As each month comes to a close, I’m always look forward and planning for the next one. As someone who is a hugely organised person, I can’t just roll into the next month with a “whatever happens, happens” attitude. Combine a Virgo with anxiety and a Type A personality and you get me. But I think it’s good to go into the new month with some level of control and organization. Which is why I wanted to share some things to do at the beginning of every month today.
I like to go into a new month with a clear head and a positive an attitude as possible. Whatever has happened in the previous 30 days is history. It’s in the past and it can’t be changed. And I know it’s only psychological but I really do get that “fresh start” sense at the start of a new month.
As someone who suffers with a lot of low moods and depression, this new start feeling really helps me recalibrate how I’m feeling and helps me let go of things that might not have been serving me in the previous month.
But I also think it’s worth remembering that not all months will be the same and your things to do at the beginning of every month may vary and that’s okay. Most months I like to dedicate time to doing an end of the month intention setting ritual but other times, it just doesn’t feel right to do so. So I accept that and don’t judge myself for it.
What better time to set yourself up for a productive month? Here are some things to do at the beginning of every month:
Reflect on the previous month
One of the best things to do at the beginning of every month is reflection. This is something that we all do in our own individual ways, I think. But it’s still a handy thing to take some time to do at the start of the month so you can work out if you’re living your life the way you want to be. A few questions you can ask yourself are:
- What made me happy during the previous month?
- Was there anything that made me unhappy?
- How did I feel mentally, physically and emotionally throughout the previous month?
- Is there anything I regret from the previous month?
- What do I wish I dedicated more time to doing?
You may wish to make use of some journal prompts if journaling and free-writing doesn’t come easy to you. It’s important that you don’t judge yourself for anything that might come up when answering these questions.
Answer them from the point of view of an outside and an observer of the situation, rather than getting too emotionally attached to your answers.
Write your goals for the month
You know me, I love a goal. And I rarely go a month without setting some sort of goal. When it comes to monthly goals, I like to categorize and keep them achievable. Splitting your goals into “work”, “finance”, “health”, or whatever areas of life you’re focusing on, is a good way to not get too overwhelmed.
But remember that goals are never set in stone and can ALWAYS be changed – yes, even mid-way through a month – if they’re not working for you. Here are some more truth bombs about goal setting you need to read!
Do an intention setting ritual
An intention setting ritual is one of my favourite ways to mark the end of a month. The wonderful thing about them is that they’re completely unique to you.
An intention setting ritual can consist of things like journaling, Yoga practices or movement, candle gazing, meditation and much more. It’s about finding a wonderful combination of things which make up a beautiful spiritual ritual to you.
Want your own End of the Month ritual guide? Sign up to my mailing list for access to your free guide in my freebie library!
Clear out your purse and your bag
Who else’s purse is overrun with old receipts and rubbish? Mine definitely gets like that occasionally so to stay on top of it, it’s one of the easiest things to do at the beginning of every month.
If you don’t know what to do with all those old receipts, try downloading Shoppix – an app that pays you to upload your receipts! I’ve had a few £5 payouts from Shoppix which, although it’s not a lot, is a nice little extra for well, doing nothing extra!
Organize your finances
Which brings me on nicely to my next point and that’s finances. Ugh.
Again, something else that we probably all do in our own individual ways and have our own systems for, so I won’t suggest exactly HOW to organize your finances, just to make sure you do.
Figure out what’s coming out of your account that month, any payments you know you have to make and budget for any unexpected outgoings as well. Budgeting can also help you save money for the future.
Manifest, manifest, manifest
I know this isn’t something everyone understands or believes in – that’s fine, each to our own. If this woo stuff isn’t for you, feel free to skip this bit!
The beginning of a new month is the PERFECT time to think about what you really want. Is it a promotion? A certain amount of money? Inspiration for a new business idea? Whatever it is, now is the time to start manifesting. And try and take action every single day of the month to make it happen.
If you do want to give this a go, I’d recommend starting with the below:
- Write down what you want to manifest using the scripting method. Get very specific and read your manifestation aloud
- Identify some positive affirmations which will serve your manifestation. For example, if you want to manifest money, then repeat the affirmation, “Money comes to me freely and easily” every day
- Spend time visualizing how you’ll feel when you receive what you’re trying to manifest
- Have a grateful heart. Express gratitude every single day for what you already have in your life.
Delete unused apps, photos and documents
A digital clean is always worth doing at the start of each month because we can built up a lot of digital rubbish over the course of just 30 days! Delete those apps that you downloaded and used once. Delete any photos you no longer want or need or serve no purpose. Even your Facebook friends, if you feel like it!
