How To Build The Ultimate Monthly Reset Routine

I absolutely love a routine.

Especially if it’s guaranteed to boost my productivity.

From my morning and evening routine to my self-care and Sunday reset routine. My entire life is made up of a short and efficient string of habits and rituals.

My latest obsession — the monthly reset routine.

Here’s everything you need to know about building yours to work for you.

What’s a monthly reset routine?

Think of a monthly reset as the Sunday reset routine’s more productive older sister. It requires you to spend a day at the end (or beginning) of the month preparing for the next 4.5 weeks.

Whereas a Sunday reset routine focuses on personal elements of organisation such as housework and meal planning, a monthly reset routine is geared more towards boosting productivity and getting you back on track with your goals.

Your monthly reset can be used to regroup after a busy month and reflect on what went well and what didn’t so you can adjust your goals and refine your plan of action.

It’s so easy to get wrapped up in day-to-day life and lose focus on the bigger picture, but by dedicating a day to resetting, you can give yourself the time and space you need to better manage your time, prioritise your goals and boost productivity.

I mean, what more could you ask for in a routine?

The benefits of a monthly reset routine

Before we dive into the crux of this blog post, let’s first look at the many benefits of having a routine in general so you can familiarise yourself with how it can help support you and your needs.

This will also give you the motivation you need to build or stick to your monthly reset routine.

Any routine that you build for yourself will help to boost productivity and focus as well as skyrocket your organisation.

A routine provides structure to your day so you know exactly what you are doing when you wake up. This, in turn, limits procrastination as you won’t spend hours pointlessly scrolling on social media as you figure out what to do with your day.

Routines also support your overall mental health and well-being so you can avoid burnout.

A monthly reset routine, in particular, can help you to work smarter, not harder, as you are better prepared and organised. By dedicating time each month to reflect on past achievements and setbacks, you can identify which strategies were effective and which ones need adjustment.

This approach allows you to set clear, actionable goals for the upcoming month that align with your priorities.

Other benefits of a monthly reset routine include:

• Supports your overall mental health and well-being
• Prepares you for the month ahead
• Boosts focus and productivity
• Gives you intentional structure as you move from one month to the next
• Limits procrastination
• Keeps you organised and in control of your weeks
• Reduces stress and overwhelm

How to build the ultimate monthly reset routine

There is no specific monthly reset routine to follow.

It’s up to you to find out what works best for you and create your own version.

Remember to not just copy what you see on social media, as what works for that particular person might not necessarily serve you. Set your intention first for what you want to achieve from your monthly reset routine and go from there.

I encourage you to bookmark this page so you can refer back to it whenever you need to.

1 | Set your intention

Whenever you build something new, it’s important to establish an intention first. Ask yourself, “What am I looking to achieve from this monthly reset routine?”

Is it to reflect on your progress so far this month and learn from your setbacks? Or is it to realign with your goals and make sure you are taking intentional action towards them every single day? Maybe it is to boost focus and momentum so you can work towards your goals with ease.

Whatever your intention is, write it down and use this as the basis of your routine.

It’s so important that you do not skip this step because once you’ve figured out your intention, you can better map out what your monthly reset is going to look like.

2 | Choose your timeframe

Your monthly reset routine doesn’t need to be an all-day event to be effective. It can be anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour or 90 minutes to 3 hours.

Choose a timeframe that works best for you and reset goals. (As identified above).

By pinpointing a timeframe, you’re more likely to stay consistent each month and know how much time you need to set aside.

3 | Split your monthly reset routine into 3 areas

Getting started with anything new is bound to be overwhelming and stressful. That’s why I recommend splitting your monthly reset routine into sections to make it easier to navigate.

It’s up to you how many areas you choose to divide it into. 3 is always my go-to as it’s the ideal balance between being effective and achievable.

My personal monthly reset routine looks a little bit like this:

*Feel free to use this as it comes or use it as inspiration

• 20 mins = Reflect
• 30 mins = Goals
• 45 mins = Plan

I start my monthly reset by reflecting on the previous month to evaluate what worked and identify the things that didn’t work. This helps me to adjust my approach moving forward. I’m definitely someone who is not afraid to pivot and try out new things.

Next up is to realign with my goals and break them down into monthly objectives.

I then take these objectives and turn them into daily or weekly actions so that I am always working towards my goals.

An optional area to add to your monthly reset routine might be life admin or chores. Think meal planning, deep cleaning, decluttering or getting organised in your personal life.

These are things I do weekly as part of my Sunday reset routine, so I don’t include them. My monthly reset is purely for getting back on track with my goals and boosting productivity. But it’s up to you whether you add this in or not.

4 | Write a master list of monthly reset rituals

Although I’ve made a list of non-negotiable monthly reset rituals below, I encourage you to build your own list. Because what works for me might not necessarily work for you. And there might be loads of other things you want to do or that serve you better.

So do what is best for you, always.

To do this, take the 3 (or more) areas that you mapped out above and list down any activity that relates to them. For example, during your reflection hour, you might want to think about:

• Journaling on your progress using these prompts
• Going back through your calendar to assess your achievements or setbacks
• Celebrating your wins

Focus on writing down at least 10-15 activities for each area. Keep them simple and realistic, whereby you know you can easily fit them into your monthly reset routine when you need to.

