How To Create A Successful Monthly Reset Routine

It’s easy to end the month and just move on like nothing happened. Maybe you didn’t have the best month or perhaps it was fantastic… Either way, it’s essential to review your month. If you tend to end your month without reviewing your goals, what’s working, what’s not working, etc., I think it’s time you created a monthly reset routine!

The goal of a monthly reset is to set yourself up for success for the following month. Have you ever set a goal and then didn’t achieve it so you just rolled it over to the next month only to keep doing that all year? Doing a monthly reset would help you stop that cycle!

Another fantastic way to review your month is to journal. I’m sure you have heard of journaling or have even done it yourself. Sometimes sitting down with your thoughts can be a productive way to review and plan. 

If you need more structure and organization in your life and want to start being intentional with your monthly plans then keep reading and learn how to set up your own monthly reset. 

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Why you need a monthly reset routine 

As we discussed before, having a reset routine is helpful for many reasons but mainly it helps you see what’s working, what’s not working, your goal progress, and how you can keep growing. 

It’s also a great time to see what tasks you need to do or have been slacking on. Since life is busy it’s not uncommon for things to slip by so sitting down and reflecting on the month can show the areas that need some love! 

A few benefits of having a monthly reset routine:

• Increased productivity because you are reviewing your systems 
• More likely to achieve your goals 
• It’s a form of self-care (yes, personal development can be self-care!)
• Good for your mental health – checking in with yourself regularly will help with stress

Monthly reset routine themes

Are you the type of person that likes staying on one type of task until everything is done? If you are a fan of task batching you might like creating themed monthly reset routines. 

It will really just depend on what you like, what your lifestyle is like, and how you find yourself most productive. For example, if you are a student you might find a school-focused reset more helpful. Or if you are a mom you might find a household-focused reset more useful. 

Here are some examples of themed monthly reset routines:

• Around the house – think things like organization, household chores, life admin tasks
• Goals – focus primarily on your goals and things related 
• Health – things like your physical health, mental health, emotional health, etc.
• Work – if you work for yourself you might want want to review your progress, productivity, etc. 
• School – for those of you that want to stay super organized with your school tasks 

Of course, you can pick one theme or include a little bit of everything. I personally like to include a little bit of everything so I know that each part of my life is being taken care of. 

How to create your monthly reset routine

Doing a monthly reset is super helpful as we discussed above, however, if you don’t go into it with a plan and a routine to follow, it can be wasted time. You want to be as intentional as you can with your reset routine! Here is how to create a great monthly reset routine.

Step 1: Determine what you want to focus on

So, just like we talked about before, it’s good to have an idea of what you want your monthly reset to focus on. Do you want a theme? Do you want to focus on a little bit of everything? 

Personally, I focus on all aspects of my life. I like to have a cleaning list, some life admin tasks, goal reflection, etc. It feels well-rounded and like I am keeping up with all the essential areas of my life in a small way each month.

Step 2: Set a date for your monthly reset routine

This is more important than you may think it is! Setting a date where you reset is crucial because it helps you create a routine and it’s not as easy to just put off. If you want to do it on the last day of the month or the weekend before the end of the month… doesn’t matter! Just find a day that works for you and schedule it in your planner. 

Step 3: Brain dump

The fun part! Spend some time writing down all the things you would like to do each month. Make a big long list. Not everything will make it onto your monthly checklist. 

If you are doing a themed monthly reset think of things that you want to review. If you are doing a household monthly reset you might focus on things that need to be cleaned or organized, bills to pay, appointments to make, reviewing financials, etc. 

Anything you can think of gets written down! You can organize the list later. This is going to guide your reset so spend some time on it. 

Step 4: Create a checklist 

With that big long list of things you brain dumped, you are now going to make a checklist that you follow every month. 

Here is where you can decide what is most important and should be reviewed each month and what is something you can put onto your to-do list. 

Keeping with the last example of a household-themed routine – you might make a few sections on your checklist reflecting things you want to get done. 

• Household chores may include washing bedsheets, deep cleaning the bathroom, cleaning out the pantry
• Financial may include paying bills, reviewing bank accounts, budgeting (I love the clever fox budget planner btw!)

You can do this any way you want. Since I do a more holistic routine I break mine down into sections like goals, health, life admin, household, etc. I have less on each list but that’s okay! 

Once you have everything broken down into sections you can write it down on a piece of paper, keep it in a journal, print it out, create a template on canva… as long as you have it somewhere and you can use it again (rewrite, reprint, etc.) that’s all that matters! 

Step 5: Reflection 

Decide what you are going to reflect on. Are you doing to be reviewing goals? Do you like to journal? 

Reflecting on your past month whether it’s about your goal progress or even just how much you did around the house… it’s important to know what is working for you! 

So, decide how you are going to reflect on your month. 

Some ideas for reflection:

• Journal about it using the prompts below 
• Track habits throughout the month 
• Set milestones each month to review progress
• Reflect based on mood – how you have been feeling the most month 
• Holistic check-in – see how you have been taking care of yourself in all aspects of life (you could even use the wheel of life assessment)

Step 6: Re-do each month 

That’s it! Your monthly reset routine is created and you can now do it each month. The important thing to remember is that you can tweak it each month to fit your needs, it’s never set in stone. 

So, to review: decide on your monthly reset focus (themed, mix of things), pick a date, brain dump everything you want to include, create a super awesome checklist (remember to make sections), and then reflect! 

Related posts:

• How To Get Your Life Together Using 10 Minute Tasks
• How To Do A Helpful Mid-Year Goal Check-In
• How To Write A More Effective To-Do List
• How To Create A Simple Goal Focused Weekly Plan

End of the month journal prompts

1. What went well this month?
2. What challenges did I face this month? How did I deal with them/ overcome them?
3. What did I accomplish this month?
4. What was something I didn’t have time for this month?
5. Where did I spend most of my money?
6. What life lesson did I learn this month?
7. What is something I wish I did differently?
8. How did I take care of myself this month?
9. What is something fun that happened this month?
10. What will I focus on next month?

Hopefully you have a better idea on how to create your own monthly reset routine. It doesn’t need to be anything too fancy or complicated. Its all about what will work for you and your lifestyle!

Do you currently have a reset routine? What do you include in it?