Personal Development

Posted on March 17, 2023March 18, 2023 by Alyssa — 6 Comments

How to Start a Journal | The Ultimate Guide to Building a Journaling Habit

I’m gonna let you in on a secret. I used to suck at keeping a daily journal.

Almost every single one of my new entries would start with “sorry I haven’t written in a while…” I also used to have so many empty journals collecting dust on my shelf. Never in my life had I actually fully filled a journal.

That was the case, at least until just a few years ago.

In college, when I first got started on my personal growth journey, was when I finally got the habit to stick.

And in less than a year I finally filled up one of my journals.

Journaling has now become one of my favorite ways to start my day. After making a cup of coffee, it’s the first thing I do in my morning routine.

It helped me realize that I needed to drop out of college. It helped me get gain clarity on my goals and dreams for my life.

Journaling can help you in so many areas of your life (but more on that in a second).

If you are new to the world of journaling, this is article is designed to help you get started. You’ll learn how to start a journal from scratch, the different journaling methods and strategies, and how to make it into a habit.

Or maybe you’re like me – you like the idea of starting or ending your day with journaling, but for the life of you, can’t make it into a daily habit.

Well, I’m going to let you in on a few secrets that will help you start the habit and keep it. So you can finally fill one of those countless empty journals around you house.

I’ll warn you, this is a long and detailed post, but I know you’ll get a lot of value from it. I would recommend pinning this article so you can come back to it again.

I’m so excited to welcome you to the world of journaling.

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A girl writing in her journal | How to start a journal

How to Start a Journal: Find Your Why

The first step to start journaling is really simple. All you need is an empty notebook and a pen.

Yep, that’s it.

Well, I guess there might be a bit more to it.

Firstly, I recommend you dive deep into why you really want to start a journal in the first place.

Just like when you get starting building any new habit and routine, you need some way to keep you motivated, and that’s why I always recommend coming up with your “Why Statement”. This why statement should clearly articulate the reason or purpose behind why you want to build this new habit.

Start my asking yourself the following questions:

Why do I want to start a journal?
What do I hope to get out of it?
What do I want to accomplish?

It’ll be much easier to build this new journaling habit if you understand WHY you actually want to do it. Once you have an answer, write it out as a full sentence like this:

I want to start journaling to better understand my thoughts and feelings and gain more clarity
I want to start keeping a journal on a regular basis to document my life and my memories.

Once you’ve done that, write it on a post-it or piece of paper that you can stick on the inside of cover of whatever you’re going to journal in. Read this statement every day to remind yourself why you are trying to build this into a habit.

Do you have your why? Awesome, now let’s actually get started.

The Benefits of Journaling

There are so many benefits of journaling.

My favorite benefit is that it allows me to slow down in this stressful and ever-changing adventure we call life.

As you realize how beneficial it is to journal daily, you’ll want to do it first thing every morning.

Here are some more journaling benefits to get you motived to start your journaling journey:

Gain clarity and focus
Increased productivity
Improves your mood
Makes you more likely to chase your goals
Boost confidence
Increase self-awareness
Decreases stress and overwhelm
And sparks creativity

There are No Rules When Journaling!

The best part about journaling is there are absolutely no rules.

You don’t have to be a good writer or have good handwriting.

Allow for mistakes, grammar errors, and messy handwriting. It’s all you.

Just let your stream of consciousness flow freely.

One of the main points of journaling is to learn how to express yourself in a carefree way when no one is watching.

There is no judgment in your journal because it’s your journal!

Different Types of Journals

Alright, now for the fun part. Let’s figure out which type of journaling you should start with.

Remember that you aren’t marrying this type right now. Pick one form to test out for a couple of weeks and then you can evaluate whether you want to stick with it or try a new one.

Every person will journal differently and the type of journaling you decide is best for you will be based on your WHY.

Remember how we discussed your why just a bit ago? Use the answer to those few questions to help you figure out what type of journaling will be best for you.

Here are 9 types of journals to choose from:

Bullet Journal

Bullet journaling has grown a lot in the past few years. Many people use it as a journal for productivity and goal setting. The overall concept was invented by Ryder Carroll and is best described as a mindfulness practice disguised as a productivity system. Head to Pinterest to see examples, there are tons of them over there.

Morning Pages

The idea of Morning Pages originated from the book “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron, and the main idea is to do stream-of-consciousness writing. The morning pages are usually done in the morning when our brains are the most creative. No thinking allowed, just start writing until 2-3 pages are filled.

Gratitude Journal

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Many people recommend starting and ending the day by writing what you are most grateful for. If that doesn’t resonate with you, try asking yourself what made you the happiest today.

Dream Journal

Dream journals are devoted to your dreams. They can be dreams you have while you are sleeping or what you daydream about throughout the day. Either way, write down a few sentences every morning about a dream you had or what you dream of for your future self.

Brain Dumping Journal

A brain-dumping journal is the only type of journal that I’d say you should keep with you at all times. It is meant to be a place for you to jot down any new ideas whenever they come to you so you don’t forget about them.

Go here to learn more about brain dumping

Scrapbooks

Not many people think of the scrapbook as a journal type but it’s more than just a place for photos. You can gather memories, dreams, or create mood boards. Basically, a scrapbook is where you can gather a bunch of images and put them together in an artsy way that’s just you. And you can write about the images to add a story to each page.

The Dear Diary Journal

The most basic and common form of journaling. I probably don’t need to explain it. But for just a quick explanation, I like to think of the dear diary journal like you are telling your future self about anything you want. What you did that day, what you hope happens if you do something. Basically anything.

Guided Journals

If you still don’t know where to start, you could try a guided journal. The most popular one out there is the Five Minute Journal. It only takes 5-minutes every day to fill out. I’ll talk more about it soon.

When to Journal

It can be really easy to just toss your journal off to the side and save it for a rainy day, but most of the benefits we talked about earlier come from daily journaling.

