How to Conduct a Monthly Reset Routine
That feeling when you enter a new month without a monthly reset…
How do you get ready for the new month? Do you just jump in and get started? Do you complete your reset routine three days into the month? (No judgment, I do this as well sometimes if the new month starts later in the week, like Thursday or Friday!) Are you simply surprised that it’s a new month?
As a paper planner, I like plans. Plans are like instructions. They’re grounding and they help me figure out what I need to do to get to where I want to go.
If you can relate, you should try a monthly reset routine this weekend to get ready for the new month! Let’s talk about monthly reset routines.
Why Conduct a Monthly Reset
Do you read the instructions before building new furniture? Do you start a new recipe without reading the instructions? Personally, I’m a reader. So I will have the instructions projected or the recipe pulled up on my phone before starting a new build or meal. Without these instructions, I would have wobbly furniture or terrible food (trust me, it has happened before in both scenarios).
A monthly reset routine gives you your “recipe ” for the upcoming month and the environment to follow the “recipe.”
Jumping into a new month without a monthly reset routine will leave you in a “new beginning” without instructions. How do you know what goals you should work on in the new month? How will you know your self-care focus for the month? Basically, it’s all about organization. That’s the benefit of the monthly reset routine!
Let’s talk about what to include in your reset routine.
What Activities to Include?
The activities in your monthly reset routine are completely up to you and your needs. What areas of your life need review and reset to get that “fresh start” feeling? Do you need to focus on one area? I typically pick one to three areas of focus but maybe you want to choose one area instead!
Here are my recommendations for reset activities:
[1] Declutter & Reorganization
As much as I don’t like feeling claustrophobic, clutter accumulates over the month. (My fellow paper planner lovers may understand! By the end of the month, planner inserts and sticky notes are scattered across each corner of my desk.) Let’s talk about clutter - both physical and digital.
Clutter makes us less efficient. From a physical and mental standpoint, how can you work or relax in a space that is not clean and organized? Of course, we can push through and get accomplish the tasks we need to do but the clutter takes a toll after a while. Take some time this weekend to declutter and organize your physical spaces. Clean out your closet, organize your clothes, and pack away/recycle what you don’t need.
Guilty of taking screenshots to “save them for later” and never looking at them again?
Same.
Take some time to declutter and organize your digital spaces as well. Delete unneeded screenshots and photos. Organize your laptop or tablet desktop. Delete old files in your “Downloads” folder.
[2] Self-Care Check-In
A new month is the perfect time to check in with your self-care goals. Not only do you have 30 or so days of data (your habits) to review, but you can also capitalize on the feeling of a “new start” to help revamp your motivation to accomplish your self-care goals. Without a check-in or review, how do you know how you’re doing on your goals? Are you ahead of your goals or are you falling behind? Do you need a new goal?
During my last self-care check-in, I realized that I am NOT on track to accomplish my mental self-care goal of reading 40 books this year. During the check-in, I took some time to consider why I am falling behind: work has been busier this year compared to last year, I’m working on important updates in my business, and I’m focusing more on social self-care this year. (These reasons show that you might be behind for good or bad reasons!) Afterward, I made some adjustments to my goal so that my goal for the remainder of the year is more realistic.
Don’t know where to start with your self-care check-in?
Shameless plug for the Self-Care Audit E-Book! The Self-Care Audit E-Book not only walks you through the step of a self-care audit, but the Book will also provide you with several post-audit tools to not only get motivated but to stay motivated throughout the month.
[3] Mindfulness and Gratitude Practice
We could talk about the benefits of mindfulness and gratitude practice for HOURS. Practicing gratitude and mindfulness can help you shift your perspective, disconnect from the noisy world, and remind yourself of what’s important. Take some time in your monthly reset routine to step away from the noise and reflect on the month. What went well this month? What are you grateful for? What are you looking forward to next month?
How to Conduct the Routine?
That’s a good question.
Luckily, this step is completely up to you. Do you want to accomplish all the steps/areas in one day or over the course of one or two days? Personally, if I did everything in one day, I would be exhausted. In fact, in the Self-Care Audit E-Book, I recommend revisiting one of the steps at a different time of the day or a different day altogether. Plus, it’s getting warmer outside for most of us. “Work” is the last thing we want to do leading up to the holiday weekend! Try spreading out your reset routine over a day or two if you can.
If you are incorporating gratitude/mindfulness practice into your reset routine, I recommend adding this practice to the end of your routine to end on a positive note.
Don’t forget to have fun with your monthly reset process!
For the practical steps in the monthly reset, like cleaning my room and closet, organizing my desk, and digital decluttering, I like to have fun. I’ll listen to music or stream a new show or movie.
If you need some motivation to get the more “boring” steps done, grab an accountability partner and make a competition out of it.
The key here is to make the reset routine fun but effective so that you can accomplish as many steps of the routine as you can to get that “fresh start” feeling when the new month begins.
How do you conduct your monthly reset routine? Add your tips in the comments below!