In life, often times the hardest thing to do is to collect the courage of taking the first step. But once you are in the hustle, then things get planned, sorted and achieved one by one.
Whether it is personal life or professional rankings, the start of a New Year is always a time of reflection and improvement.
Therefore, to get rid of negative persons and negative thinking, this article is meant to help you start this new year on a new footing, beginning from the very first month through January Goals.
Setting Good Goals for January is Important for Personal Growth
However, before we begin to discuss the kind of goals one should set, let’s first look into why even goal setting for January should be considered.
If we assume that you have a bad habit of smoking and have been meaning to get rid of it, but failing to do it.
January presents the perfect opportunity because it is the start of a new year and you have time to delve into personal goals.
A Fresh Start
You can look at January from the perspective of a new and fresh start, thereby setting January goals then offers a way of building on this fresh start towards something meaningful and productive.
Also, it is important to note that these arguments have scientific backing.
There is a research term known as the ‘Fresh Start Effect’, which basically means that a certain date or landmark event can have positive effects on the motivation of an individual.
The perception that they are getting a fresh start can boost them into habits to save money, start a gratitude journal or lose weight.
Irrespective of the goal, when you get a chance to improve your future self from your past self, a fresh start is an effective way to work on personal development and growth.
Start Living a Happier & Healthier Life Today
Another major reason January goals are critically important to turn around one’s life is the necessity of a healthy and happy life.
If you want financial independence, then January goals can be made to begin an investment account, stay organized financially and work on improving your net worth.
If you set monthly goals beginning from January goals, you are inadvertently setting the mind set of improvement and constant flux, thereby getting rid of any barriers towards a successful future and life.
How to Set January Goals? How Do I Write Down My Goals?
Although, goal setting can be daunting when you have limited experience, but once you get the core of how to write goals, it can be a simple process.
For goal setting in January, follow the method of three steps:
1) Define
The first step is to define what your goal even is. It must reflect your to do list and your motivation towards health, fitness or other accomplishments.
The core idea is to stay focused on clearly defining your goal.
2) Specify
Once you have a goal in mind, which can be to spend more time with your friends. This step can specify ways in which you can plan on doing it.
You can plan a game night with the local group or set a morning routine of jogging with friends. Irrespective, in this step you try to think of ways on achieving your January goals.
3) Act
Once you have a goal and action plan, the next plan is to simply do it. Although, this seems like the easiest step but it will require the most courage and motivation to take the first leap.
If you are still confused about setting actionable steps for goal setting, then remember two things:
Start With Big Year Goals
Your January goals must be a reflection of the desires and wants you have with the whole year. This is why turn your big goals into smaller self-improvement tasks that can be done in the free time.
This is particularly relevant when you set goals for acquiring skills, instead of focusing on many skills, breakdown each skill for one month and improve yourself by staying in your comfort zone in terms of time management.
Create a Vision of Your Perfect Self
If you have no idea about what even your goal should be for January or the year. Well then you can conduct a simple exercise, in which you ask yourself, ‘What is my perfect self?’
The answer to this question can be somebody who has an emergency plan for financial stability, fitness goals for perfect body or connecting to the family by using gratitude jar.
Depending on your interests, come up with an answer to this question and start working on yourself with monthly goals.
What Can You Accomplish In A Month?
Even though, monthly goals and January goals can be effectively setup and followed for self-improvement, but some of you may be asking why even bother with monthly goals.
A month highly limits down your time and no major changes can be made.
However, to solve this query, look at monthly goals from the perspective of constant change. If you want to achieve your dream goal, you can only do it with consistent work and persuasion of months and years.
This is why, no goal is too small and no milestone is unnecessary, if it adds up to your dream goal. As an example, good monthly goals can be used as a way of reviewing bucket list items and slowly including them in activities of each month.
You might be a bit slow in ticking off the bucket list items, but in the span of a few years you will be able to do them all.
Start Learning a New Skill
Monthly goals are also an effective way to methodically acquire a new skill.
Your daily goals ensure that every day of your routine includes self-improvement exercises and in the end you will achieve your goal because you are following the smaller tasks that add up to the long term goals.
An example is learning a new language. This goal can in no way be achieved in one month, but your monthly goal setting as January goals can include learning a new word every day and within a month you will have made major improvements in your vocabulary of the new language.
Focus On Your Fitness
Other monthly goals can be included in the exercise format, which has a long term goal of health and being fit or devoid of any diseases.
Such goals require constant work and might not even have a final end result, but are meant to help you be your best version. Such a long term goal majorly relies on short term goals being achieved.
Instead of pushing fitness to the back burner, monthly goals are an effective way to keep reminding yourself your goals and desires.