It can be hard to implement at first if you are new to it. The best way to start a habit is to do it in small doses.

You don’t have to journal for a whole hour or aim to fill a whole page.

If you make a habit overwhelming, you will never actually start it.

Instead, start with setting aside just 1 minute every day to journal – just to start with.

Write about anything.

A minute isn’t a lot so the excuse of ‘I don’t have time’ won’t exist.

I would also recommend you journal at around the same time every day if you can. That way your brain can associate a time with a habit which will make it easier to be consistent.

You can also link it with an activity you already do – like drinking your coffee or right after you give your pet breakfast.

Whatever it is, linking journaling to an already existing habit will make it a ritual of your daily routine.

Journaling Supplies

Like I said at the beginning, you really don’t need a lot to start a journal. Just a notebook and a pen.

However, you can make journaling more appealing if you have a pretty journal and your favorite pen to write with.

Here are some supplies ideas to get you started:

Pretty Journals

Pens

Pilot Gel Pens – Assorted

Uni-ball Signo Gel Pen – Micro Point 0.38mm

Whiteout

Fun Stencils

Ultimate Productivity Stencils Set

9 Piece Drawing Templates

Inspirational stickers

Planner Stickers

Famous Guided Journals on Amazon

The Five-Minute Journal

This is an un-dated guided journal that will boost your happiness in just 5 minutes a day. Each page includes thoughtfully designed prompts that include: gratitude, prioritizing your day, 3 amazing things, inspiring quotes, daily affirmations, and end of the day self-reflection. The Five-Minute Journal is known as “The Simplest Way to Start Your Day Happy”.

Buy Now

The Best Journal Ever

The Best Journal Ever is a guided 3-in-1 journal that includes a place for gratitude journaling, habit tracking, and monthly reflection. This undated journal has enough pages to get you through 6 months without needing to buy another journal. Each daily page includes a place to track your sleep, an inspirational quote, gratitude, affirmations, and a half-page for daily journaling.

Buy Now

A Year of Zen: A 52-Week Guided Journal

A Year of Zen Guided Journal combines the practices of Zen Buddhism with journaling to help you live mindfully, gain clarity and perspective, and let go of stress and worries. This journal includes journal prompts for every day of the year that inspire self-exploration, reflection, and mindfulness that will help you live a happier more fulfilled life.

Buy Now

The Untethered Soul Guided Journal: Practices to Journey Beyond Yourself

This guided journal is based on the New York Times bestseller The Untethered Soul. It offers new practices for inspiration, freedom, and joy. The exercises and prompts included in the journal are paired with the original passages from the book. The prompts will help you to live more in the present moment, and achieve lasting joy and self-realization.

Buy Now

Use Journal Prompts

If you are still struggling with trying to figure out what to write about, journal prompts can be a great way to get started.

Journal prompts are simple questions you ask yourself and then answer in your journal.

I have tons of different journal prompts on my Pinterest board to help you get started.

Or sign up for my email list below to get a pdf printable of 30 personal growth journal prompts in checklist form to get you started right away.

Other Journaling Tips

Here are a couple more tips when it comes to starting a journal:

Start slow
Include journaling in your morning routine
Use journal prompts
Just try it and don’t make it a big deal
Go back and review what you’ve written to learn more about yourself
Draw, create art, use stickers; it doesn’t just have to be words
Have fun with it!

Final Thoughts on Journaling

Journaling should not be something you dread doing every day. Please don’t make it feel like a chore.

Journaling is a type of self-care that you do for yourself. Enjoy it.

I hope you found this guide on how to start a journal helpful and that you are excited to start developing your new journaling habit.

Let me know in the comments your favorite type of journaling and how it works for you.

Journaling has truly changed my life and I know it can change yours, too.

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Are you ready to start your personal growth journey but don’t know where to start? This guide is for you: The Ultimate Personal Growth Guide. Learn the strategies you need to work on self-improvement and become the best version of you!

Quotes Stickers

Planner Stickers

Famous Guided Journals on Amazon

Use Journal Prompts

If you are still struggling with trying to figure out what to write about, journal prompts can be a great way to get started.

Journal prompts are simple questions you ask yourself and then answer in your journal.

I have tons of different journal prompts on my Pinterest board to help you get started.

Or sign up for my email list below to get a pdf printable of 30 personal growth journal prompts in checklist form to get you started right away.

Other Journaling Tips

Here are a couple more tips when it comes to starting a journal:

Start slow
Include journaling in your morning routine
Use journal prompts
Just try it and don’t make it a big deal
Go back and review what you’ve written to learn more about yourself
Draw, create art, use stickers; it doesn’t just have to be words
Have fun with it!

Final Thoughts on Journaling

Journaling should not be something you dread doing every day. Please don’t make it feel like a chore.

Journaling is a type of self-care that you do for yourself. Enjoy it.

I hope you found this guide on how to start a journal helpful and that you are excited to start developing your new journaling habit.

Let me know in the comments your favorite type of journaling and how it works for you.

Journaling has truly changed my life and I know it can change yours, too.

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Posted on March 10, 2023March 18, 2023 by Alyssa — 2 Comments

Level 10 Life | How to Track Your Personal Growth

You’re probably asking yourself right now, what exactly is a Level 10 Life? If you’ve been around the personal development side of the internet, you may have heard of it before. Or maybe you’re hearing about it for the first time right now.

Level 10 Life is a very powerful tool when used properly that will help you on your personal growth journey and many people swear by it to help them pick out goals and track their growth over time.

In this article, I’m going to talk about everything you need to know about the Level 10 Life so you can start integrating it into your life.

An ultimate guide to living a level 10 life | Pin image

Want to learn more about personal growth? Check out this ebook The Ultimate Personal Growth Guide. You’ll learn 10 different strategies for working on yourself and start taking steps towards becoming the best version of yourself!

