Why and how to make monthly goals for yourself? A Step by step guide.

Would you sit in a train or plane without knowing where it was going?

The obvious answer is NO.!!

Then why do people go through life without having any goals?

People always confuse dreams with goals. Dreams are nothing but desires. But goals are dreams with a deadline packed with an action plan. They are broken down into small achievable pieces such as yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily goals.

Now, let me take you through how you can set goals for yourself?

Imagine you are purchasing a flight ticket from Bangalore to Chennai. What does the ticket say?

• Starting point
• Destination                                    
• Class of travel                        
• Date of flight      
• Price  
• Duration of travel

All of these right!? But if you ask people what is their one major objective, they would probably say something like “I want to be successful, be happy, earn more, and make a good living”.

That’s simply a vague statement. Then how should goals be? I read this in one of the popular self-help books.

The author says that goals should be 'SMART'.

1.       Specific
2.       Measurable
3.       Achievable
4.       Realistic
5.       Time-bound 

Now that’s how we are gonna set goals for ourselves. We are starting with monthly goal-setting in this blog. Kindly stick on, as there is going to be a series of blogs to help you with short-term, mid-term, and long-term goal-setting.

You have a compliment at the end of this blog, so hang on till the end :)

Monthly goals are my personal favorites and super easy, fun to make and achieve too. They are extremely effective and can make you more productive if made following the SMART rule. 

Categorize them into 4 sections

1.      Self-development goals.

This section is the most important part of the entire goal-setting process. In what ways and how are you going to improve yourself?

You can write down:

·        The habits you wish to develop

·        Any bad habits you should get rid of and how

·        Your health and fitness target

·        How you are going to develop your mental well-being?

·        Any important changes you want to see in yourself and how.

Don’t forget the SMART rule. Anything hyped and over-rated is totally a failure. Let it be easy and achievable. Don’t write something like "I want to get 6pack abs in a month".

Let them be true to your capabilities and small enough to be achieved.

2.Skills to develop and fun goals.

This is a very fun and enjoyable section which many of us pile up so many points. What skills are you going to learn and how you are going to enjoy apart from work is this section.

Here you can write down:

·        A new skill to learn and from where (Internet, a person or a book)

·        Online courses to complete or learn something from YouTube

·        Books to read

·        Podcasts and audiobooks to listen (From where and what all. List them)

·        Movies or web-shows to binge-watch.

·        TV shows to watch

·        Hobbies to master

·        A new cuisine or recipe to master.

List down everything specifically and from which channel you wish to learn them. If its movies or TV shows – from where are you going to view them (Prime Video, Netflix, etc.)

3. Official goals

This is a very serious area. If you are working then this is a big league for you. Of course, if you are a student, you can make use of this section.

What goes in here?

·        Any office deadlines you have to meet.

·        Any presentations you should make.

·        Targets you should achieve.

·        Important mails or follow-ups to take care of.

·        Subjects you should cover and how much.

·        Revisions and tests you should give.

·        Side-hustle targets and tasks.

Write them down after thinking well and be sure not to miss them. Again, I can't stress enough on the SMART rule (go back and refer to it).

4. House goals

This is a very private section of all. 'Service starts at home' is something my grandmother keeps reciting. I can totally resonate house goals with that saying.

You can list down:

·        Spaces you wish to clean

·        Things you need to organize at home

·        Purchases and repairs you should make

·        Anything helpful to some people at home.

Writing them on one day and never bothering about it for the rest of the month is bringing no good to you. 

Daily or every few days once, open them and review how much you are yet to accomplish.

If possible stick them in front of your desk and look at them every now and then.

Lastly;

“On the journey to life’s highway, keep your eyes upon the goal. Focus on the donut, not upon the hole” - Anonymous.

Here's the compliment I told you at the beginning of the blog. 

It's a MONTHLY PLANNER which can be printed and filled every month. Write the name of the month in the header space.

It's just 1 page - so no harm in downloading.

To download a high-quality image CLICK HERE. 

NOTE: After the image is downloaded long-press and re-download it (as you normally do)

If you loved my writings, don't forget to send me your feedback and suggestions on Instagram or Facebook. 

Do leave your queries in the comments section below for me to help you clarify. 

"HAPPY GOAL-SETTING"