Have a deep clean and de-clutter
Whether it’s your bedroom, kitchen cupboards, desk or entire house, the start of the month is a great time to have a de-clutter and a good ol’ clean. If you struggle to de-clutter, check out my room by room guide to de-cluttering made easy to help you know what to throw away!
And if you struggle with de-cluttering, then you might want to read this post about valid reasons to remove clutter from your life.
Update your diary for the month ahead
Getting your diary filled in is a great way to feel more organized before the month even begins. Add in all those birthdays, appointments, days out or work meetings that you might have coming up. If you want to go one step further, using a colour coding system!
I recently bought a new diary from Papier, which I absolutely love. It has a beautiful design and un-dated pages for you to start whenever you like. It has space for meal prep, habit tracking, daily to-do’s and more!
If you fancy £15 off your first order, shop Papier planners here! (referral link)
Buy things for any upcoming occasions
I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all forgotten someone’s birthday. Or forgotten that Susan from work was leaving and didn’t buy her a card. At start of the month is a great time to get all those things out of the way early. Stock up on the birthday cards, do a bit of shopping for any occasions that might be coming up.
Do a good deed
I donate to charity on the 1st of every month. It’s one of my favourite things to do at the beginning of every month because I know I’ve done some good. It doesn’t have to be a lot of money either; just £10 or £20 is amazing!
But if you really don’t have the cash to spare, that’s not the only way you can start your month with a good deed. Offer to help your neighbour with something, write a personalized note for a friend, cook dinner for a loved one.
Having a positive start to the month can have such a wonderful effect on the whole month ahead of you. Starting with gratitude and productivity, making sure you have things in order before the calendar flips and doing things from a place of kindness to yourself and others is a great way to get yourself off on a good foot.
These are all very simple things to do at the beginning of every month but they make a great deal of difference when you do them consistently!
One of my favourite things to do at the beginning of the month is create business goals, as well as fill in our family calendar! I use to be great at doing a digital declutter but I’ve fallen off the past couple months. Thanks for this post as a reminder!
Business goals are great to do at the start of the month!
We like the idea of having a fresh start each month and reflecting on what we want to happen.
Absolutely!
A “fresh start” every month. I like that. A big YES to starting the month with gratitude and productivity. My hubby and I started de-cluttering the entire house a few days ago. I’ve also deleted a few unused stuff from my phone. I still need to write my goals for this month and organize our finances. Thanks for the tips and Happy July!
Happy July! Yes to fresh starts every month!
Reflection and organization are two of the most important one can do to start off a new month. This is a very helpful post. Thank you for sharing.
Totally agree!
Definitely!
Yes!!! These are the things to do every beginning of the month. No.1 is the most important for me. I need to organise my purse starting this month. Hehehe…
Yes it’s an important one for me to on
The beginning of the month always excites me! I love reflecting on the month before wether that’s good or bad and making sure I try to have a positive mindset for the month ahead. You’ve shared some really great suggestions which I’ll defiantly be taking notes of. Thank you so much for sharing with us lovely Xo
Elle – ellegracedeveson.com
Same I like having that clean slate x
These ideas are so great, I really could start a month start of some sort. It’d break the monotony of work! Thanks for the inspiration.
Yes absolutely!
I’m a little bit of both! I love a good to do list and starting my month in the most motivated way possible, but there’s also a part of me which is what will be will be. I really like your suggestions! I definitely need to clear my purse / bags out. I’m terrible for having things strewn across about three different bags and a changing bag. Ooops. Love the charity idea too.
Claire.x
http://www.clairemac.co.uk
Yes I think having an aspect of “what will be will be” is great to!
While I appear to have missed doing any of these things at the start of this month, surely a few days late won’t matter! I hopefully will have time to sit down tomorrow and go over some things in my head for the coming month. And will have time to get things organised.
Oh definitely not! Sometimes it does take a few days to prepare 🙂
These are great things to do at the start of every month! I like to organise my finances at the beginning of the month so I know how much I’ve got to spend x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Yes for sure! Especially if I have any bigger payments coming out that month x
Wonderful post Jenny! These are great habits to practice at the beginning of every month. I especially love reflecting and seeing what made me happy and what I could dedicate more time doing. Great tips, thank you for sharing!
Thank you! 🙂 x
I’ve done the first two at least, and a bit of manifesting, which is something I’m getting used too.
So glad to hear that!
I’m going to take this on board next month and finally clear out my bag! So many receipts.
