Monthly Goals to Set in 2022: A Guide
In a blink of an eye, the new year is upon us. This means it’s time to reassess the year that has passed and align our goals for the new year in the name of personal growth. With a clear desire of personal and professional success in mind, set monthly goals or an action plan to establish a purposeful mindset. With the understanding that schedules and commitment can overwhelm your time at times, create S.M.A.R.T. goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound) to personalise your objectives. To get you started, refer to the following monthly goal ideas to boost productivity and help you grow in 2022.
A Book A Month
There is no end to education given the vast ocean of knowledge out there that awaits discovery. Reading is a wonderful goal to set for yourself, as it exercises your comprehension and analytical abilities. It also sparks your imagination and stimulates the memory centres. With that said, imagine reading a book a month and all the incredible input that you’d be able to experience and implement.
Strengthen Your Core Muscles
The core — a group of muscles including upper legs, abdominals and back are often dismissed or overlooked when exercising. The core is actually where confidence physically stems from. Having a strong core can lead to better workout performance and form so carve out some time to focus on strengthening your core.
Donate Unnecessary Household/Office Items
Every spring cleaning, you’d be surprised at all the stuff or junk that has been accumulated over the year. This round, when you get to Marie Kondo-ing your home or office, consider donating things that you no longer use, instead of throwing it away. If you’re feeling proactive, you can donate an equal ratio of items for every new thing that you buy. This way, you hoard less and are on the right track in keeping your goals.
Volunteer at a Local Charity
Giving back to the community not only helps others but it helps you in boosting self-esteem, confidence, life satisfaction and as a result, gratitude grows. Helping others instills a natural sense of achievement, pride and identity. Seek the help of Uncle Google to identify neighbourhood homeless shelters, old folks home or a food bank where you can contribute to.
Try a New Recipe
Bored of cooking or limiting yourself to a certain menu or cooking? Set a monthly goal to expand your cooking repertoire by trying out at least one or two recipes a month. By opening up your mind and palate to something new, you’ll be adopting a variety of new flavours from around the globe. Furthermore, if a local favourite recipe has been daunting to you, this is the time to have a go at it at home and who knows, you may excel at it. You wouldn’t know unless you make yourself open to new experiences.
Pick Up A New Skill
Add to your repertoire of accomplishments by learning a new skill. It doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive — learning a new language and picking up embroidery are relatively easier skills to work on on a monthly basis. While difficult, it is only when you step out of your comfort zone will you learn and grow.
Build or Adopt A Healthy Habit
It takes an average of 66 days to form a habit. So, if your goal for the new year is to adopt or build on your existing healthy habits, it comes with practice and consistency. Add to the healthy foundation that you’ve built slowly but surely. This will soon progress from a habit to a lifestyle as you go along. Remember, the key to creating habits is to be consistent.
Expand Your Network
Networking is an investment in your business. It takes time but when done correctly, can yield great results in the future. Get to know someone new from your industry and meet prospective mentors, partners and clients which will significantly impact and diversify your network. Meet and greet to serve and grow.
Lead With Kindness
With all the dishevelment in the country and world right now, a random act of kindness can go a long way. Keep away racism, hostility and grudges aside and lead with kindness instead. After all, we’re all but the same residents of the world. You can make someone’s morning by complementing their look that day, buying a cup of coffee or offering someone who doesn’t drive a ride home. Moreover, there’s some alleged health power to leading with kindness.
Practice Forgiveness
After going through negative experiences like being stabbed in the back by your friend or getting hurt, it’s normal to hold on to those feelings. Don’t ruminate those negative feelings and allow it to grow for it leads to bitterness. By practicing forgiveness, you’re granting yourself freedom and peace of mind, thereby releasing you from its prison. That can result in only one thing — happiness.
Marie Kondo Your Closet
You’ve probably stood in front of your closet and expressed for the umpteenth time that you have nothing to wear. The reality is probably that you do have clothes, but it’s all buried by what you don’t wear, especially after spending two years in your pj’s. Evoke the clutter-free queen, Marie Kondo herself and clear the clutter. A clean closet is an extension of an organised mind.
Clean Out Your Refrigerator
Besides the bedroom, the kitchen is where most of us spend our time, creating meal preps for the week, cooking for the family or simply looking for something to eat. As aforementioned, just like how our closet can be cluttered, so can the fridge. Clean out all the expired, unused or half-eaten junk so you can make space for the good stuff. Having a clean refrigerator inspires cleaner ingredients for your body.
Spend Time In Solitude
Sometimes, spending time in solitude is just what the doctor ordered for you to slow down to see what’s right in front of you. Keeping quiet and to yourself may seem as the most unnatural for many, but when you force yourself to temporarily slow down, it creates room to speed up again. Allow the silence to guide you to reach your goals and analyse aspects of your life.
Repeat What Matters
If you are looking to up the ante in the name of personal growth and development, repeat whatever that matters to you. You and you alone decipher what aligns with your long-term goals. Don’t be afraid to say no and let go of things that don't serve you, both emotionally and physically. Dream as big as you want to and set monthly goals to grow as big as your dreams.