You don’t have to wait until the new year to make personal goals!
Stop making unrealistic resolutions and make these monthly life changes instead!
Instead of new you for the new year…how about new you for years to come!
Good old resolutions…
Every time a year is coming to an end, people say goodbye to another year and prepare for the new year. You tend to reflect on the past year and ask yourself if you’ve accomplished all that you set out to accomplish at the beginning of the year. I know that for me, I didn’t always accomplish everything that I had set out to, but I would accomplish some amazing things each year. I didn’t start really start to reach certain goals or accomplish much until I changed my mindset. At the end of or beginning of every year, people tend to set unrealistic goals and make unreasonable resolutions for themselves, only to be disappointed in themselves for not accomplishing or reaching the resolutions they set.
Here are a few of the most common New Year’s resolutions that people normally set:
1. Start working out or exercise more
2. Lose weight
3. Eat more healthy
4. Stop smoking
5. Drink less alcohol
6. Save money
7. Get organized
Let me be clear and explain what I mean…it’s not the actual resolution itself that is unrealistic or unreasonable, it is the manner in which these resolutions are set. Your overall mindset has a lot to do with the goals and expectations we set for ourselves. Changing your mindset and your outlook on things will lead you to accomplishing more of the goals you set for yourself.
Food for thought…instead of making resolutions, make some lifestyle changes that you are more likely to stick to.
Making lifestyle changes as opposed to resolutions
These resolutions always sound good, and you start out strong on accomplishing them. But as the year progresses, they get harder and harder to keep up with. Want to know why? These are unreasonable and unrealistic goals. I’ve learned over the years after failing at accomplishing my resolutions, that the common resolutions are so overwhelming to do all at once. I chose to do a few at a time, and I had better results. Maybe try a few of these each year, but trying to do them all at once makes it almost impossible to complete.
With that being said, I think that it’s time to make some goals and set some intentions that are actually reasonable and realistic, and that you will definitely be able to accomplish! By the end of the year, you’ll have hopefully developed a few new lifestyle habits that are a part of your daily life and that you can carry and build upon going in to a new month, new year and throughout your life!
Monthly lifestyle ideas to have your best year yet
These monthly habits are designed to be set and accomplished over time. They are simple enough to adapt to your every day life!
January
Get more sleep:
Getting enough sleep is good for your heart, mind, and overall wellness. Making sure you’re well rested on a regular basis is a good activity to add to your self care practice.
February
Practice mindfulness:
Mindfulness is a way to be aware of thoughts & feelings. It helps to reduce stress and strengthens mental health.
March
Take up an anti-stress activity:
Yoga, meditation, coloring books & gardening are inexpensive ways to reduce your stress levels. Less stress leads to a better you!
April
Value experiences over things:
Plan a weekend getaway, plan a family night once a week, take a spur of the moment drive…These experiences are so much more valuable than buying things. Create memories. Experiences last longer than items.
May
Learn a new skill:
Learning a new skill will get you out of your comfort zone. Dance class, a cooking class, a new language, sewing & ceramics are just a few suggestions. You may end up finding something that you never knew you were good at!
June
Start a journal:
Write down your goals, your dreams, or your thoughts in a journal. Writing can release stress and can be therapeutic. Try writing in your journal at least once a week.
July
Unplug and unwind:
Put away technology for at least an hour and devote that time to yourself and/or your loved ones. Talk about your day, play a game, or spend quality time together doing something you all enjoy.
August
Get outside & enjoy nature:
Go on a walk, a bike ride, go to the park, or go camping. Getting outside is a good way to reduce stress and take a step back. Nature has so much to offer, take advantage of it!
September
Complete a 30 Day Challenge:
Participate in a 30 Day Challenge of your choice. Challenges related to fitness, health, money-saving, organization, fashion & gratitude are all popular challenges. There are so many other activity challenges you can do; just do an online search for a topic you are interested in.
October
Read a book:
Take time to start reading a book. Reading is a relaxing activity. Find a book on the bestseller list, or ask a friend for a recommendation.
November
Practice generosity:
Volunteer your time at a charity or organization for a cause that interest you. Volunteering and giving back to others leaves a positive impact on you as well.
December
Start one thing you’ve been putting off:
Whether it’s a small task that you’ve been putting off forever, or something big that you’ve been wanting to start; just get started on it! Break it up into smaller chunks, and work on it throughout the month.
Related post: How to live a life filled with gratitude
What to take from this
Many of these monthly activities can be shared and done with others in your family and friends. Besides, it is much easier to accomplish your goals when you have someone working alongside you and to encourage you! I don’t know about you, but accomplishing my goals is SO much easier when I have someone working towards similar goals and I also have the encouragement and support of my family and friends. Without their support, I wouldn’t achieve half of what I actually do!
So grab your better half, your kids, and your friends and start knocking out those goals! Be the best version of yourself and invest in yourself!
