Monthly Reflection: Begin 2021 with Clarity
I shared about Goal Tracker Ideas for Bullet Journal in my last post and yes, we are done planning my lovelies. We are moving into the Engage mode now.
If you would like to start taking actions now to achieve your goals for 2021. This post is for you.
This week, we are going to start taking actions to get closer to our goals. But first, we need to do Monthly Reflection. This is very important. We need to be aware of how the last month was if we want to move forward intentionally.
I am going to share with you the super simple monthly review layout that I created for December 2020.
Having the last month at a glance will help us live January with clarity and right intentions.
My previous posts were all about Goals and Personal Productivity. I am hoping that those posts have given you ideas on creating functional personal workflow. Together, we are going to make our 2021 a little bit better than 2020.
I would like to think of the last 4 months as a “warm-up’ stage. It has also been like a “figuring it out” stage, for the most part, especially the blogging side of it. I must say though, that I am starting to get the hang of it and I am slowly developing the rhythm that works for me.
So, if you are ready, let’s get to it and create something meaningful starting today.
We are going to work to make better versions of ourselves starting this month.
Monthly Reflection: Let’s look back to move forward
No matter what type of productivity system you are using, chances are you are already familiar with the Review or Reflection.
We may have the best productivity system but if we don’t do review regularly, our system will not work.
DISCLAIMER The links in this post may contain affiliate links which means I earn a commission at no extra cost to you if you use these links to purchase. Please read my full disclosure here.
For personal productivity, I am using combination of the Bullet Journal Method and Getting Things Done. If you want to know more about this two powerful combination please check out my previous posts.
The Getting Things Done highlights the power of Weekly Review.
Weekly review is where all the magic happens. The insights, the lessons, and awareness we get from reviewing our week provide high impact benefits towards achieving our goals.
While trackers help us stay focused, motivated and accountable, Regular Review is what keeps our actions aligned with our short-term and long-term goals. Doing regular review helps us know if we are still in the right direction. It shows us if we are going off tracks in which case we would make necessary adjustments.
I do Review every single week. Being in constant check-in with myself and what I do gives me clarity on how I spend my time, energy and money. The process helps me decide what I need to focus more on and what I need to let go. During review, I pay attention to what is important and what is urgent.
Being aware means I can face the next week more mindfully. This is a great way to make sure that my actions and behaviours are aligned with my core values and goals.
This doesn’t mean though, that I got everything right every week. My weeks are not always great. Some weeks are amazing but some weeks are just chaos. With Weekly Review I have the comfort of knowing that it won’t be too long before I get to the next week. I can always reset and refresh.
This is exactly how Monthly Review or Monthly Reflection works. Monthly Reflection is a summary of all the weekly reviews of the past month. This makes it easy to track progress.
Awareness of what went on in the previous month gives us clarity. Having clarity means we know what we need do more of and what we need to do less.
I love setting up my Weekly Spread and I enjoy doing Monthly Reflection. That feeling of turning the fresh page is just so nice.
You all, Bullet Journalists out there can definitely relate to the joy of starting a new page. Literally.
What to include in the Monthly Reflection
A monthly Reflection is a process where I summarise the past month and create a page in my Bullet Journal to see the whole month at glance.
It is entirely all up to you when it comes to what areas to be included in Monthly Reflection. Aim to reflect on your wins, your challenges and everything that matters to you at the time of review.
I try to make my review as simple as possible. This applies for both weekly and monthly review. This way the process is straightforward and it doesn’t feel like a chore at all. I enjoy it because the process forces me to practice mindfulness.
You may think it is too restricting but that is not the case in my personal experience. Having just one page as a boundary means I can be more mindful of what goes in it.
It is a “summary” after all. It means I don’t need the extras, I only need what I need to focus on which is always Family, Personal and Passion. Passion, however, only came up in 2020. These 3 areas are the main focus of my goals and core values.
