’ll have less willpower, your mood will be affected, and overall it will impact the lifestyle you want to lead. Adults require around 8 hours of sleep each night, but most get much less than that regularly. It can be tough to set aside the right amount of time and put down all the distractions of the modern world.
One of the best ways to improve your sleep is to reduce blue light, which includes limiting your use of technology for an hour or so before you go to bed. The blue light emitted by phones, laptops and TV screens keeps your brain active and makes it harder to get to sleep.
Try setting a consistent bedtime and sticking to it; over time, it’ll be much easier to stick to the routine if your brain and body are used to it consistently!
Increase your steps with a step counter
Another popular goal is a certain number of steps every single day.
It’s far too easy to spend all day sitting in front of a laptop screen — especially if you’re one of the thousands of people who have moved to working from home. Tracking steps every day is the best way to know where you are regularly, but it’s a good idea to go through your averages at the end of the month. This will show you if there are any big or systematic changes you need to make and is frequent enough that you should hopefully be on top of a good habit most of the time.
Most likely, your phone will have a way of tracking your steps, but they often aren’t the best in terms of consistency and accuracy. Consider investing in a higher-quality pedometer like those that come with a Fitbit or an Apple Watch.
The average adult should aim for between 8,000 and 10,000 steps per day, which is about 5km of distance. This isn’t that difficult to do but does require a bit of planning. You might need to start going for a walk every morning or walking through your lunch break. Maybe you could arrange with a friend to walk together. There are so many possibilities (but as we know, you’ll certainly have no problem getting the steps in whilst you’re working a job at summer camp)
It just takes a little organisation, and you’ll be well on completing this goal.
Improve fitness through workout tracking
As with everything on this list, having a good relationship with fitness will help you, whether you do it regularly or not. With fitness in particular, planning in advance will make a big difference to the results you notice.
Getting fit can seem like a huge chore, especially if you aren’t used to being active. The trick is to find something you enjoy because there are so many different activities, exercises and sports out there! If you hate running, don’t do it — you’ll only give up on it after a few weeks if you’re really having an awful time. Instead, try swimming, hiking, rock climbing, tennis, or the gym. Give lots of things a go, and then
commit to doing something you enjoy. Tracking your fitness will help hold you accountable for staying on top of this new habit. How much and how often will vary depending on your choices and lifestyle, but make a plan that you’re happy with and can see yourself sticking to long term.
Remember that a small change you continue is much more valuable than a big change you drop after the first few weeks! Review this each month and make sure you’re still being challenged by your routine but that it still fits in with your lifestyle and other responsibilities.
Improve mindfulness with a gratitude diary
We all get down sometimes, and it’s often easier to see the negatives if much of our time is spent trying to resolve problems and deal with difficult situations. In those moments, it can be tough to see the positivity.
For this reason, a really nice goal is to set up a gratitude diary. Get a notebook or a note on your phone and write down three things you appreciate in your life every day. At the end of each month, read back through them and remind yourself of what you’re grateful for.
This could be big and meaningful, like family members, or fun and simple like a joke. It’s a great habit to be in, recognising and appreciating the good parts of your life, but also, it’s a brilliant resource to look back through at happy memories and thoughts if you’re having a rough time.
This is one of the easiest goals and shouldn’t take much time. If every day is too much, doing this weekly would have the same effect but require less time.
Think about and plan aspirations
Finally, one of the best things you can do to help yourself grow and feel more optimistic about the future is plan things you’re looking forward to.
This doesn’t have to be big. It could be going for a nice walk in nature every fortnight or a local hobby you’ve been wanting.
But if you want to take this to a more extreme level, you could make travel plans to look forward to (such as making an impact at summer camp). Having aspirations in your personal life, career, or family will help with focus and make it far more likely that you’ll achieve your goals.
Reviewing these monthly will help you to update them and think about how you can get closer to them.
So there you have it! Five achievable monthly goal ideas you can do monthly which will help you take control of your life and grow in the future.
You’re in control of the path you take, and your monthly goals are the roadmap to get there as quickly as you’d like.