Cora | https://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/
Yessss! Download the Shoppix app and scan those recipts!
I’m reading this after my run and as soon as I saw the title my first thought was ‘no, I’m too tired for this right now’. BUT as I started reading I realised a lot of this is stuff I do anyway. I always take a bit of time on either the last day of the month o r the first to reflect on my previous month and write out my goals. And have a go over files to make sure there’s nothing in the wrong place etc. I clear out my bag fairly often but not on a regular schedule so I’m definitely taking that one on board x
Sophie
That’s great to hear!
I wont lie, I’ve been a little slower off the mark at the start of this month. My weeks are blending into each other but I’m getting there!
Rosie
Oh yeah my days are all blending into one 🤦♀️
I need to save this list! Very inspiring! 🙂
Thank you 😌
I love making lists and at the start and end of the month I always create lists reflecting on my monthly goals! I like the challenge and satisfaction of looking back on them. De-cluttering things helps me to be productive also!
I agree!
I love the feeling of being organised and de-cluttering – I definitely need to start doing more of these things on a monthly basis!
Thanks for sharing your tips, I’m just doing small amounts to keep me going this month 🙂
Nic | Nic’s Adventures & Bakes
You’re welcome 😌
I always write down my goals for the month. It helps me to stay focused. Love the law of attraction tip. But I do every day (scripting) and yesterday I already manifested one huge thing.
That’s amazing, well done!
I love the refreshing feel a new month gives you! Although it’s been a bit more difficult to feel refreshed and motivated for the start of this month with everything going on. I do like setting myself some goals and I also sort my finances too on a spreadsheet at the start of each month!
Chloe xxx
Yeah I agree! But hopefully the second half of this year will be a bit better and less hectic.
Thanks for sharing all of these tips! I never thought of deleting unused apps, photos, files from the previous month, but it is a great idea. I love writing down my monthly life/blog goals at the end of the previous month and deep cleaning everything (blog/room/life).
Loren | Plaid + Sugar
These are some really great ideas. As well as deleting photos and apps I no longer want, I also download all the photos that I do want to keep, onto my laptop, just in case anything happens to my phone.
http://www.thekellydianereport.co.uk
I do that too!
I do love a good deep clean!
I love when a new month starts, it really feels like a fresh slate! Especially when it’s on a Monday like this month was. I need to get into the habit of buying cards and things at the start of the month – I always forget and have to run out last minute to get some! I’m getting really good at organising finances though which is starting to really pay off!
Ah that’s great to hear!
This is a great list – I wish I followed it more. I would be so much more organized. Printing it off in hopes that helps!
That’s great to hear – hope it helps!
I love new beginnings and this June, as the first of June was also a Monday, is just great to start a new month. I am a big fan of goal setting and to do lists as well. Thanks for some great ideas. I definitely need to look into this digital cleaning a bit more. I get overwhelmed with too many emails and pictures.
I love it when a new month starts on a Monday – so satisfying!
I get overwhelmed with too many photos too!
Great post! I love manifesting, I started a bullet journal and I write everything in it now 🙂
That’s great to hear!
I love this! I always try and sort out my inboxes at the beginning of the month, but didn’t in May so they definitely needed it this time and for once I went a bit further and did some file sorting as well, so yay. Does it count as a monthly organisation when I just bought cards for every occasion I know of for the rest of the year?? My goal this month is actually not set any goals until I can figure out achievable ones as I’m getting fed up of stressing myself out over them. Great post!
Hahaha definitely counts! That’s MEGA organisation! If you need help with the setting achievable goals, message me!
These are really good! I think it is so important to treat each month sort of like how people treat a new year. I like the idea of buying the cards, presents etc. at the start of the month as it gets it out the way!
Em x
loveemblog.com
Yes, I agree!
You really have organization under control, and it is inspiring, I will do all these things. I love all the de-cluttering that this involves: phone, room, bag, everything! Thanks for sharing!
Lindifique
Awh thank you!
Great tips! I need to start doing more at the start of a new month. Love the idea of sitting down to set some goals and decluttering.
It really does help!
Love this! I usually keep tabs on my finances weekly and typically reflect on how I’m progressing on my goals weekly as well. But I like to set goals at the start of each month! I like the idea of cleaning and decluttering. Might have to give that a try. Thanks so much!
I do it weekly too but love having a big ol’ overhaul at the start of the month!
Haha, you got me with the bag, my bag is filled with old receipts and I haven’t bothered checking it. Thanks for sharing what to do with old receipts instead of trashing them
Sort out that bag girl!