What is a Level 10 Life

Level 10 Life is a personal growth strategy that comes from Hal Elrod’s book, The Miracle Morning. The idea behind it is very simple. You pick 10 areas of your life where you want to measure success and then you can pick goals in each area to help bring them up to a level 10.

Hal Elrod came up with the Level 10 Life as a way to help assess where you currently are in each area of your life and then use that assessment to set goals for yourself.

Of course, we all want to live a better and more balanced life, but sometimes it’s hard to really pinpoint where to start. Sometimes we set a goal for ourselves to only find out a few months later that it doesn’t give us the satisfaction we desire or doesn’t really make us happy.

This is where the Level 10 Life assessment comes in to help us out. You will be able to look at each area of your life, assess how it’s going, and then decide which area needs improvement.

(quick note: if you haven’t read his book, you NEED to. It’s amazing! Check it out here.)

I know that the idea of bringing every area of your life up to a level 10 can sound intimidating at first. But remember that no one is perfect and that’s ok.

This idea is simply a way to help keep your life balanced. It’s easy to get caught up in one area of our lives and then neglect the others. It helps remind us that all areas of our life are equally important.

Why a Level 10 Life

As humans, we are always striving to be better in every way we can, but that can be hard to track. That’s why using the Level 10 Life assessment can be so helpful.

We all know the things that drag us down and make us feel like we aren’t living up to our full potential. Going to a job you hate every day, hanging out with friends who are always dragging you down, feeling unhealthy, feeling like you have no purpose in life… All those feelings can really drag you down and stop you from truly going after a life you love.

You probably ‘know’ that you should be living a better life, but can’t quite figure out how to or maybe you even feel powerless to change things.

By working towards a Level 10 Life, you’ll start feeling more in control of your life and it will help you figure out what really matters to you. Not just the goals that you think you should work towards because that’s what others say you should do.

How to Track Your Level 10 Life

The first step to achieving your Level 10 Life is to figure out where you currently are right now. So here’s how to do a quick Level 10 Life assessment:

Step 1: Assess Your Current Life

For most people, there are roughly 10 major areas in life that you may create goals based on. Those are:

Health and Fitness
Physical Environment
Marriage and Family
Career/Education
Finances
Spirituality
Personal Development
Friendships
Fun/plan
Giving/Contributions

If these 10 areas also apply to your life, we’ll continue on. But feel free to get rid of one or add some more. This is your life, of course, not mine.

Take some time to really think about each area of your life.

Maybe you eat healthy and work out consistently, but your relationship with your family isn’t very strong. Or maybe you feel financially secure, but your home isn’t decorated or brings you joy.

Decide what level you are at in each area.

For example:

Maybe you exercise twice a week and have homemade dinners, but you eat out for your lunch break. You might rate yourself at a “Level 6” for Health and Fitness.

Or you make pretty good money at your job but aren’t very good at balancing your finances. In fact, you don’t even have an emergency fund. So maybe you rate yourself at a “Level 2” for Finances.

Note: It can be difficult to give yourself a rating. Just take your time and be honest with yourself. There is no right way to rate yourself. Don’t think about it too hard.

Step 2: Record Your Current Life Levels

There are many ways to track your progress towards your Level 10 Life. Here are a few ideas:

Write your level ranking in a notebook
Use a notes app like Notion, Trello, or simple the Apple Notes App
Write it down on a whiteboard you can hang up and see every day.
Make a pretty spread in your bullet journal
Or grab my free printable The Level 10 Life Wheel

It doesn’t really matter how you track your progress, but make sure you do so you can watch yourself grow in every area of your life. It also helps with coming up with goals in each area, which we will get to next.

Step 3: Set Goals to Reach the Next Level

Now that you know which level you are at in each area, it’s time to set up some goals!

Setting goals is so important for your success and journey on your way to a Level 10 Life.

While you are creating your goals and planning how you will reach them, make sure you are setting up time-based goals.

Instead of saying: “I want to work out more”, you should say: “I will go to the gym at least 2 times a week for the next month, and increase it by 1 next month”

When you are more specific about your goals and give them a timeline, you are more likely to achieve them.

Step 4: Reassess Your Level 10 Life

You should check-in and reassess your Level 10 Life regularly. You could do it as frequently as you want but don’t just do it once a year.

It’s a good idea to check in on your goals and ‘levels’ at least every 12 weeks. This gives you a chance to reassess how your goals are going and if they are still on track for what you want out of life.

If you wait and only do this once a year, you are more likely to fall off the wagon and stop working on your goals altogether. It will also keep you motivated if you have a shorter time in between assessments.

I like to do my Level 10 Life assessment when I do my monthly self-reflection.

When you sit down to do your reassessment, ask yourself the following questions:

Which areas of my life have I moved up a level?
Which areas have I fallen behind in?
Are any areas unchanged since my last assessment?

Give yourself a new rating for each area and make sure to reassess your goals for each area as well.

Questions To Ask Yourself in Each Area of Your Life

Alright, so now you’re probably asking “how exactly do I assess my life?”

I’ve compiled some questions you can ask yourself in each area. These questions will help you dig deep into the different areas of your life so you can give yourself a proper assessment.

(not all these questions may apply to you, so adapt them to your lifestyle as needed)

Health and Fitness

Do I work out regularly?

Do I eat food that nourishes my body?

Am I happy with my weight and/or muscle index?

Physical Environment

Do I like where I live?

Is my home well decorated and makes me feel happy?

Do I feel safe in my home?

Do I feel embarrassed to have people over if they show up unexpectedly?

Can I keep up with the cleaning and maintenance of my home?

Marriage and Family

Am I happy in my marriage/relationship?

Do we regularly go on dates and have fun deep conversations?

How often do I call or hang out with my immediate family?

Do I see my extended family more often than just holidays?

Career

Am I passionate about my work?

Do I feel that I have reached my full potential in my career?

At the end of the day, do I feel like I’ve accomplished something?

