I’ve been setting small monthly goals over the last few years (2019, 2020 and 2021) and I’ve found having one specific task or theme to focus on each month works really well for me. Each year my monthly challenges or goals have been focused around health, wellness and trying new things.
This year I’ve decided to keep my goals simple and get even more specific with them. I’ve take a step back to look at the things I’m struggling with or habits I’d like to introduce into my life with the hope of having a longterm benefit.
This year I really want to focus on health and wellness.
As I mentioned before, this has been a theme in previous years but this time I’m approaching it in a whole new way. I think I’ll also write a post at the end of each month talking about how I got on with the goal and how it impacted my daily life.
I’m trying to take things slow this year and focus on one small and simple goal at a time.
Here’s to a happy and healthy 2022.
January – Porridge for breakfast
Okay, so we’re pretty much at the end of January. It always feels like a long month and the weather certainly hasn’t helped this year. Although as I’m typing this the sun is shining outside and even though it’s cold the brightness of the day puts me in such a good mood.
So, my goal for January was to have porridge for breakfast.
The plan was to focus on having porridge for breakfast Monday – Friday and then switching it up at the weekend.
While I didn’t manage to hit my goal every single day I had more porridge days than toast days and honestly that’s a fantastic achievement for me. I’m really happy about it and plan to continue this goal throughout February.
I have a big problem with binging toast for breakfast every damn day. If I have a bad nights sleep or feel a little low that’s the only thing I want to eat. Having toast for breakfast is fine but binging on it daily does not work out well for me.
February – Go to sleep before midnight
We’re about to go into the month of February (edit…we’re now a week into the month) and I’m looking forward to really focusing on my new goal – Go to sleep before midnight.
In an idealistic world I’d love to set myself the goal of falling asleep by 9:30 every evening and getting up to join the 5AM club. However, that isn’t going to happen, not right now away.
Ever since I was a child I’ve had trouble falling asleep at night so I know that there’s no point having a super early sleep goal for myself. So, by setting myself the goal of falling asleep before midnight it gives me a little room to move.
I look forward to reporting back at the end of the month with how it went.
March – Daily yoga
So when March rolls around I plan to follow a 30 day yoga challenge on YouTube. There are quite a few to pick from so I’ll do a little research and edit this post with a few different options that have caught my eye. As with all workouts the key is finding a teacher you like.
April – Morning pages
My birthday month.
Morning Pages is something I do as and when I can but it’s always without consistency or at least in recent years. So, for the month of April I’d like to try really hard to incorporate Morning Pages into my daily routine.
The idea behind Morning Pages is that you pick a notebook and fill it with a stream of consciousness-style rambling each morning. There’s no right or wrong way to do it, just sit down with your notebook or even the notes app on your phone and write 3 pages. It’s better to do it with a paper and pen IMO but sometimes you have to roll with what you’ve got.
We’ll talk more about Morning Pages nearer the time.
May – Read 4 physical books
I generally listen to audiobooks through Audible, it works the best for me these days and I love it. If I didn’t listen to audiobooks I doubt I’d be reading much at all these days.
For the month of May I hope to read 4 physical books.
I’m all for reading books on a Kindle or iPad and of course, I love audiobooks but I want to push myself out of my comfort zone and away from screens in May and try to get through one physical book a week.
Ambitious? Yes, totally but I love a challenge.
In the months leading up to May I plan to pick out 4 books in preparation.
June – 15,000 steps a day
I hope by the time June rolls around that the sun is shining a little more and we’re all getting out and about every day. My toddler loves being outside and we often spend a lot of time visiting parks, National Trusts, going to the seaside and playing in the garden.
I try to aim for 10,000 steps a day generally but at the time of writing this post (late Jan) that hasn’t been happening. I hope that as we get into February I’ll be hitting my regular target more often but then when we get to June I’d really like to push that goal to 15,000 steps.
I’ll be tracking this with my Apple watch and will report back with screenshots at the end of June.
July – Exercise my brain
Yes, you read that right.
This month I plan to exercise my brain by taking up brain-boosting activities to improve memory, concentration and focus. This will include completing a jigsaw, learning new vocabulary and brain playing games.
I’ll talk more about this closer to the time and share the different apps and methods I plan to use.
August – Be out of bed by 6AM
I’d like to be out of bed and starting my day at 6am.
I’m not sure if I should make this a little harder and change it to 5AM but I’ll decide about that closer to the time.
A lot of people start their day at 6 (shout out to my bestie who is a high flying career woman raising a very busy toddler) so I know this may not be a big goal for some but just getting an extra hour in the day would make a huge difference for me.
September – Learn more about supplements
I want to learn more about supplements and how I can use them to improve my day to day health, skin and memory.
I don’t know a lot about this topic just yet and I’m looking forward to changing that.
October – Book 4 treatments
So October is going to be a month of true indulgence. I want to book 4 treatments for myself. I’d planned to book my nails, hair, a massage and a facial but I think I’m going to go for 4 treatments I haven’t had before.
I’m looking forward to checking out the trendy salon treatments for 2022.
November – Level up my skincare routine
This is something I take a little bit of time to do each year.
I like to try new products and as the years go by my skin needs are forever changing. At the moment my skin is super dry and I’ve had to introduce 2 hydrating face masks a week. Skincare is something I generally enjoy learning about but I’ve set November aside for a deep-dive.
December – To be confirmed
I plan to come back to my December goal later in the year. I think it’s a good idea to see how the year goes and then implement something I really need to focus on towards the end of the year.