Remember…the best way to succeed and accomplish goals is to create new lifestyle habits and changes that are easily attainable and realistic!
You’re on your way to a better you! Feel free to share some of your lifestyle changes and goals with me in the comments. I would love to hear what you’re doing to improve your life overall!
Cheers to great months and years ahead!
Anitra J.
I LOVE this idea of giving each month a new goal instead of having a crazy long list (that usually overwhelms me and doesn’t happen) at the beginning of the year! Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks Jocelyn! Having a crazy list overwhelms me as well. Monthly goals are so much easier!
I just finished a blog post about this very thing, and I love your month-by-month resolutions! Yearly resolutions can become overwhelming quickly!
Thanks Terri! I think monthly goals are easier to accomplish!
Love this! Monthly goals are so much easier to accomplish than yearly ones. I love the get outside and unplug goals- something most people need to do more of!
This is a great way to organize new ideas! It doesn’t place too much on our plate at one time! Love this idea! I LOVE organization and going to have to incorporate this way of thinking… of course, I like to get it all done at once 🙂 which is not good! Thanks for the wisdom!
I like the “start something you’ve been putting off” for December, not January:)
I like that the goals are broken down into months. Seems to resonate better with the way people think and would likely yield more positive long lasting results.
What a refreshing New Year’s post. I can do this. Loved the post and it’s messages. A gift.
Thank you Verla!
My husband and I were just talking about goal setting and creating realistic goals. We have big dreams and vision and some times we can overload ourselves with so many ideas and no discipline. We decided to focus on one or two things at a time and perfect those things before moving on to other items.
I really like that you broke down a resolution for each month. It makes it manageable and easy to do! 🙂
This month-by-month layout is awesome. 🙂
Not only do I think that you have some excellent ideas on this list, I also like how you broke them down. In my business, we say, “One Simple Change at a time. This fits right in! I tweeted it on my health coach Twitter account. Thank you for sharing.
That’s a great idea to break up your goal into monthly bits.
I love how this is broken down by month and focuses on different aspects that are important in all our lives. Mental and physical health shouldn’t be ignored.
I loved this post. I am working on a similar one right now. This monthly format is a great idea.
What a neat idea of a goal each month! Never heard of this! Keep us updated on how this goes!
All great ideas to commit to in the new year. An overwhelming list, but taken one month at a time, definitely within reach! I’m going to save this one 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
This is a great list! I might take a few of your ideas! ????
Hi Kim, please do!????????
These are all great ideas. Spreading them out over the year sounds so much more doable. Thanks.
I like the month-to-month approach! Seems more attainable!
This monthly goals seem so much attainable. Thanks for sharing
This is a wonderful idea. I stopped making resolutions years ago and instead pick a few goals that are broken down quarterly. This is even better! Month-to-month is so much more realistic!
These are great ideas! Definitely will be tucking this away for future reference!
Great idea doing a monthly theme. Will you be reminding us of these each month maybe in social media?
Thanks Kim! I hadn’t thought about reminders, but I will definitely do it!????
These are some really awesome ideas! Sleep is so important as it affects everything you do and will impact your other goals as well.
what a great idea to break it down by month! I’m gonna try it!
I really like the idea of having one goal per month. That definitely makes it much more reasonable to accomplish some goals/resolutions!
Love that you made a goal for each month! I definitely have benefitted from meditation and am journaling a lot lately. Great post!
I like how you break this down month-by-month. I find it so much easier to focus for a shorter time and really accomplish that one thing.
These are such great ideas and an easy way to make small changes that benefit overall wellbeing. Thanks so much for sharing your insights!
These are all such great ideas to remain centered throughout the year.
I love the idea of breaking down your goals month by month!
This is such an organized year of goals! Love this! There is so much I need to do and organizing it all to actually get it done never happens!
I love the breakdown by month. Way more attainable and less overwhelming to face!
To kick off the New Year, I should get more sleep. Getting emough rest can sustain me for a day’s work and can prolong my patience.
I 100% agree! I get more done by creating habits instead of resolutions.
This is a fantastic post! I couldn’t agree more with creating healthy, lasting lifestyle changes and I love the monthly list!
I love this!! So motivational and such a great idea.
Love this so much. It’s really helpful!
This is an awesome idea and a great mindset for the coming year. Much more attainable than an abstract “be healthier”!
Great ideas! I definitely get too fixated on the goals rather than myself, so this is a great reminder.
I love this so much! I like the idea of “lifestyle change” as well as how you’ve broken it down by month. I have a friend who is a life coach who teaches that January is actually a very hard time to make a big life change because we’re in “hibernation” mode along with nature. I’m Pinning this post to save and share it. Thanks for the great ideas.
P.S. I’d love to see you share this post at my weekly blog linkup, if you’re interested: https://lifetalesbooks.blogspot.com/p/calling-fellow-bloggers.html It runs every Monday morning to Saturday morning.