Today I want to talk to you about how to set monthly goals. And I know, I know – ANOTHER goal-setting post, Alyssa? Really?

**Sorry, I’m not sorry.**

In case you haven’t heard it from me enough – goals are SO important, for so many reasons, but here are the three big reasons why you need goals in your life:

1. Goals are the biggest determiner of success in life – It has been proven that people who write down their goals are at least 10 times more successful than those who don’t.
2. Goals create a sense of personal fulfillment and accomplishment in life – By setting and working towards meaningful goals, you are able to create your own feelings of fulfillment in life from the inside (instead of relying on outside sources, which are not sustainable or authentic).
3. Goals lead to clarity, which leads to manifestation – The most successful people in the world are the ones who think and talk about what they want (ie, their goals), MOST of the time. When you have clarity on your goals, you’re better able to envision the life you want to create, which both consciously and subconsciously propels it into existence.

So, yeah… it’s safe to say that goals MATTER! Let’s dive into how to set them for yourself – at the monthly level.

How to Set Yearly Goals

Like the title mentions, this post is specifically about setting monthly goals, which means you should already have an idea of what your yearly BIG goals are.

If you need help setting yearly goals (which is so exciting!), then you should check out this Goal Planner Worksheet that I created for this exactly purpose!

Get a handle on your yearly goals – it’s fun, I promise! – and then come back to this post to learn exactly how you can break your BIG goals into more achievable monthly goals that set you up for success.

Why You Need Monthly Goals

So, first thing’s first – why do you even need to set monthly goals? Isn’t it enough to just HAVE goals?

My answer to that is… Well, yes, I suppose it’s “enough” to just have goals. If you have goals then you’ve already identified yourself with just 3% of the goal-setting population, so good for you!

But, if you really want to take action on those goals, and turn them from dreams into reality, then you need to break them down. You need to create an action plan. And monthly goals are the perfect vessel for creating, breaking down, and staying accountable to your action plan.

Say for example, one of your goals is to write a book. Great! That’s a GREAT goal, and kudos to you for naming it and claiming it as your own. But, the process of writing a book (as you can imagine), is pretty lengthy. Setting a goal of “writing a book” may seem overwhelming in that respect.

This is where monthly goals come into play.

Instead of just saying “My goal is to write a book this year,” with the help of monthly goals, you can say something more actionable, like: “My goal is to write a book this year, by writing 50 pages per month, for a 600-total-page book.” Much more specific (and less daunting), right?

From then, you can even break down your monthly goals further. Ex: I’m going to write 12 pages a week (or 2 pages a day) – even MORE achievable, right? Or instead of doing a flat out per-month goal, you can use a tiered approach. If you’re not currently writing every day, then getting in the habit of writing often (to be able to complete a book) is going to be an adjustment. So you could use a tiered approach. For example:

• Month 1: Write 10 pages
• Month 2: Write 15 pages
• Month 3: Write 20 pages
• Month 4: Write 30 pages
• Month 5: Write 40 pages
• Month 6: Write 50 pages
• Month 7: Write 60 pages
• Month 8: Write 70 pages
• Month 9: Write 80 pages
• Month 10: Write 90 pages
• Month 11: Write 35 pages
• Month 12: DONE!

Granted writing 90 pages in a month seems a little excessive… but the beauty of a tiered approach is that you can find a cadence that works for you!

Psychological Benefits of Setting Monthly Goals

In addition, goals in general have an aspect of fulfillment associated with them. Think about how great you feel when you set out a task to accomplish, and you finish it (especially if it’s a really big, meaningful task). You feel elated! You feel unstoppable! And – most importantly – you get a jolt of motivation to keep going.

This is backed in the physiology of the human body. Brian Tracy explains this phenomenon extremely well on his own blog:

“…scratching something off of a to-do list sends a signal to your brain to release a certain amount of dopamine, a natural mood enhancer, into your system.”

Dopamine is the body’s natural “happy pill” – when you accomplish tasks, you trigger the release of dopamine in your brain, which makes you feel great!

And this is another reason why setting monthly goals is so important. When you set monthly goals, and you work towards achieving them each month, you experience a sense of accomplishment upon completion that motivates you to keep going – which increases your likelihood of hitting that big yearly goal – little by little, month by month. You are creating an accountability plan for yourself, and reaping the psychological rewards that come with sticking to it!

4 Step Process for How to Set Monthly Goals

So, now that you know WHY it’s important to set monthly goals, and how they increase your chances of success and fulfillment in life, let’s get into exactly HOW you can set your own monthly goals.

Step 1: Solidify yearly goals

If you haven’t done this yet, make sure you have clarity on your yearly goals. Either do a quick brainstorming session to set 3 meaningful yearly or life goals, or use this worksheet to guide you through a goal-setting exercise.

Step 2: Create a manageable monthly milestone (MMM) for each yearly goal

The next step, after you solidify your yearly goals, is to come up with something you can accomplish THIS month to advance you closer towards that big yearly goal.

For example, let’s say one of your goals this year is to lose 10 pounds. At the time I’m writing this post, it’s August, which means you would have about 4 months left in the year to accomplish that goal. So: be realistic. What’s a milestone that you could achieve THIS month to get you closer to that goal? Or if you want to really plan ahead, what are milestones you could commit to for the next 4 months to ensure you hit that weight loss goal? For example, you could commit to losing 3 pounds/month for the next 4 months (which logically would result in a 12 pound weight loss), or you could try a tiered approach: commit to 3 pounds this month, 3 pounds the next month, and 2 pounds each for the final months of the year.

You have options. The most important thing is to find a manageable monthly milestone that works for you. By setting milestones for your big yearly goals for EACH month, you will pave the path to your own success, and remain accountable to your plans.

Step 3: Think about what else you want to achieve this month

After you’ve solidified your monthly milestones for your big goals, the next step is to simply ask yourself: What else do I want to accomplish this month?

This is the step that keeps monthly goals fun, because your additions to your monthly goals from this question can be anything from “Finally ask that guy out!” to “Clean out the hall closet” to “Take 8 Pilates classes.” There’s a certain element of fun and also challenging yourself that comes into play here.

We all have things that we’ve been “meaning to do” for a while. Sometimes we just need a kick in the butt to motivate ourselves to do them, and a monthly goals list is a great way to make that happen!

4. Finalize your monthly goals, write them down… and repeat!

The final step of how to set monthly goals is to finalize them and get them down in writing. Commit to 5-7 (that’s my rule of thumb) monthly goals for yourself, write them down with clarity, and get reallll familiar with them. In fact, I recommend writing these monthly goals down (as well as your yearly goals) every. single. day! You can read more about that here.

Just the practice of creating new goals for yourself every month will help add new energy and excitement to your life. But if you also get in the habit of writing down your monthly goals every day, and consistently taking action towards achieving them… well then, your success is inevitable!