Example of Monthly Reflection
I only have three categories in Monthly Reflection page. Gratitude, Highlights and Projects. As long as I have them mindfully tracked month by month everything else are just extra.
Gratitude
When I do my Monthly Reflection, I always go through the notes in my Bullet Journal. I look at the Weekly Spread and take note of what jumps at me the most. I focus on 1 to 3 points that I am grateful for. There are always more than three that I am thankful for but I love to feature just the top 3 in the Monthly Reflection.
Highlights
After Gratitude, I check the events, the special notes and make a summary of the highlights of the month in review. This is really easy to do because all I have to do is go through my notes, again, from the weekly spread.
Projects
I try to limit my myself up to 3 Main Active Projects at a time. So, only three big projects in one month. This is to make sure that I can use my energy and time effectively. If a project is not completed by the end of the month, I roll it over to the next month. Provided it still meaningful. If it has lost its meaning, I drop it.
Gentle Reminder: Dropping off a project because it has lost its meaning is totally different from dropping off a project because you just don’t feel like doing it anymore.
When we give up on a project it means that project or the goal associated with it is not that important for us to continue. And that is ok. That is the whole purpose of the Review/Reflection. We can ponder what is meaningful and what is not.
I don’t always get to complete all the projects in one month because most of the projects have mini projects in it. However, once a project is completed, I just add another project that is next on my project list. This means, I always have active 3 projects every month.
I like taking notes of completed projects too. When I am feeling low, I look at them and they become my mood lifter.
Projects in Progress are also noted in my Monthly Reflection. I like having this section so I can see at a glance what are my top 3 priorities for the next month.
In Summary:
Here are the steps in doing a Monthly Refection. This is how I do it but I encourage you to use this as your inspiration. Your Monthly Reflection doesn’t have to be exactly like this format. Make your Monthly Reflection a reflection of “you”.
- Check your notes (or even photos) of the last month. If you use social media, it could also be a good way to remember what happened in the last month. Thirty days seem to move quickly, but remembering what happened each day is not easy.
- Think of the three (or more) things you are grateful for. Focus on the people, events, places, feelings. Appreciate every little thing about them.
- Referring to what you have gathered from step number 1, take note of the highlights of the month. What are the wins. You may also thinking about the not so good stuff. Try to let them go but keep the lessons from them.
- What are your projects? Take note of what you have accomplished Identify the actions you were meant to do but you didn’t get a chance to do. You can also take note of all the “in progress” tasks. What do you need to finish?
- Keep everything that are still meaningful and let go of those things that drains your energy.
- Commit to taking one action a little bit at a time. Because honestly, doing one smallest step seems nothing but that is so much better than not doing anything at all.
The Next Steps
I also thought of sharing with you my wins for 2020. It may looks small to other people but I am pretty happy with how my 2020 turned out in spite of the pandemic.
Before pandemic, I didn’t have any regular schedule for connecting with our families and friends overseas. Now, we have an on going weekly video chat.
When it comes to goals, I never included my Work Goals in my Bujo ( Bullet Journal) because I have a digital Bujo for work. This year, I realised that it is better to include my work goals in my Bullet Journal.
I think, trying to live an intentional lifestyle helped me feel that work and home don’t have to compete with each other. I don’t have to juggle them aimlessly. They are both important to me. I can give them proportionate attention.
I am really grateful and happy that my dream of working 4 days a week for 5 hours a day has come true. I have always wanted to be in this position and now that I have it, I couldn’t be happier.
I am not sure what’s season of your life you are in now, but whatever it is, I highly encourage you today to take action and do something towards your goal. You just have to start. You have already made the decision that you are going after something. So go for it.
I am cheering for you.
You just need to start. If starting seems hard. I got a challenge for you.
What is that one thing that you have planned to do but for whatever reason, you just can’t start?
Today, think about that goal, project or task and do the smallest step you can think of. Then tomorrow, do it again.
Please leave a comment and let me know how you go with this little challenge
