Why I Set Monthly Goals - April Goals
I am so happy April is here, March took way too long. I have a feeling April will too as our self-quarantine is extended to an additional month. But, I rather be safe than sorry so yes, I’ll be staying home. Beginnings of the month are my favorite though so no amount of self distancing will change that and it’s because we get to set plan for what's coming ahead!
Before I jump into my April goals, I want to share why I started creating monthly goals in 2020 and then we’ll take a look at my March goals and see how they ended.
So why monthly goals? Does that mean I don’t do longer term goal? No, I also set year, five-year, and ten-year goals but monthly goals support these longer term goals without making them seem overwhelming and unattainable. For example, breaking down a one-year goal of saving $20,000 sounds extreme, so when you break that goal into months or even paychecks, the number is less intimidating.
My 2020 goals are as follows:
Save $20,000 for a downpayment of home
Grow my side business into an income producing business with expanded presence
Strengthen my existing friendships as well as meet new people in my neighborhood
Gain confidence in my public speaking, body and gain physical strength
Read 12 books and expand my creative skills (poetry, guitar, etc.)
While semi-realistic these goals are still pretty challenging for me and if I had to think about these specific numbers/goals every day, I would easily be unmotivated because life is full of ups and downs. There might be a week without spending/talking to anyone besides Ari and then the next week I have a few engagements or FaceTimes. Instead of focusing on how my weekly goals are feeding into my overall goals, I will look at how I’m working toward the monthly goal I have set. Of course, I take these year long goals and think about what they would look like if they were daily changes I was making in my life. You’ll see how I did this by looking at my monthly goals for March.
March Goals
5 AM mornings - I gave my self a monthly challenge to wake up between the hours of five and six to sneak in some additional hours working on First Gen Money (FGM). Of course, this goal was working directly towards my year long goal of making FGM an actual business that generates money! With three extra hours each day to work on my business I was able to start my weekly newsletter, launch YouTube channel (goal 2) and brainstorm other ideas. The challenge results? Well as you can see from my March Tracker, it was so so, the first week was the only week I managed to wake up at 5 AM everyday. The excuse? I wasn’t giving myself the sleep I needed to wake up this early. Next time, I will make sure that my morning routine matches my night one.
Launch YouTube channel - Woot woot. This was fully accomplished and guess what? Was made possible by my 5AM mornings, with the extra time, I filmed, published my videos, and did other things that would advance my one-year business goal.
Make $200 from my side hustle - This monthly goal supported my goal to save for a home because it allowed me to allocate more of my 9-5 funds into my downpayment fund. Unfortunately, I was $80 short and did not achieve it. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, my yoga studio closed down so I literally could not pick up hours if I wanted to. One lesson I did learn here was that it's best do something while you have option. In this case, to pick up shifts will you can and while there’s still a job. For example, the first week of March there were so many shifts open and I didn't want to take them at first because I thought I'd have the opportunity to make up for it in the rest of the month, I ultimately decided to to get them out of the way, which turned out to be the best decision or else this paycheck would have been a lot smaller.
Less instagram - While this was going well in the beginning, it went south after I started working from home. Originally this was supporting my goal to strengthen existing relationships by not using my phone around my loved ones and then it became the only way that I could show up for my friendships through Instagram Lives or following along with their work from home / self-quarantine journey.
As you see your monthly goals should have a purpose aligned with your overarching long-term goals, and will help you take the small steps necessary to get you there. I’m excited for the month ahead and will really be embracing this forced time at home to explore my creativity and further grow my business.
April Goals
Create product for FGM - I want to make something that I could sell or give for free, I haven’t yet decided what it is.
Establish a home workout routine - with my yoga studio being closed and working from home, I really haven’t gotten into the habit of working out consistently, if at all. Let’s change that.
Read 10 minutes a day - I need to read again, I would love to day my day in bed reading.
Complete one creative SkillShare class a week - Let’s forget the business and professional development classes for a bit to focus on the creative work. Taking a class that isn’t associated with trying to grow my business or productive hacks, something just for - get this - FUN!
I’d love to hear what you have planned for this month? Share your April goals in the comments!