How to use a checklist for a Monthly Review

March has been really good for me even though I felt things were off-balance. Thank goodness for the checklist that I use every time I do monthly Review. So, this article will be all about that checklist that I shared with you in the last month’s review.

Please note: this post has been edited, and my sincere apologies, the Monthly Review Checklist is not available anymore as I will be creating a new one, same content but new design. In the mean time, please check out the current freebies here.

Recently, I shared a checklist that helps me conduct a monthly review and it has been working really well for me. If you want to read more about it, check my post for February 2021 Monthly Review. This is a part of my commitment to sharing my monthly review for 12 months.

I am going to share with you today how I use the Monthly Review Checklist and I am hoping that it will inspire you to do the same. Believe me. Having this checklist or any guide of some sort when you do your review is really helpful. It gives you clarity of where you are right now and gives you ideas on what to do next.

Monthly Review: March 2021

1. Are my goals still aligned with my core values?

Certainly. My core values are Family, Gratitude and Passion. My goals are centred on wellbeing, home and this blog. So the goals I have for these three areas are still very much aligned with my core values. I try my best to make sure that the projects I create are related to them.

2. Am I still motivated by my goals?

Yes. I am still motivated by my goals. In the last 6 months, I have felt the positive impact of this blog. I am less overwhelmed. My purpose is much clearer now and the little bit of progress here and there are inspiring me to keep going.

My goal in growing this blog has become clearer. I can explore more on what I need to do without being stressed or feeling lost. For sure there are times that I am unsure if what I am doing is right but I just keep on keeping an open mind and maintaining a growth mindset.

3. How many projects am I working on at the same time?

Since starting this blog, I have learned how to focus on only a few projects. I mean a maximum of 3 projects. Then I break them down into mini-projects until they get completed. It is better this way because I can do better with less on my plate.

So, I always start with a max of 3 big projects at a time, I break them down then every time I finish one, I move on to the next most important project. It works for me well.

I have maintained this structure in the last three months and I have accomplished more than I expected.

The image above shows the actual projects I have been working on in Quarter 1 (Jan to March 2021). The highlighted texts are completed. Semi highlighted texts are the ones I started but not yet completed. By having this page in my Bullet Journal or Bujo, I can keep only 3 projects at a time. 

Looking at this page helps me plan my next coming months better. I can see that my Home focus is a bit off, so it means I need to adjust a bit in that area. Based on this, it means I need to pivot a little bit and pay attention to the Home Focus.

4. Am I doing something for myself?

I do. I have to. The company that I work for has a program to live better by encouraging its employees to do something every day to improve health and well being. I have been active in the program since January February 2021 and I am grateful for it.

In the last 2 months, the live better challenges that I have been doing are: eating 3 serves of fruits every day, reading for at least 30 minutes and doing housework. I am so happy with this because my personal and professional life is well-aligned here.

That being said, I need to do better with sleep. I have been working hard to sleep earlier than 2 am since last year. But I can’t seem to find the right balance yet in this area. So I am keeping this habit goal in one of the 3 projects that I have. I have been doing better because I have never gone to be past 3 am in the last 3 months. So, I guess I am off to a good start. Very slow progress but it will happen.

5. Have I noted my accomplishments for last month?

This is one of my favourite part of the monthly review process. it doesn’t matter how much I got in my “Completed” list, even just a few completed tasks really excite me. I love the feeling of knowing that even though, sometimes, things look and feel really hard and challenging, I can figure things out. Having a growth mindset helps too. I always make sure I cultivate helpful thoughts to get me though.

6. Are my current tasks still meaningful and purposeful?

Certainly. It is all about doing the smallest step I can take every day. These small steps build up and help me move closer to completing my projects. This is the reason why I always put the Projects in Progress in the current review so that when I start planning for the next month, it will be easy to align my tasks.

Next action

I hope that somehow this post has inspired you to do a review too. Honestly, any review of some sort will do for now if you have not done this before.

I encourage you to try and use the list and see how you go by next month. If you have not done any review at all, you can still use the Checklist and just answer each question as honestly as possible.

Then plan your next month according to your answers. You will be surprised at how much you can achieve when you do the review for the following month.

Let me know in the comment below if you would like to have a monthly planning session with me.

See you next week.

E