A digital clean is definitely something that I would benefit from doing at the beginning of each month! I have so many useless photos and accidental screenshots of my home screen on my phone :’) x
https://www.femaleoriginal.com
Haha same! It’ll make you feel better when it’s done, I promise!
I love these ideas to get organized and refreshed! I’m going to start by setting some mini goals for this month and really getting motivated!
https://sundaydahlias.com
Yesss glad to hear that!
Love these ideas! I always like to start fresh for a new month. I definitely need to set myself some goals for this month as I find that always motivates me and gets me off to a good start xx
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
Yes same. I feel a bit lost without some goals to work towards.
Clearing out your purse and bag is such a good idea! Mine gets full of receipts, bits of paper I’ve written notes on and my little boys toys, so a clear out every month would make such a difference.
Ive never tried manifestation before, but I’m tempted to give it a go. If nothing else, it would certainly keep me motivated.
Im actually going to have to write these down and add then into my new month schedule. 😊
If you need any help with manifestation, give me a shout!
Love this! So good to get all your ducks in a row before the month begins! Ox
Totally agree, haha!
These are some great ideas!
Thank you!
I just went through and had an ‘e-cleanse’ tidied up pages and groups, removed any that weren’t positive for me anymore. Moving into June feeling revitalised and motivated.
Yes! That’s what I like to hear!
Great tips and advice!
Thank you!
I love this mixture of practical and soul-fuelling ideas! The ‘clearing out your purse’ bit…that is a major call-out for me haha – I always have a million receipts flying everywhere!
Get that purse sorted girl!
I am such an organised person like you! I love starting the month with goals and also YES I love the Law of Attraction and have read and watched so much on it! I also made my vision board and that is helping me to manifest my goals this month 😊 also I am in need of another digital declutter haha xxx
I’m focusing more on my vision board at the moment too! Making me feel mega motivated!
Hahah…I smiled at clean your bag as I did that just this moring and found I have a cap america and iron man action dolls in it. 😁😁😁 No wonder my bag was heavy in May.
Oh my god haha glad you sorted that out!
Some great tips here, I like to write my goals down. I also definitely need to declutter all my devices as I end up downloading so many apps/ documents for a single use
Oh same!
I would honestly be so much more prepared if I did all of this. I did think of making goals every month, so that should be a good start I think… or do you recommend another one first? I want to build it all up slowly!
Goals first, definitely! Because you can incorporate a few of these into your goals!
Great advice. In times like this, we need someone to lean on and positivity.
We really do.
Love these tips, a great way to truly start a month on a positive note. I’ll definitely be reflecting and writing my goals for the month ahead later this evening. Having a digital declutter and organising your physical space is important too, both leave you feeling refreshed once they’re done.
Tx. // Tajinder Kaur
Totally agree!
Wow, this is such an incredible post – this is definitely my go-to guide now! Thank you for sharing – I’m also a super organised person who loves nothing more than a writing a to-do list to start the day. I can’t remember the last time I had a digital clean either, thanks.
Take care and stay safe,
Sophie | Love and Literature
https://www.loveandliterature.co.uk
Hope these tips help!
Oh god, receipts! All my bags are drowning in them because I always need to check them to see what I can claim on expenses! And having a digital declutter is always on my carry forward list too, haha. I don’t tend to write down goals because I get too downhearted when they don’t happen, but at the moment I’m taking the fact that homeschooling Flora is getting a little easier and more enjoyable as a major win! Fab post, lots of useful takeaways, Jenny 🙂 xxx
Lisa | http://www.lisasnotebook.com
I get that with the goals but I think focusing on what you HAVE achieved is definitely helpful!
Thank you for the advice! I like to write down my goalds but definitely need to do more clearing out 🙂
Get that done!
Great tips! I absolutely love doing a digital clean, I’m always surprised at the amount of photos and videos that I no longer need. The same for apps, there are way too many on my phone that I never use!
Anika | chaptersofmay.com
Haha same, all the photos I’ve saved for literally no reason!
Thank you for sharing. I’m a sucker for dwelling on things from the previous month, I need to start reflecting more but not dwell. I love the idea of manifesting!x
Sounds like a great idea. Manifestation is wonderful!
Haha I am the same way and thanks for posting this. I will have to bookmark this for next month! 🙂
Allie of
http://www.allienyc.com
Hope this helps!
Cleaning out your bag at the beginning of the month is such a great idea! Between my purse, my work bag and the diaper bag you never know what you’ll find!
Oh totally haha!
