3 Simple Planning Tips: September 2021 Review

Last month I gave 3 tips on how to finish your year strong and I hope it was helpful for you.

So….

Have you strategised and planned for the next three months?

If yes, well done! I’m so happy for you. If not, (yet) don’t worry, I got you.

Join me in making the next 3 months successful, intentional and meaningful.

I’ll give you 3 tips that are simple and easy to apply the next time you make a plan. And as usual, just like my other Monthly Review Posts, I will share what I’ve been up to last month.

Wait….

Let’s scratch the three months. If three months sounds too overwhelming, you can start with just 1 month and if it’s still too much, you can plan just for a week.

Regardless of the length of time, you’re planning for, the three simple planning tips to make a simple plan in this post will help you plan better. So all you need to do is execute your awesome plan.

After reading this post, you’ll walk away with helpful tips that you can use the next time you make a plan.

Ready?

3 Simple Planning Tips

Tip # 1: Be clear with what you want

It’s important to be clear about the outcome you want to achieve. That’s because when you know exactly what you’re aiming for, it’s easier to work backwards. Working backwards or reverse engineering will help you identify the steps you need to take in order to be where you want to be.

For example. If my goal is to publish more blog posts. This is not clear.

I can make it clearer by making it more specific.

So, the much better goal will be: Publish 4 blog posts by the end of October 2021. That way I know that I need to publish 1 post per week.

Tip # 2: Write it down

You might have heard it a lot of times already. Write your goals down.

It’s important to write down your goals. And I mean actually writing them down with the use of good old pen and paper.

“It’s effective because the act of writing down forces you to regenerate the idea and it helps you remember things better.” This is from the article, Neuroscience Explains Why You Need To Write Down Your Goals If You Actually Want To Achieve Them.

Tip # 3: Simplify

This is definitely not a new idea but let’s just say that this has been my new favourite word (aside from gratitude) in the last few months.

I’m loving it so much I’ve started thinking about how to simplify things where possible. Ever since I noticed the benefit of simplifying things, I have been obsessed about finding a way where I can implement it in my life, work and business.

I’ve got a long way to master this simplifying strategy but I’ve already benefited from it already.

Example: Simplifying a meal plan

We recently simplified our meal planning system and It has been great. We’ve only started it on the first week of September so I have to give it a few more weeks (or months) to know that it’s really working. Then I’m going to tell you about it.

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September 2021 Reflection

2021-10 Sep monthly review 3 simple planning tricks

Gratitude

My August 2021 Gratitude List

R had his first shot of Covid vaccine and I’m scheduled to have one in the next two weeks
I appreciate the long video chats I have with my sisters who live in the Philippines and the funny video chat of Moon and Mother. Kuya occasionally appears in the video but he is a busy “almost” teenager so he doesn’t hang around for longer than 5 minutes. I love how Mother’s face lights up every time Kuya says hi.
I’m so grateful for my work. They are giving us paid hours to do digital detox and an additional Good Health Day for 2021. This is just one of the reasons why I love, love the company I work for. It’s honestly the best company I’ve ever worked for. The people are amazing and the company truly looks after its employees.

Highlights

We are still in lockdown and we’re not sure how long this will be. So we are trying to do the best we can to make the most out of life.

R has started a home decluttering project and as of the last week, he got 11 bags of pre-loved items for donations. he’s just waiting for the lockdown to be over so he can drop it off the Charity Shop. I love his style of slow and steady (and consistent).

Kuya goes out 2 to 3 times a week with his mates and I love how he is conscious with his technology use. I’m so grateful for that.

And….

I finally did it. I set up an Etsy Shop. Check it out and maybe there will be printable you’ll like.

I’m selling different kind of Printables you can use for setting intentional goals, cultivating a healthy mindset and staying organised. The ieShop is going to be dedicated to Workbooks, Ebooks and Mini-courses I am planning to create in the coming months and years.

The Etsy shop is where you’ll find the easy and quick to use printables to help you with self-care, your goals and organising life.

How am I going with my Goals?

If you’ve been here for awhile, you know that I have 3 Focus Areas in my life and it’s where I base my goals.

Well-being
Family and Home
Blog and Business

Well-being

Healthy Sleeping habit is now established. It took me 10 months to get where I wanted to be. I finally got the good sleep hygiene goal achieved, for real. Thanks to the Atomic Habits book. It helped me nail breaking bad habits and replaced it with better and healthy habits.

It’s now time to develop a new healthy habits. That’s to drink more water. My goal is to drink at least 750-1500ml water every day. I’m so lucky that my husband R is always on board. I have an instant accountability partner. So last week we started the Drink More Water Challenge. We started last week and the challenge will run until the end of October 2021.

You can check out the water tracker at the Etsy Shop if you like to do a similar challenge.

Water Tracker Printable — Check out the Etsy Shop here

Family and Home

In May, I attempted to do a Konmari Project but I had to pause because I needed time to focus on setting Shops.

Now that ieShop and Etsy Shop are both set up, I can start a new project. Well, not really a new project, it’s just going back to continue an old project. I need to create and list more products for both shops but that is going to be a part of my weekly tasks now.

Blog and Shop

I’ve published 7 days Beat Procrastination Challenge and it has been great. It helped me get into the mindset of done is better than perfect. You can read the Beat Procrastination Blog Post Series here.

What’s the next step?

Using those 3 planning tips, I hope you apply them as soon as you can. I’m so excited with your results.

Just remember, you can have the best plan but it will just be a plan unless you take action. So, make a plan, take action, keep making progress, reflect and repeat. You have got this.

Read the related posts to help you keep moving forward.

3 Simple Planning Tips: September 2021 Review