An empty sink, wasting away on increased screen time and avoiding self-care are all acts that can be avoided because January goals will force you to hold yourself accountable at least once every 4 weeks.
Goal Setting Planner 2023
Here is a planner that we have designed for you to follow and write down your thoughts and goals in for 2023.
Name
Starting Date
End date
Steps taken to reach my goal
Done/Not Done
Once you have filled out this form with your goals and steps to reach the goal, then ask yourself the final question ‘I will know I have reached my goal when I?’
The answer to this question will be the end point that is your specific goal.
June Monthly Goals
Although, the topic for this article is January goals, but an effective way of being on track towards your larger goals is with the help of June goals as well.
With January goals, you manage to create an action plan towards the monthly goal ideas and with June goals you evaluate your progress in the 6 months.
As an example here, let’s assume your fitness goal is to keep your diabetes under limit and avoid increased BMI.
In January goals, you set the action plan of running, jogging, walking, hiring a trainer etc.
Once the month is over, you then identify June as the evaluation month, where again you will look into your physical parameters, go through your previous action plan and remove or add any steps that are feasible to you.
If you personally don’t like to jog, then remove it and replace it with yoga.
The bottom line is that in your life throughout the year, January goals set the tone for the whole year and June goals are meant to keep you on track for the remainder of the year.
Monthly Goal Ideas
If you are burnt out of any goal ideas to set for yourself, you can read this section to get some ideas.
Set Yourself a Daily Productivity Target
Start from the very basic and make a little change each day. A daily productivity target can be as little as 15 minutes’ walk or reading one page of a book.
The goal is to create a sense of achievement and motivate yourself from short term gains.
Plan out Action Steps for Your Monthly Goals
How many goals can you fit into one month? 2, 5 of maximum 8 to 10 but any more than this and you will be burnt out.
This is why, if you have more than one goal then turn your goals into smaller steps and milestones that you can achieve in one month.
An example of this is if you have a fitness goal, a personal goal of cooking and professional goal. In one month, set milestones of exercising twice a week, trying out a one new food recipe per week and working on capsule wardrobe for work.
In this way, you are giving appropriate time to each goal and not getting exhausted between work and personal life.
Be More Efficient At Your Job
Within professional goals, smaller goals can be designed to make yourself more efficient in the workplace.
By turning different aspects into bite sized pieces for you to pursue each month can allow that each month you are able to achieve something positive.
In this way, keep changing new goals each month and keep furthering your career.
Why You Should Set Monthly Goals
To answer this question, here are two responses:
Success Is Within Reach
Let’s take an example that you want personal growth in 2023 by starting a side hustle apart from your 9-5 job.
As January goals, you set yourself the task of planning, then in subsequent months you tackle different aspects of the side hustle.
With monthly or even weekly goals, each monthly or weekly goals template allows you to work a little bit on your side hustle goal.
As a result, in the span of 12 months, you manage to accumulate investment, plan, manage and execute your side hustle as a working and thriving part-time business.
Your progress can be mapped from a single day to weekly goals, monthly goals template and eventually your whole year.
In the end, you have managed to change your life through slow yet consistent personal development and have finally something to regards as a risk aversion plan for your future.
Breakdown Quarterly Goals into Monthly Goals
Another reason you should be setting monthly goals is due to the simple reason that previously the format of quarterly goals was very famous.
Each year, four instances were used to plan, evaluate and review the progress for the previous year.
However, currently, instead of the quarterly approach monthly goal setting is considered more productive.
The reason behind this remains that impact of a clean slate on motivating an individual.
Based on research, it can be found that a new start and clean slate motivates individuals to take risks for their future.
In such a way, when setting goals is divided over 12 times per year instead of four, it allows individuals to be generally more motivated and driven to acquire a new skill and towards their new year’s resolutions.
What Are Some Good Monthly Goals? 150 Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Goals Ideas That Will Change Your Life.