At the end of every month, it’s up to you to then choose between 2-3 of these activities and add them to your reset routine. They can be the same rituals as the month before or completely different. Pay close attention to what you need at that moment.

N.B. Once you’ve written your list, keep it somewhere visible or accessible so you can refer back to it when you need to.

5 | Schedule your monthly reset

Just because you’ve outlined your monthly reset routine and pinpointed what you’re going to do and for how long doesn’t mean you will actually stick to it. (Trust me, I’ve been there.)

Don’t underestimate the power of writing things down in your physical or digital calendar. You’re more likely to stick to something if you actually schedule it in and make time for it.

That’s right — treat your monthly reset as you would any work meeting or commitment.

Choose what day you will do your monthly reset and pencil it into your calendar. And add it as a recurring event each month. You can even go a step further by setting a digital reminder, like an alarm, so you never miss it.

Save this mini guide on Pinterest:

21 Monthly reset journal prompts

You know I love a good journaling session! It’s what I turn to the most when I need to reflect on my progress and gain clarity.

So if you want to dive a little deeper during your reflection hour, choose 2-3 of the below journal prompts and add them to your monthly reset routine.

• What were your most important goals last month? Did you achieve them? If not, why not?
• How can I make sure I reach them next month?
• What were my achievements this month?
• What am I most proud of accomplishing this month?
• What did I struggle with this month? How did I overcome these obstacles?
• What were my biggest distractions this month? How can I minimise or eliminate these distractions going forward?
• What lesson(s) from last month can you bring into this month
• What strength(s) or skill(s) served me the most this month?
• What are your intentions for this month?
• How do you want to feel by the end of the month?
• How can you achieve this?
• What goal(s) do you want to reach this month?
• How can you make them happen?
• What new habits do you want to adopt this month?
• What are you most looking forward to this month?
• What is currently working? What is currently not working?
• How do you ideally want this month to go? How can you achieve this?
• What improvements do I need to make going forward this month?
• How have I managed to stay motivated? What can I do to maintain or boost this motivation this month?
• How did I manage my time? What changes can I make to manage my time better this month?
• What can I do to make the next month 1% better?

31 Monthly reset ideas to add to your routine

Here’s your inspiration for step 4.

As I mentioned earlier, it’s best that you build your own list. Because what works for me might not necessarily work for you.

Once you’ve written your master list, choose 2-3 of these activities and add them to your reset routine each month, depending on your needs.

• Reassess your current productivity hacks and tools and make changes where necessary
• Review progress and consistency in all areas of your life (e.g. habits, routines, wellness, etc.)
• Reflect on your progress last month with these journal prompts
• Go back through your calendar to assess your achievements or any setbacks
• Celebrate your wins from the past month
• Realign with your yearly vision to make sure it’s still exactly what you want
• Break down your bigger monthly goals into daily actions
• List your top 5 priorities for the month ahead
• Write a monthly must-do list of tasks that will bring you closer to your goals
• Spend time organising your Notion board or digital calendar
• Set an intention for the month ahead
• List down any non-negotiables (e.g. walk 10,000 steps every day, drink 2.5 litres of water)
• Set new personal goals for self-development such as reading or learning a new skill
• Start a new non-fiction or self-improvement book
• Declutter and reorganise your physical workspace
• Choose 1-3 areas from your life as a whole and work on improving them over the next month
• Write a bucket list of all the self-care activities you want to do this month
• Dedicate time to financial wellness practices such as paying the bills and figuring out your monthly budget
• Check in with your daily routine(s) and habits and adjust where necessary
• Schedule non-work activities into your month (aka anything you do for fun)
• Find a gap in your schedule and plan a self-care day, mental health day and/or digital detox day
• Read through your “joy jar” mementoes and start afresh
• Practice gratitude
• Start a new habit tracker or wellness journal
• Set yourself a 30-day fitness or mindfulness challenge
• Update your LinkedIn profile and/or resume to reflect recent achievements
• Tidy up your phone (e.g. deleting random pictures or screenshots, deleting unused apps, etc.)
• Declutter your desktop and other digital admin, e.g. unread emails, unsubscribe from irrelevant email lists, etc.
• Wipe down your laptop, especially the screen and keyboard
• Do a deep clean of your personal spaces (optional)
• Clear out and clean the fridge (optional)
• Clean the windows, mirrors and other hard-to-get-to surfaces (optional)

Final thoughts

I hope this post on how to build the ultimate monthly reset routine has been helpful.

You might already be familiar with this particular practice, as it is currently doing the rounds on TikTok. I’m not someone who promotes trends that I don’t believe in. But I believe that resetting and realigning with your goals every month can help you unlock the best version of yourself and create your dream life.

And that is why I chose to write about this topic. However, I also want to remind you to be mindful of viral trends, as they aren’t always going to serve you.

Remember that self-development is about doing things that make you feel good in the long term. Not even more overwhelmed and flustered than before. So if you’d rather skip the monthly reset for a quarterly or yearly reset, then you do you.

No influencer (or blogger, for that matter) can tell you how best to live your life. Do what works best for you, always.

You’ve got this,

Thalia xx