Set Goals
The number one way to kickstart a new month is to set goals. Make these goals achievable. Many people fall short when they make overzealous commitments which results in a lack of lustre towards setting goals entirely.
Every little thing matters. If your goal is to wake up earlier in order to have more time to start a side hustle, holding yourself accountable to little tasks is how you're going to do it.
Let's assume you have to find 30 minutes every morning. Option 1 is to wake up 30 minutes earlier. However, option 1 usually results in you losing 30 minutes on the back end of being awake. Perhaps this means less time scrolling through your preferred social media site.
In order to achieve this goal of waking up 30 minutes earlier, you're now also holding yourself accountable to 30 less minutes of scrolling and going to bed 30 minutes earlier. Break down what you need to do, hold yourself accountable to it and give yourself the credit you deserve for making them happen to get you where you want to be.
Make Lists
Daily note taking is key for me. On any given month I have 40-50 ongoing lists. Of course, not everyone needs that many lists. I would however recommend taking stock of which bills need to be paid and when, important dates like family get togethers or birthdays and work deadlines. Doing this will allow you to break the month down, making it significantly less overwhelming.
Personally I'd recommend using the notes feature on your cellphone. My own personal touch is using the "✅" when a task has been completed.
Similar to crossing a grocery item off your list, don't discount how rewarding this little emoji can be.
Remember, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
Review The Past Month
Reviewing the past month can be a great way to establish what went right and what went wrong. There are always opportunities for improvement. Take advantage of the perspective you've gained after having dealt with some of the adversity from the last month and use that to build in the present.
If you regularly goal set and make lists, reviewing the past month should go smoothly. This will provide you with valuable information on how to maximize output moving forward.
Perhaps you over committed to some goals last month but still managed to hold yourself accountable to several different lifestyle habit changes. You can both give yourself some praise and acknowledge that maybe expecting eight things to change in a month was setting the bar a bit too high.
I hope you use these tips to help make this next month, the most productive and enjoyable month to date!