As we head into 2022, it’s time to start thinking about your aspirations for the coming year.
Here at A Subtle Revelry, we think one of the best ways to start moving toward new achievements and success is by setting monthly goals. Monthly goals help you to focus on multiple areas of life at the same time and make more measurable progress!
By having a list of smaller goals you want to achieve over a month, you’ll be motivated by the immediate short-term progress, which will help lead to better long-term habits and success.
We want to help you set the best goals for yourself. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of great monthly goals for personal growth.
And it gets better: we’ve also created a handy printable file for you to write down your goals, keep track of your progress, and keep yourself accountable! Hit this link to download the PDF – no strings attached!
Powerful Monthly Goals Ideas to Live Your Best Life
Below, we’ve compiled different ideas for achievable monthly goals that can help to motivate you and improve your life.
They come under different categories, so you can maintain a healthy balance of goals you want to achieve. Hopefully, these monthly goal ideas help to inspire your own customized list of personal goals.
Monthly Goals For Fitness
If you’re feeling a little out of shape or sluggish, these goals are a great way to get your fitness levels back on track.
- Stretch for 5 minutes every morning after waking up
- Go to the gym at least 3 days per week
- Practice yoga five times a week, for at least 15 minutes
- Walk more – try to walk 10,000 steps per day
- Bike to and from work on one day per week
- Sign up for a new fitness class (pilates, CrossFit, spin, etc)
- Try strength training and weightlifting – a 20-minute session every 2nd gym session
- Practice meditating for 15 minutes before bed
- Go on a 2+ hour hike every second weekend
- Try a 30-day fitness challenge, whichever works best for your goals and lifestyle
Personal Development Goals
Practicing more productive habits in your personal life will go a long way to making the rest of your life easier!
Here are some of our best simple goals for personal development.
- Read one book a week
- Try learning a new language you’ve always been interested in, practice once a day for 20 minutes minimum
- Attend a personal development seminar, either in-person or online
- Practice downsizing and decluttering. Look through your belongings and donate or sell at least 10 items.
- Make sure to tidy your room at least twice a week
- When watching tv or film, make every second thing you watch a documentary on a subject you are interested in
- Deep clean your home, particularly the kitchen and bathroom, at least once
Health and Nutrition Goals
Taking care of our physical health is essential for a long, happy life. These monthly goals will help you to keep on top of your diet and nutrition.
- Drink 1.5 liters of water per day
- Drink less alcohol: try restricting yourself to “less than 5 standards a week,” “Only twice a month” etc, or even try cutting it out for the entire month.
- Have at least one meat-free day per week
- Make every 3rd or 4th meal a carb-free one
- Start drinking green tea, one cup per day
- Eat at least 2 pieces of fruit per day
- Each day sub out one coffee, soda, juice, or energy drink for a cup of tea
Self Care
When you’re working 9-5, raising a family, or slogging through essays and exams, it can be easy to let self care slip to the wayside.
These self care goals will help you to feel more refreshed, happier, and ready to jump back into your routines by the end of the month.
- Get 8-9 hours of sleep every night
- Do your skincare routine every night, or pick up a routine if you don’t have one
- Avoid screens for 1 hour before bedtime
- Be in bed by 10pm or earlier
- Start a gratitude journal, write in it three times a week
- Plan one weekend trip outside of your city/town
- Set a social media detox plan that works for you. This could mean going without any social media apps (FB, Twitter, Insta, Reddit) every second day, 2-3 days a week, once a week for a month, or even the entire month (!)
- Try to invigorate the Feng Shui in your home by changing your room decor
Personal Finance
A healthy bank account helps you live a healthy life.
If you’re feeling stressed or unimpressed with your finances, here are a few helpful goals that can help you to save more $$$ over time.
- Make your own lunches 3 days a week minimum
- Set one “no takeaways/dining out” week per month
- Start contributing toward an emergency fund
- Open a savings account for your ‘rainy day fund’
- Read one finance-related book per month to improve your financial literacy
- Find an accountability partner
- Set out a detailed budget for how much you will spend on rent, bills, food, transport, recreation, etc per month. And stick to it!
- Download a money-tracking app so you can keep track of your spending
- Start making coffee at home to take to work at least 3 times a week instead of buying at a cafe
- Figure out two effective and actionable ways to cut down on weekly spending
Career Goals
We spend so much time at our jobs, so it’s important to feel satisfied in what you do. Here are a few ways to improve your work performance and earning potential.
- Finish an online course related to your industry
- Spend 2-3 hours a week focused on upskilling (gaining skills that improve your hireability)
- Attend at least one networking event
- Pick up a new hobby, or potential hobby, and devote five 30-minute periods to it per week
- If applicable, make a website for yourself including a portfolio and compiling skills/career achievements
- Start working toward a relevant certificate or degree
- Start coming to work 15 minutes early every day
Study Goals
Get the most from your college education with these monthly study goals.