Finances

Do I have an emergency fund that consists of at least 3 months’ expenses?

Is my income each month higher than my outgoing?

Do I have a monthly budget that I stick to?

Do I have enough money to enjoy my free time and be able to do things I want to do?

Spirituality

Do I spend time exploring my personal faith to strengthen it?

Do I pray or meditate frequently?

Am I inspired to be a better person?

Do I go to church regularly or take time to connect with my personal faith?

Do I take time for self care? How often?

Do I read self-help books?

Am I taking time each week to learn something new about myself?

Friendships

Do I have close friends I can rely on and they can rely on me?

Do I have good relationships with my work colleagues?

Am I willing to help a friend when they are in need?

Do I have a friend I can confide in about my problems?

Final Thoughts

Once you’ve decided that you want to work towards a Level 10 Life, you’ll start to see a tremendous change in how you act and treat yourself and others. It’s fun to come up with goals in each area of your life and then give yourself points to “level up” when the goal is reached.

The best way to keep yourself motivated is to track your progress in some way. That’s why I made the Level 10 Life Wheel for you to grab for FREE.

Let me know in the comments what areas you are gonna start tracking as you work towards your level 10 life.

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Posted on December 8, 2022December 8, 2022 by Alyssa — 5 Comments

Goal Setting for the New Year

It’s that time of year again. Time to do some goal setting for the new year. Are you ready to crush your goals in 2023?

Goal Setting for 2023: Why even both setting goals?

Before we begin to set goals, we must understand why we should even set up goals for the year.

Here are some reasons why:

You can’t hit a target if you don’t aim
Setting goals helps you know yourself and trust yourself
Sets a good example to those around you
Helps you work on your personal development

Where to Start?

You may be thinking, where do I even begin to start coming up with goals. Well, first we must talk about the different categories, or areas, in our life. Most people have roughly 8-12 important areas of life. Some examples are:

Spirituality
Family & Friends / Relationships
Career
Health and Fitness
Learning/Education
Entertainment/Fun/Adventure
Finances
Physical Environment
Personal Development
Hobbies

Now that you understand this concept, pick 3-5 areas you want to focus on this year and come up with a goal for each one. You could come up with a goal for all of your categories if you want but that can become overwhelming. However, if you wanna make more, do it! I’m not your mom. You’re in charge!

Now for example, for my health and fitness category last year, I made a goal to run my first marathon by the end of 2022.

Your goals can be huge like mine or small like ‘want to develop a morning routine’. Depending on how big or small your goals are should help you decide how many you want to set.

How to Make Your Goals Stick

Many people make these New Year’s Resolutions or goals for the year but stop focusing on them altogether by the end of January or February. How do we avoid this happening to us?

Here are a few things you can try:

1. What is your why?

Take some time to journal why you want to achieve the goal. You are more motivated to achieve your goals if you have an actual reason behind it.

2. Set up mini goals

Set up some mini-goals within your big year goal. With those mini-goals set-up dates for when you want to achieve them. Try to shoot for one mini goal for each quarter of the year.

For example, with my run a marathon goal, I set up mini-goals of being able to run a 5k by the end of the first quarter, a 10k by the end of the second quarter, and so on.

Sounds like a lot but this helps you make your goals smaller and less intimidating so you’re less likely to drop the big 2023 goals all together in the first few months.

3. Create some new habits

Create daily, weekly, or monthly habits that will help you stay focused on your goals. If you want to write a book, make a habit to write for 30 minutes a day every day or every other day. Or if you want to build a better relationship with a family member, make a habit to call them once a week or every other week. It’s all up to you, but building a habit will help guide you along your path to achieving your goal.

Make a Vision Board

Being able to visualize you completing your goal can help you stay motivated. Also if you look at your goals every day, you won’t forget about them.

Now that you have your goals set, find images, and create a vision board. You can collect images from magazines, old books, or print some online. Find images that best relate to your goal. If you’re saving for a car, find an image of the car you want, or if you want to workout more, find a picture of a gym or workout equipment. Anything that’s related to your goal.

Add some motivational quotes to finish it off. A few words of encouragement to read every day can never hurt. It can even be simple expressions like “You’ve got this!” or “Just do it!”

Finally, put your vision board where you’ll see it every day. For example, hang it above your desk or put it on the fridge. If you’re more digital, make a vision board as the background of your desktop, or your phone background.

*I use Canva to make my digital vision board that’s on my desktop.

Final Thoughts on Goals

Making goals for the year can help you get excited thinking about what is possible in your near future. It’s a time to challenge yourself to try something you have always wanted to. Your goals can be big or small. It’s all about doing things to better yourself, and nothing is too small for that.

Recently I’ve heard this expression a lot, “The journey is more rewarding than the goal.” Make sure you don’t get too down on yourself if you fall behind on your goal. You’re already growing and learning a lot just by starting the journey toward your goal.

Are you serious about actually reaching your New Year’s Resolution this year? Join us for the Love Your Goals Workshop and make a plan to crush your goals in 2023.

What goals have you set up in 2023? I’d love to hear about them! Tell me in the comments below.

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Related blog posts:

Monthly Reflection

New Habits to Start this Year

Personal Development Books to Read in 2023

Posted on December 5, 2022December 8, 2022 by Alyssa — 1 Comment

End of the Year Reflection | Getting Ready for the New Year

Another year is about to come to a close. But before we start celebrating, it’s a good idea to do a big end of the year reflection.

The end of the year can bring on different emotions and feelings. One part of our mind is taking over with memories, highlights, and experiences of the past year, while the other is gearing up for making this next year the best one yet.

Many people often focus on the second part and dive straight into making new year’s resolutions. Now I like planning new goals as much as anybody else, but we often forget about the most important step; self reflecting on the past year.

I believe that skipping this important step is the reason many forget about their new year’s resolutions by the end of January. Their new goals don’t end of being as exciting because they didn’t take the time to figure out what is the most important next step in their life.

