For years on January 1st I would set ALL the goals. Cook 4 nights a week! Exercise an hour every day! Bed at 9:00 each night! Then by the end of January we were living on pizza, exercise was hit or miss and I was back to my regular 1:00 am bedtime. Like many others I had given up on my lofty goals, felt like a failure and then carried on with my life in February just like I had in November and December before goals were established. Sound familiar? :)
So I do things a little differently now. First, instead of lofty goals I focus more on simple, small daily habits that feel doable.. almost easy! Second, I re-assess at the beginning of each month and tweak/change things as needed. And third, I recognize that I’m in a busy stage of life with others who depend on me. I have a busy schedule with a lot of moving parts and therefore.. I’m not so hard on myself. Pizza for dinner for the second time this week? All good. We’ll have a healthy snack and eat better tomorrow. ;)
Today I’m sharing some fun printables that have been really helpful to me. I’ve used two of these for years (a sketched version I wrote on for myself) and then I created a new one to help with the habits I’m working on this year. I’m so happy to finally have all of these typed up and available to share with you!
{CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THESE PLANNING PAGES ALONG WITH OTHER FUN THINGS IN MY PRINTABLE LIBRARY!}
(If you are already a Sunny Side Up subscriber just enter your info. again to get the printables.. it won’t add you twice! Also, if you sign up and don’t get an e-mail soon after check your junk mail! Once in a while it lands there first.)
{MONTHLY PLANNING PAGE}
This first printable I call my “monthly planning” page and it has been such a huge help to me! It’s two pages with just simple lines under each month. I’ve used it so many ways to plan ahead! A few things I use this printable for:
– BIRTHDAYS – I fill out one each year for family/close friends’ birthdays I want to remember. Yes I have reminders on my phone, but I keep this in my planner so I can check it when I do my weekly planning and I have better luck remembering birthdays that way.
– PLANNING AHEAD – I use this page to write down things that I need to be thinking about each month to help me plan ahead. For example.. Kole’s birthday is in March. I write down “Kole’s birthday party” under January as a reminder to start thinking about it and planning it early. In September I write down “Halloween costumes” so I’m thinking about them a month early. You might write down in January “plan a July trip,” etc. I try to think about things that need to happen each month and then I write a reminder in a slot the month or two before. It might sound confusing but really.. it helps me so much with planning ahead because that’s not something that always comes easy for me!
– BLOG POST PLANNING – I also use this page to brainstorm blog posts I might want to write in certain months. If you’re a blogger that could work for you too and if you’re not, I’m sure there are a lot of other ways these pages can be used!
{MONTHLY GOAL PAGE}
This printable is another long time favorite and has worked so much better for me than just setting big yearly goals. I write the month at the top and then a few ideas for each area that I want to improve. I snapped a quick picture of what this page has looked like for me this January:
You can see that these are more like simple to-do’s but they really help me focus each month! If I don’t get to one of them in January that’s ok.. I’ll just move it to February. Or if I feel like my January goal of drinking 60 oz. of water each day isn’t happening most days I’ll change it to 40 oz. a day in February and see if I can maintain that. You might have noticed I started with an easier bedtime for me to aim for under the health category. If I can pull off midnight for a month or two I’ll move it to 11:30 and maybe SOMEDAY I’ll actually start sleeping again. ;) The last category (Service/Connect with) is new for me this year. I’ve talked to my family about this and we are going to try to be better about simple service like taking cookies or dinner to a family who might need some cheering up each month. I also want to use this space to write down anyone I want to make sure to connect with.
{DAILY HABITS PAGE}
I’m so excited about this habit tracker! You can use this to correlate with the monthly goal page or just use the one you think will work best for you! I made two versions of the daily habits page. The page above with circles you can fill in or check off. OR..
The same page with just numbers you can check off. I couldn’t decide which version I liked better so here are both and you can pick the one you like the best. :) I didn’t take a picture of how I filled out this page, but all you do is write down the month and then in each box write one small habit you’re working on for the month. Then check it off each day you follow through!
Some of my habits for January: Read with Kole at night, Drink 60 oz. of water, Hang up my clothes in my closet, etc. Some of them are items on my monthly goal page and some of them aren’t. They are just simple things I’m trying to remember to do each day. If you are working on staying organized this year the habit tracker is a perfect way to keep you on track! Write down things like “Straighten the pantry for 5 min, Put away make-up, Do one load of laundry, Tidy office space,” etc. I know I’m not going to check off every single thing every single day. That’s ok! This is just a reminder and if I miss something one day I’ll try to do better the next. My goal is to get as many days checked off each month as I can so that the things I’m working on become daily habits I don’t have to think about. I truly believe that’s the secret to any kind of success.. you have to make things a part of your daily routine. I’ve always loved the quote I added at the bottom of this printable!
I know we are nearing the end of January and goals are usually starting to fade in the background so I’m hoping that this post and these printables inspire all of us to keep moving forward one day after the other! Don’t get discouraged. If the goals/habits you set for yourself one month aren’t happening, break them down into something more simple for the next month and press on!