I can’t say that I plan for each month ahead. In my personal blog I used to write out some personal goals for the month but after time I realised that I set too high of goals and never acheived them. For this reason I found this post really interesting because it breaks it down in such an easy to understand and implement way to set things in place. Thanks for that!
Kadie ♥ The Great Canadian Housewife | A Story About A Girl
That’s a great idea – my purse gets SO overrun and I never take the time to clean it out lol Making a point of kicking off each month with it might actually convince me to stay on top of it!
Yes you absolutely should!
I’m a ride by the seat of my pants kinda girl! So this is really good advice that I should probably follow! I love the idea of being a bit more organised about general day to day stuff.
I am so good with long term plans, like the wedding. I am almost completely done for that, stuck to a budget, planned every detail (even if it might not go ahead this year!) but day to day I just wing it!
Thanks for the advice! I am definitely giving it a go x
Wow haha I’m the opposite!
Such good ideas! I always mean to clean my purse out but can’t actually remember when I last did, oops! I want to read more into manifesting so fhanks for the link!
I’m deffo going to have a phone declutter now too hah! X
http://www.lovemaisie.com
I love manifestation! Hope you find it interesting!
I need to start making goals at the start of every month, but I always end up just going with the flow and just do whatever I can! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
If that works for you, that’s great!
Love this list! So many of these tasks like cleaning out your bag and having a digital declutter are those tasks I never get around to doing and end up doing them once or twice a year at most but as silly as it sounds I’ve never considered doing it monthly – think I’ll be making a point of trying to do it once a month now! I also really like what you said about reflecting on the past month too – it sounds like something that would really benefit a massive pessimist like myself! Thanks for sharing 🙂 x
Yes I think it would too! And making a note of the positives, however small!
This is a great post for the 1st of the month! Definitely helps to get my head in the right frame of mind!
It really does 🙂
THis is a great monthly checklist (one I’m printing out to remind myself to do these things more often then I’m currently doing them
Wow that’s great to hear!
Great post! Thank you for these tips they are very useful! I think I sometimes forget to reflect on the previous month so this has reminded me to do that.
Hope you manage to get a bit of reflection in!
My plan for this month is to create a vision board
Yes I love a vision board!
I like these ideas! I try to make myself goals every month already which makes things more manageable! I like the idea of decluttering your phone, I desperately need to do this!
Ashleigh | https://ashleighwrites.co.uk
It’s amazing the amount of rubbish that builds up on your phone!
I’ve started manifesting recently and I really believe it works! Today I’m going to write down my goals for the month ahead. Great post!
– charlotte / https://charlottesspace.com
It does work! So glad to hear that!
I need to start making a monthly goal list! xx
I usually do most of these but manifesting monthly is a great idea! I’ll have to up my manifesting game because I’ve not really been actively manifesting anything in a while.
Hope this encourages you!
I plan on de-cluttering and clearing out today. Not just my personal space but also my computer, blog, images etc.
Sounds like a good plan!
Love these ideas and never really do them and certainly not on a monthly basis. My organisation for the start of a month could definitely do with some work and this post has given me some great ideas, thank you x
You’re welcome!
I absolutely love the idea of a digital clean up! I have been trying to get better at backing up and deleting photos recently and it’s felt GOOD.
It feels great, doesn’t it?!
There are some great ideas in here! Buying things for upcoming events is a great shout! In lockdown I’ve forgotten more than a couple of people’s birthdays because time feels so weird at the moment! But buying stuff in advance would really help!
Time feels SO weird, doesn’t it!
One thing I need to start doing at the beginning of the month is making a list of goals x
You really do, it helps massively x
I don’t usually make monthly goals but this time I just had to set myself a date for launching my e-book. If I don’t have a date I just keep procrastinating with it 😀 So, it’s set now!
Very much agree with all of your points, start of Summer is the perfect time to take a look at one’s life as a whole and see what changes might need to happen financially, mentally or professionally. And manifestation sure can help with that! So glad to see you’re “in it” too. xx
Teresa Maria | Outlandish Blog
That’s so exciting!
This gave me lots of ideas I’m a Virgo too and I’ve tried a planner before but I always end up leaving it in the dust. What do you recommend for someone who wants to plan their month but travel plans are unpredictable for work i give up planning and go with the flow and that’s when I spiral any tips?
Love this, I definitely do all these things haha! Setting smaller goals is so much better because there’s more sense of achievement when you meet them all!xxx
Oh I totally agree!
I need to do better at manifesting positive things in my life cause I am such a pessimist.. This is such a great post because sometimes going into a new month can be intimidating.
Nikki O.
Ah you so do! If you need any help with it, message me!