You really can’t plan ahead without looking back. We may feel determined and optimistic when that calendar flips to January 1st, but our experiences, skills, and mindset don’t change overnight. That’s where reflection time comes in.

Before we can jump into planning mode, we must first take some time to reflect on the past year.

Grab a coffee (or tea), your journal, and a pen, and join me in reflecting on 2022!

Why You Should Do an End of the Year Reflection

Doing an end of the year reflection is a great mindfulness practice that helps you track your personal growth over the past year and get into a place of gratitude.

If we let it, time can pass us by super fast. That’s why it’s important to take time to reflect on our past accomplishments and learn from the ups and downs in life.

Self reflection can also help get you into a space of gratitude which helps provide insight as you move into the next chapter of your life.

How to do a New Years Reflection

There are many ways to do a New Year’s reflection, from in-depth free journaling to answering a variety of journal prompts. You could even talk with your family or friends and reflect together on the past year.

There is no right or wrong way, you just need to find the best method that works for you.

With that being said, my personal favorite way to reflect is to journal with no prompts. I just grab my pen and paper and let my mind wander over what I did the past 12 months.

I usually end up with five pages of memories, accomplishments, and lessons learned by the end of it. It’s also fun going back and rereading these pages at the end of each year.

You can also use self reflection journal prompts.

Use some journal prompts that help you specifically focus on accomplishments and disappointments, lessons learned, and things you would like to improve on for the next year. Below are 10 of my favorite end of the year reflection journal prompts.

End of the Year Reflection Journal Prompts

1. What challenges did I overcome this year? What did I learn from them?

2. What new skills did I learn? How do I want to continue to develop them into the new year?

3. What is your favorite memories from the past year? (if you want, take some time here to go through photos you took and print them out or scrapbook them)

4. What new habits did you start? Will you continue to work on them next year?

5. What are you most proud of about the past year?

6. What did you learn about yourself this year?

7. How did your relationships (friends, family, partners) grow this year?

8. What did you fail at this year? How did you pick yourself up after?

9. What would you have done differently? What can you learn from it?

10. What advice would you give to yourself one year ago?

Want to dig a bit deeper into different areas of your life? Try these reflection questions.

Deeper Reflection Questions

Big Accomplishments: Did you graduate college last year? Get a new job? Buy your first car or house? How did you feel when that happened and what obstacles did you have to overcome to get there?

Big Disappointments: What didn’t go your way last year? What were you hoping for that didn’t happen? What happened that you weren’t prepared for? How can you be grateful for these situations? What lessons did you learn?

Major Life Changes: Did you move to a new state or a new country last year? Did you get married? Did you start a new routine? What major life or lifestyle changes are you most proud of that you made this year?

Personal Achievements: What are you most proud of that you did for yourself last year? Are you better at managing your anger? Do you find yourself complaining less? Did you make an effort to spend more time with family and friends? Did you spend more time on a hobby you love?

Best Memories and Moments: What are the moments that were special to you that want to remember forever?

Areas You Want to Improve: What are things you know you can do better at this year? Do you need to manage your money better? Exercise more? Are you too critical of yourself?

Gratitude: What happened last year that you were thankful for? Write down 20 things you were grateful for from the past year.

End of Year Reflection Activities

Here are few more fun ways to review the past year.

1. Review photos you took this past year.

As you look at pictures you took this year, think about the moments that you captured and be grateful for them.

Think about how you felt and who you were with at the time. Maybe write a few notes in your journal. Or if you’re really ambious, make a small scrapbook of memories.

2. Review this past year’s goals.

What goals did you set out to achieve last year? Did you achieve them or completely forget about them?

Don’t beat yourself up about the goals you didn’t reach. Reasses what happened. Maybe the goals don’t align with who you are anymore.

Use what you learned from last year to set goals that align with your future dream life.

3. Reread your journal entries from this year.

If you kept a journal this year, (and if you didn’t I highly recommend you make a goal to start one this year) reread some, or all, of your journal entries. You’ll be surprised how much happened this year that’s worth remembering.

Maybe you’ll even discover something you forgot about that you want to bring back into the new year.

Related: How to Start a Journal

4. Write a gratitude list.

A great way to end any year is to remind yourself of the things you are grateful for. Even if you thought this past year kind sucked, this practice will help you be thankful for even the more difficult years.

Maybe you got to spend more time with your family, or you picked up a fun new hobby. Maybe you had more time to read again.

Take the wins from any part of your life and reflect on how grateful you are for them.

Ending the year with gratitude will help you start the new year with a better mindset.

5. Journal

Like I mentioned before, I love journaling about the past year. It’s a great way to reflect on the good and the bad times of the past year, review life lessons you learned, and what goals you achieved. Sit down for about 15-30 minutes and just write anything that comes to mind.

Wrapping Up Your End of the Year Reflection

As we come to a close on 2021, don’t forget to cherish the memories you made this year. Some years are harder than others, but it’s important to stay positive as we head into a new year.

A new year is a new start but only if you make it be. Learn from your past, remember what you accomplished, and look forward to the future!

Happy New Year Everyone! Make 2022 the best year yet!!

Get ready to crush your New Year’s Resolutions with the biggest planning party of the year. Check out the Love Your Goals Workshop ⬇️

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Posted on December 3, 2022December 8, 2022 by Alyssa — Leave a comment

Slay Your Goals Planner Review

How has 2022 been going so far for you? Have you achieved any goals yet? Or did you, like many others, aim for a super high goal at the beginning of the year to only give up by the 21st day of the year? If that’s you I have something super amazing to help you out, because it’s never too late in the year to make a plan to slay your goals. You just need a goals planner that will help you take action and keep taking action.

In late 2020, I was working on setting my goals for the new year, but I couldn’t figure out how to plan them out to actually motivate me to work on them all year long. I needed a plan to help keep me on track.