With pizza for dinner as often as necessary. ;)
{CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THESE PLANNING PAGES ALONG WITH OTHER FUN THINGS IN MY PRINTABLE LIBRARY!}
(If you are already a Sunny Side Up subscriber just enter your info. again to get the printables.. it won’t add you twice! Also, if you sign up and don’t get an e-mail soon after check your junk mail! Once in a while it lands there first.)
Thanks so much, Erin! These are some great printables and you shared some great tips. Yes, doable and not lofty is key. I’ve been working on some habits myself, and the tracker is a great tool. I will have to snag that. I started to see myself slacking a bit, so your post is also very timely! Do you like that Rachel Hollis book? I’ve heard mixed thoughts on it. I don’t follow her at all, but keep seeing it pop up on social media. Not sure it would be worth reading. Have an awesome day!
Hi Jeanne! I’m so happy these are helpful to you! I think it’s that time in January when we all start to slack off in our goals.. ha. I needed this post to keep me motivated too. :) I’m liking the book so far! But I’m not even half way through it. I struggle to find time to read and need to just get it on audio because I’m in my car so much! I’ll let you know what I think when I finish it! xo
I failed miserably this month. I’d say a couple of my goals were met but I’m gonna keep on working on them. My main goal is to find an intervention for my addiction for cake. Erin, I seriously failed this month with that goal. I love cake for desert but it’s so bad! 😉 Love the printables. Such a great way to stay on track! xo
Ha! I’m laughing Cathy because we just made a cake this weekend and I had to try so hard to stay away from it! I love cake too. Yellow with chocolate frosting.. I can’t resist! I didn’t do quite as well as I was hoping with my habits/goals this month either but I was sick for a couple of weeks so I’ll be starting fresh in February if you want to join me! ;) xo
Yes!!!!! Yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Just had some. I’m so bad! Count me in on Feb. first. Until then. Bring on the cake.
Over the years I’ve seen a lot of versions of this kind of thing. However, none have ever really made me say “hey, that seems reasonable”. I don’t know if it’s my current season of life or if your approach just seemed really manageable…but I’m actually printing out some of these! :) Thanks for sharing, it was the nudge I needed to get a bit more intentional about the changes I’d like to make.
Jen that makes my day! So happy these will be helpful for you. Thank you! :)
I love the daily habit tracker. simple convenient and daily dose of pride as you check off your new found habits!
As a long time reader I hear you take about your water consumption (or lack of) I laughed each time you referenced it in this post… SIX ounces or FOUR ounces instead of 60 or 40- no matter what goal you end up with I wish you luck and thank you for sharing your plans and printables with us :)
Ha ha.. Katy! Oh my word. Nice typo there! Thank you for pointing that out.. I just fixed it! Meant 60 or 40 but yes.. some days it feels like 4 oz of water is about all I can muster. ;) Definitely something that will continue to be on my habit tracker for a while! So happy you like that printable too. :) Thanks cutie! xo
HI Eric,
Thank you for sharing you ideas and printables with us!
I am using my yearly planner to plan out my monthly goals and to track them , but I think I am going to download you daily habits pages to track my daily habits and to see at the end of the month what I need to work on and what I am improving on.
This Month had some ups and downs and mostly I felt tired getting into things, had some late nights and some late sleep ins.. but I have started excising and meditating in the evenings so it kind of is starting to help..
Thank you again for giving me a push in the right direction :)
Have a lovely day
I get it! January can be a rough month. I’ve been tired getting back into the routine after the holidays too. One day at a time right!? :) I’m so happy you like the printables! Thanks Chanelle! xo
Awesome! I love printables! You should check out Lara Casey’s power sheets at cultivatewhatmatters.com! I have been using them for 5 years and love them! Same concepts like your printables!
Amy in Wisconsin
I’ll have to check those out for sure! Thanks Amy! xo
You had a pic on IG of a great New Year’s goal organizer, with the main task and the sub-tasks to accomplish. I can’t seem to find it, can you post? Thank you!
Hi Jeanette! I think you’re talking about my current projects list! You can download it (and the rest of my printables) by joining my mailing list here:
https://www.thesunnysideupblog.com/printable-opt-in/
Also below is the post on that specific printable. You’ll see in the printable library that it comes in two options – black or mint. :) I hope that helps!
https://www.thesunnysideupblog.com/2018/04/current-projects-a-printable-to-help-you-get-things-done/
I love these, Erin! Super helpful and cute, too. 😊
Yea! Thank you Tamie! :)
Erin, these are great! Thank you so much for sharing with us and explaining your thought processes/systems behind them. I love a good list!!
Thank you so much Genelle! I’m so happy you like them! xo
I’ve been lurking on your posts for a while now, and these really hit home with me. Like everyone, the new year brings new goals, and I always hope to stick with them!
I’m a fellow Californian, and my husband and I own a kitchen and bath remodeling company so I am constantly lugging stuff back and forth from the office. I always keep a spiral notebook with me, but after seeing your adorable printables, I decided to upgrade to a 3 ring binder, aptly named “get sh*t done”. Now everything is in one place!
Thank you again, and keep up your great blog! I love reading every week!
Hi Lindsey! This made my day! I’m so happy these printables have been helpful to you! Thank you! Love that you have them all together in one place.. it makes such a difference doesn’t it!? And so fun you own a kitchen and bath remodeling company. I would love that! Thanks again for your sweet comment. It’s so nice to “meet” you!