100 New Year’s Goal Ideas
Here is a list of a few monthly goals to focus on your own self or professional wellbeing:
Family-Related Goals
Spending More Time with Kids
Goal Setting with the household
Household chores chart for all
Time to declutter
Break from social media
Spend Short Quality Moments Together
No yelling challenge for children
Family movie night
Being grateful
Gratitude journal
Gratitude jar
Family puzzle night
Family savings account
Eating meals at the dinner table
Family hour every week
One on one time
Game night
Planning a staycation
Sunday book club
Appreciation go round
Personal Goals
Making Money
Taking a Course
Balancing Family and Work Life
Dinner out
Date night
26. Journaling
Pick a book
Self-care session
Something for yourself once every week
Set an exercise routine
Set healthy dinner plans
Cooking more home cooked meals
Going on a scavenger hunt
Joining a local club
Working on core values
Finding a mentor
Discovering spirituality
Learning new scientific facts
Defining your life purpose
Attending any seminars
Financial Goals
Learning personal finance
Setting an investment fund
Growing assets
Developing a budget
Cutting costs
Planning for retirement
New year’s resolution to develop a net worth
New skill to learn accountancy
Personal development to increase income
Early retirement
Travel-Related Goals
Going on a staycation
Going on a solo trip
Going to the region where they speak a new language
Use travels to change your life
Setting monthly goals to save money to attend a sporting event
Going on a trip from social media
Connecting to old friends and traveling to their hometown
Travelling to social media destinations
Setting goals to tick all countries in one continent
Going to a local museum
Health & Fitness Goals
Eating healthy
Tracking macros
Consulting a dietician
Having a week of greens
Being happy with your body
Finding your inner calm
Working on your immune system
Setting goals to play sports
Identifying a single day to laze around
Achieve weight lifting
Building up strength
Building up muscle
Tackling the 10,000 step challenge
Tackling the couch to 4k challenge
Working on your body’s gut health
Learning health meals’ recipes
Playing sports with a friend
Exploring new types of exercises
Learning yoga
Exploring spirituality for physical wellness
Professional Goals
Conducting a career assessment
Focus on skill acquisition
Enrolling in a degree program
Reading a professional book every day
Going to work motivated every day
Building professional networking
Learning to be an expert
Helping colleagues every day
To accomplish workplace leadership skills
To accomplish authoritative skills
Mental Health Goals
Committing to mental wellness
Being active in journaling
30-Day Self Care Habits Journal + Workbook
To accomplish wellness at the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual level
Filled gratitude jar every week
Monthly goal ideas to reflect back on accomplishments
Monthly goal ideas to reflect back on setbacks or failures
Checking on negative self-talk every week
Connecting to support network every day or per week
January goals to stay committed to mental health throughout the year
Free Printable Monthly Goals Template
There is a vast plethora of monthly goal templates that can be accessed easily on the internet. Make sure to avail them, if you want to be much more efficient in your planning.
FAQ’s
How to Set January Goals
Focus on three steps :
Define: your goal, wants, desires and the end result you want to see
Specify: narrow down the area of a goal to a specific aspect that you want to see in yourself
Act: work on it, plan it and execute your goal by taking the initial step
What Can You Accomplish In A Month?
A lot can be accomplished in the span of one month. You can work on acquiring a new skill, developing vocabulary, becoming fit and reading a book.
A smart approach to monthly goals is to divide your big goals into monthly goal ideas and take them as milestones in the larger plan
What Are Some Good Monthly Goals?
A monthly goal is receptive to your wants and desires, but it has to be limited to a time frame.
Building vocabulary of a new language
Exercising per week
Health meal prep for the week
Reflective journaling
Family time with children
What Are Some Good 1 Year Goals?
These can be major and minor goals:
Learning a new language
Acquiring a skill for professional growth
Becoming a leader
Prioritizing self-care
Becoming organized in daily life
What Are Some 3 Month Goals?
They can be used to bring major life changes, however too far reaching goals can lead to exhaustion
Building on your morning routine
Eating breakfast
Working to increase your productivity
Saving for a trip
Saving for new furniture
What Goals Can I Set For The New Year?
Come up with a daily family ritual
Come up with a self-care plan
Come up with an exercise routine
Come up with an investment plan
Come up with professional milestones
What Are The 5 Life Goals?
Life goals are far reaching to the core.
If you want to be famous then that is a life goal, but if you want to become a billionaire then that is a life goal too.
The secret to identifying your life goal is to seek your innermost, deepest desire that you want from your life
Family-work life balance
Increasing knowledge
Healthy familial relationships
Exploring the world and its people
What Are Some Goals For This Year?
Continuing the process of learning
Growing your career
Working on a side hustle
Finding the love of your life
Getting a risky haircut
What Are The 4 Types Of Goals?
Professional goals – that entirely focus on your career and affect you
Personal goals – that entirely focus on your wellbeing
Fitness goals – that entirely focus on physical health
Financial goal – that entirely focus on wealth and assets
Family goals – that entirely focus on positive home environment
Parting Thoughts
With the help of this article, we hope you have a mindful idea about January goals as well as life goals and goal setting in general.
At the end of the article, although we would like to remind you that goal setting is an effective way of improving yourself and your skills, but if you already have you plate full with professional and personal life, then goal setting must be used as motivation for improvement and not to be taken on as additional stress.
Unless you are having fun in goal setting, there is no point in forcing yourself to undertake a new activity.