That’s when I discovered Nadalie Bardo’s Slay Your Goals Planner, which is a completely digital printable planner to help you achieve your goals. I didn’t even have to wait for shipping. So I bought it and got started with it right away.

What is the Slay Your Goals Planner?

The Slay Your Goals Planner is a digital printable planner that helps you plan out your goals for the whole year. There is a lot of information and strategies for goal planning inside so you can be sure to find the way that works the best with your brain.

The version I have has 102 pages that guide you through different areas related to goal setting. Here’s a breakdown of the planner by chapters:

Chapter 1: Set Your Intention
Chapter 2: Choose Your #1 Goal
Chapter 3: Select 4 “Mini” Goals
Chapter 4: Plan Your Year
Chapter 5: Crush Your To-Dos
Chapter 6: Review Your Goals

Use Your Planner Anyway You Want

Although the planner is designed as a printable planner, you don’t need to print out all 102 pages (that’s a lot of ink and paper anyway). You can either choose which pages to print out as you need them, or you can just type right into the pdf document. Isn’t that awesome?

Or if you have an iPad with Goodnotes, like I do, you can download it and write right on it with the apple pencil.

Basically what I’m saying is, don’t be turned off by how big the planner is because you don’t have to print all those pages, if you don’t want, in order to use it.

Other Planner Features

There are so many motivational and inspirational quotes throughout the planner so you’ll feel motivated and inspired all year long.

Another feature of the planner is that it’s date free. So you can continue to use it year after year. Unlike physical planners you’d buy in the store, you can buy it once and just reprint or make a new digital copy every year.

It’s the only planner you’ll ever need.

Buy It Now

The Slay Your Goals Planner Chapters

Early I mentioned how the planner was broken down into chapters, well now let me dive even deeper into what’s in each chapter of the slay your goals planner.

Chapter 1: Set Your Intentions

Before you can begin to set your goals, you have to make sure to set your intentions for the year. This chapter includes:

Set Your Intention Worksheet
Your Life in Fast Forward
Intentional Life Audit and Pie Chart
Letter of Intention

Chapter 2: Choose Your #1 Goal

The next step is setting your direct and priorities for the next year. Your #1 goals is where you’re aiming to be in the next year. This chapter includes:

Goal Digging Brainstorm
Investigate Your Intention
Intention Prism, Mindmap + Triangle
S.M.A.R.T. Goals and R.I.G.H.T. Goals

Chapter 3: Select 4 “Mini” goals

It can be hard to stay focused on one big overwhelming goal all year long. That’s why the next chapter is all about choosing 4 “mini” goals to keep you motivated with quick wins. This chapter includes:

Investigate Your Goal Worksheets
Goal SWOT Analysis + Mind Map
Quarterly Goals Forecast
Yearly Goals Tracker

Chapter 4: Plan Your Year

Next, it’s time to map out your year with ease using fillable yearly and monthly planner pages. This chapter includes:

One-Page Yearly Plan
2022 + 2023 Dated Calendars
Strategic Planning Road Map
Yearly Goals Overview
Fillable Yearly & Monthly Planners

Chapter 5: Crush Your To-Dos

In this chapter, you’ll learn how to hack your to-do list by focusing only on what’s important and urgent. This chapter includes:

Monthly Goal Planners + Trackers
Prioritization Pages
To-Do List Templates
Fillable Weekly & Daily Planners
Daily Reflection Pages

Chapter 6: Review Your Goals

At the very end of the planner is the most important part, the review section. By knowing where things went right and wrong, you can plan how to overcome the challenges and setbacks if they come up again. This chapter includes:

One-Page Monthly Review
Monthly Goal Checkers
Quarterly Review Questions
One-Page Yearly Review

The Pros and Cons: Slay Your Goals Planner Review

Like any planner out there, there are pros and cons and I want to make sure you know them before you make a choice.

A pro and a con is that this planner is packed full of worksheets and calendars that it can appear overwhelming at first. But for what you pay for the planner I couldn’t believe how much was included.

There are many goal planners out there but what I like about the slay your goals planner is the variety of worksheets that can help anybody make goal-setting super easy.

Final Thoughts

The bottom line is I really like this planner, and I’ve tried TONS of planners in the past. I found it super helpful in getting clear about what I wanted to focus on this year. Plus it really helped me break down my big year goal into small less overwhelming actionable steps.

If you’d like to give this planner a try, click here.

Thank you Nadalie for creating this wonderful planner. I look forward to continuing to use it throughout the rest of this year.

Posted on December 2, 2022December 8, 2022 by Alyssa — 1 Comment

30 Personal Growth New Year’s Resolutions for 2023

title image: 30 personal growth new year's resolutions for 2022 ; new year - fresh start

It’s that time of the year again! Everyone is getting ready to throw out the past year and start planning for an even better new year. And one of the most popular ways to get ready for the new year is by creating New Year’s Resolutions.

When it comes to picking a new year’s resolution, many people go with the classic “I want to lose weight”, “I want to get in better shape”, “I want to eat healthier”, or “I want to quit a bad habit”.

While there is nothing wrong with those new year’s goals, I think we can come up with something more unique and exciting this year. And because we talk about personal growth a lot on this blog, let’s choose a personal growth new year’s resolution.

I’m ready to make 2023 a year for personal growth and self-improvement. How about you?

To help you come up with a proper new year’s resolution for personal growth, here are 30 unique ideas.

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30 New Year’s Resolutions for Self-Improvement and Personal Growth in 2023

To help you navigate this blog post, I’ve divided it into the 5 areas of personal growth. I suggest you decide on 2-3 areas of personal growth that you want to focus on in the new year and then pick your new year’s resolutions based on that.

Remember to pick resolutions that you are actually excited about. That’ll help keep the motivation up all year long.