- Attend your professor’s office hours at least twice
- Submit every assignment minimum 2 days before their deadlines
- Download a note-taking app to optimize your class notes
- Get an A+ for an assignment in your favorite class
- Make a LinkedIn account
- Go to 2 networking events for future graduates
- Start researching for your internship, come up with 5 potential applications
- Get your homework done 24 hours before classes
- Figure out whether you are an auditory, kinetic, or visual learner and find actionable ways to incorporate this in your study routine
Relationship Goals
Nourish your connections with your partner, friends, and family, with these monthly relationship goals.
- Try to have at least 3 date nights in a month, even if that just means lighting candles and making an especially fancy dinner on a weekday!
- Give 3 compliments per day to your partner, a friend, or a co-worker
- Make at least one phone call to a family member or friend each week
- Participate in at least one community event
- Host at least one game night or dinner night at your home
- Have a movie night with your best friend
- Do two new activities with your partner
- If you don’t know them already, figure out yourself and your partners love language. Brainstorm 3 ways that you can do something for your partner based around their love language.
Remember, when it comes to the monthly goals we’ve suggested, your mileage may vary. Feel free to pick and choose the goals that work for you, and make adjustments where appropriate.
One of the most important ways to make sure your monthly goals stick, is by making sure they work for you and your own life circumstances. Most goals, even short-term ones, are not a ‘one size fits all’ kind of deal.
How To Choose Good Monthly Goals For Personal Growth
Figure Out Your Priorities
Not all short-term goals are for everyone, so you must develop monthly goals that work for you.
Think about the areas of life you most want to excel in or where you think you’re falling behind.
What are your life circumstances?
For example, if you’re a student, you’ll probably want to work toward improving your grades and study habits.
Are you worried about finances?
Make sure some of your monthly goals include better saving strategies and financial literacy.
Your monthly goals for personal growth will only help you grow if they are tailored to your needs.
Figure out what is most important, and make that your priority.
Be As Clear As Possible
Vague or general goals rarely ever work, which is why many people fail to achieve the goals they set.
When setting short-term goals you should be as clear and specific as possible.
Don’t say “I want to be better at my job,” say “I’m going to devote x amount of time per week working on x skill to improve my work performance.”
This way you know exactly what you need to do to make the progress you want.
Make Them Reasonable and Attainable
So many people trip up on goal-setting because they get too carried away. They think of all of the things they want to achieve: finding their dream girl/guy, getting A’s across the board, going vegan, etc.
They want to upgrade their entire life in six months, and it’s just not going to work.
When setting goals you need to be reasonable about what you can achieve.
If you want a partner, don’t set a one-month goal to find one. Set a one-month goal to go on 3 dates. If you want to go vegan, don’t cut out all meat and dairy for a month – try alternating days, or doing every second meal meat-free.
Focus on setting sustainable goals that you can ramp up in the long term. That’s the best way to get the results you’re looking for.
How To Stick To Your Monthly Goals
Make Them Quantifiable
Setting the goal to “lose weight,” “drink more water” or “get better at my job” are all admirable things to aim for, but they aren’t helpful as monthly goals.
To set goals that you are going to achieve, make sure there is a fixed, measurable goal. For example, “I will get to work 15 minutes early every day” or “I will go to the gym three times a week, for 45 minutes” etc.
By doing this you know what you are working toward, and you’ll know exactly when you’ve achieved it.
Write Them Down
Writing them down means you’ll always be able to come back to these goals when you need a reminder of what you’re working toward.
It has also been proven that people are more likely to remember things they’ve written by hand.
Putting pen to paper will help them to stick in your mind, further helping you keep them in mind in everyday life.
With this in mind, we have created this helpful printable file for you to spell out your goals, keep track of your progress, and keep yourself accountable! Hit this link to download the PDF – no strings attached!
Don’t Set Too Many
30 different goals will probably be too much to maintain or even remember. Try to keep your goals at a number that feels achievable to you – this will vary from person to person, but between 10 and 15 is usually reasonable.
If you’re very proactive and good at compartmentalizing, you can do more. But if you feel easily overwhelmed or do better working toward single goals at a time, consider setting fewer goals.
New Month, New Goals
Every month should be seen as a refresh and the perfect time to start working on a new set of life-changing short-term goals.
At the end of each month, review your previous goals and consider what you’ve achieved and what you haven’t done so well at.
Those can stay, and the rest can go. If you want to continue certain goals in the long term, you can repeat them once or twice more before transferring them to your regular schedule. By then they will hopefully be fixed habits.
This gives you the chance to continue evolving your ambitions for self-improvement, and also to see what goals work for you and bring tangible long-term improvements.
Not to mention, being able to tick goals off your list and add new ones will help keep this exercise fresh and exciting.
Monthly Goals: In Closing…
Setting monthly goals for personal growth is a great way to help build new skills, better habits, and more long-term success. For more inspiring content and future projects, check out more of our articles at A Subtle Revelry blog!