** Some of the resolutions link out to other blog posts to help you if you decide on that goal for the new year **

Mental Personal Growth

1. Read a self-help book for 30 minutes every day

2. Listen to podcasts or audiobooks on your way to work

3. Take an online course or class on something you’re interested in

Social Personal Growth

4. Learn a new language

5. Take a public speaking class

6. Schedule more dates with your significant other

7. Spend more quality time with your friends

8. Call or visit your parents once a week

Spiritual Personal Growth

9. Go for weekly nature walks by yourself

10. Spend time in prayer every morning

11. Meditate for 5-10 minutes every day

12. Read your Bible more

13. Participate in a weekly bible study with your peers

Emotional Personal Growth

14. Start a daily journaling practice

15. Practice daily gratitude

16. Track your mood in your daily journal or planner

Physical Personal Growth

17. Practice yoga

18. Workout 3-5 times a week

19. Focus on getting 6-8 hours of sleep every night

20. Try meal planning so you can eat healthier meals and snacks

21. Drink enough water every day

22. Try out meal prepping every Sunday to save time during the week

Other Ideas

23. Try a new hobby you’re interested in

24. Work on becoming an earlier riser

25. Practice daily self-care

26. Take time every day, week, and/or month for self-reflection

27. Make daily to-do lists

28. Go on a solo trip

29. Watch less tv or spend less time on social media

30. Try doing something that’s out of your comfort zone once a week

Final Thoughts on New Year’s Resolutions

As we head into the New Year, it’s a great idea to make a plan on how you want to improve yourself so you can live a happier, healthier dream life.

Make sure you choose goals you’re excited about, that will truly benefit ‘future you’.

Don’t fall into the trap of making goals you don’t care about that will fall off the wagon by February.

I hope my list of 30 personal growth goals for the new year helped you out.

Good luck this year! And remember, You can do anything you put your mind to!

*If you need help setting up your new year’s goal for success, check out my brand new goal planning workshop.

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What New Year’s Resolutions are you making for 2023? Share with us in the comments below so we can cheer you on!

Posted on August 24, 2022December 8, 2022 by Alyssa — 12 Comments

12 of the Best Personal Development Books to Read This New Year

best personal development books to read this year

Let’s make this year all about personal growth and development. We can create New Year’s Resolutions for personal growth and we can set self-improvement goals, but there’s another way to work on your personal growth… Reading personal development books!

I absolutely love reading non-fiction and learning something new every day. And I especially love reading books on how I can improve myself.

Here is my list of 12 Personal Development Books I think you should read this year to help you focus on you.

Here are 12 of the Best Personal Development Books to Read in 2021:

1. The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8 AM) by Hal Elrod

To kick off this list, let’s talk about the book that started it all.

Hal Elrod’s book The Miracle Morning was the first of many personal development books I ever read.

I listened to this book on Audible in 2019 and I was so inspired that I bought the paperback book so I can read it again. Because of this self-help book, my life has completely taken a turn for the better. I am also now a morning person. Yep, that’s right. A book encouraged me to get out of bed in the morning!

If you are ready to get motivated in every aspect of your life, this book is for you.

“It’s time to wake up to your full potential.” – Hal Elrod

Buy Now

2. The Miracle Equation The Two Decisions that Move Your Biggest Goals from Possible, to Probable to Inevitable by Hal Elrod

Following “The Miracle Morning”, Hal wrote another book that dives deeper into the secrets of unlocking your full potential. And it’s just as inspiring.

From the publisher: “Even after the incredible success of his book The Miracle Morning, Hal Elrod realized that he still had more to share with the world. What he had discovered was a timeless but overlooked formula for success. The world’s top achievers have used it for centuries. He used it to thrive against seemingly insurmountable odds, from overcoming life-threatening health challenges to near financial collapse.

That formula is The Miracle Equation, and it couldn’t be any simpler: Unwavering Faith + Extraordinary Effort = Miracles.”

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3. You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero

You are a Badass is my favorite self-help book so far. I finished it in just 2 weeks and highlighted about half the book. I’m even planning on going back and rereading it again before the end of the year. It was just that good.

Jen Sincero is blunt and tells it how it is and I think that’s what I loved so much about it.

Each chapter gives you incredible advice on so many personal development topics. Every topic will help you identify and change your self-limiting beliefs and behaviors that stop you from getting what you want and instead create a life you totally love.

By the end of the book, you’ll understand why you are how you are, how to love what you can’t change, and how to use “The Force” to kick some ass.

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4. Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill

Think and Grow Rich is a classic self-help book for many reasons. I finally got around to reading it this past summer and while it wasn’t one of my favorites, it still had tons of valuable information that will keep you thinking.

From the publisher: “In Think and Grow Rich, Hill draws on stories of Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and other millionaires of his generation to illustrate his principles. This book will teach you the secrets that could bring you a fortune. It will show you not only what to do but how to do it. Once you learn and apply the simple, basic techniques revealed here, you will have mastered the secret of true and lasting success.

BE PREPARED! When you expose yourself to the influence of this philosophy, you may experience a CHANGED LIFE which can help you negotiate your way through life with harmony and understanding and prepare you for the accumulation of abundant material riches.”

Buy Now

5. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is another self-help classic. I am actually currently reading this book. It is a bit of a longer read but I am absolutely devouring this book. Covey really dives deep into the 7 different habits and gives you action steps at the end of each chapter to help you put the habits into action.

From the publisher: “One of the most inspiring and impactful books ever written, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has captivated readers for 25 years. It has transformed the lives of Presidents and CEOs, educators, and parents— in short, millions of people of all ages and occupations.”

Buy Now

6. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

Big Magic was a book that was just… “WOW”.

Elizabeth Gilbert told this incredible story of how ideas float around in the world just waiting for the right person to come along. She also shares so many inspiring stories throughout this book. I can’t recommend it enough.

From the Publisher: “Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books. Now she digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration.

“She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Gilbert encourages us to uncover the “strange jewels” that are hidden within each of us. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work, embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.”

Buy Now

7. The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss

From the Publisher: “The Four Hour Workweek is for the aspiring entrepreneur who is ready to make some serious changes to their life. Are you ready to make money and change your lifestyle? Tim Ferriss will help you “escape the 9-5, live anywhere, and join the new rich”.

I have yet to read this book but it’s another classic self-help book, so it’s definitely on my list for the new year.

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8. 10% Happier Revised Edition: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works by Dan Harris

This a different kind of self-help book, but I think it sounds really interesting. Definitely on my list of to-reads this year.

From the publisher: “In 2014, Dan Harris published his memoir 10% Happier. The book—which describes his reluctant embrace of meditation after a drug problem, an on-air freak-out, and an unplanned “spiritual” journey—became an instant bestseller and Dan, to his own surprise, became a public evangelist for mindfulness. Hoist on My Own Petard is the story of what happens to Dan Harris after the runaway success of his memoir and the lessons he had to (re)learn in the process.”

Buy Now

9. The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks Than Others Do in 12 Months by Brian P. Morgan

This book has completely changed the way I plan my goals each year, now I only look at one quarter at a time when planning.

The idea is to get more done in 12 weeks than others do in 12 months, because you’re focused on just 12 weeks rather than a whole 52 weeks.

The book dives into how to develop clarity and focus, how to take back control of your days, and of course, accomplishing your goals in record time.

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10. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

If you have ever been interested in the Law of Attraction then you definitely need to read this book. Not only doesn’t it fully explain the law of attraction in simplest terms, it also gives you so many different ways you can start harnessing the power of The Secret in your own life.

Literally the most powerful book I’ve read this year.

Buy Now

11. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

If you want an easy-to-understand book on building habits, this is it.

This book is A-mazing!

James Clear breaks down habit formation into 4 simple steps. Using different scientific studies throughout the book, he explains exactly how and why habits form and how to make them easier to form.

He also goes into detail about how to break habits too, using the exact same 4 step process.

Atomic Habits will change the way you think about progress and success and give you tools and strategies to help transform your habits.

Buy Now

Related: 29 New Habits for the New Year

12. Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be by Rachel Hollis

I listened to this book on a road trip once and it was super inspiring. In every chapter, Rachel Hollis talks about a different limiting belief that many women(including herself) have and gives us practical strategies to help us move past them.

This was an incredible book that I will surely read again.

From the publisher: “In this challenging but conversational book, Rachel exposes the twenty lies and misconceptions that too often hold us back from living joyfully and productively, lies we’ve told ourselves so often we don’t even hear them anymore.

Rachel is real and talks about real issues. More than that, she reveals the specific practical strategies that helped her move past them. In the process, she encourages, entertains, and even kicks a little butt, all to convince you to do whatever it takes to get real and become the joyous, confident woman you were meant to be. Because you really can live with passion and hustle – and give yourself grace without giving up.”

Buy Now

Final Thoughts

You can learn a lot from books. That’s why I devote at least 20 minutes every morning to reading. I have learned so much from reading personal development books and I always continue to learn more and more from them every day.

What are your favorite personal development books? I always love adding more books to my ‘to-read’ list. Share with us in the comments below.

Have fun reading!

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best personal development books to read in 2021 | self-help books | personal growth

Posted on June 16, 2022December 8, 2022 by Alyssa — 1 Comment

Personal Mid Year Review | 5 Ways to Reflect on Your Year so Far

We are almost halfway through 2022. Can you believe it? At this point in the year, I love to do a Mid Year Review. It’s a good time for me to hit pause on my crazy life and go over what has happened in the past 6 months. I also take time to plan how I want the last 6 months of the year to go, too.

It’s time to go over the goals we set at the beginning of the year, celebrate how far we have come, and plan out the rest of the year.

Ready to do your mid-year review? Grab a pen and notebook, your favorite coffee or tea and let’s get started.

Why do a Mid Year Review?

The middle of the year is a great time to take a step back and review the goals you set six months ago. And then set yourself up for success for the rest of the year.

In the craziness that is life, it can be easy to forget about our goals. We get caught up in the daily tasks we need to get done that we forget to look at the big picture.

By hitting the pause button, and taking some time to reflect, we can focus on our longer-term goals.

Also, our goals may need to change. You are not the same person now as you were at the beginning of the year, so you need to make sure your goals still reflect where you want to go. Your goals are not static so you can change and adapt them as you need.

And a mid-year reflection and review will help you do just that.

Now that you know the importance of a mid-year review, I have some tips to help you during your reflection time.

5 Ways to Reflect During Your Personal Mid-Year Review

Rather than giving you a bunch of questions to ask yourself, I have 5 ways to reflect on your past 6 months. Grab a piece of paper and start your mid-year review with these 5 ways to reflect.

1. Celebrate all that you’ve learned and achieved so far this year

You should always start your self-reflection time with reviewing your accomplishments for the year so far.

A lot can happen over six months that has likely changed you as a person. Whether you finally built that emergency fund or you simply learned to make that perfect cup of coffee at home, you need to celebrate your wins first.

Grab a piece of paper and write down all of your accomplishments, no matter how big or small they are, include them all.

If you are struggling to remember, look back through your journals or events in your calendar to refresh your memory.

Related: How to Start a Journal

2. Be honest about what you want

Make sure you are being honest with yourself as you go through your self-reflection time. The person you were back in January is not the same person you see in the mirror today.

For example, the person you were just a few months ago didn’t have that list of achievements you just wrote down.

With all those achievements, you gained different experiences, and your outlook on life has changed. Because of that, you need to make sure you are rethinking the goals you set 6 months ago. Ask yourself these questions:

How do I feel differently than I did 6 months ago?
Are my goals helping me grow into the person I want to be by the end of the year?
Where do you envision yourself being at the end of the year?

By answering these questions, you can assess if you are headed in the right direction, or if you need to change your goals a little bit. Be sure to keep the goals that still work with your future vision for yourself and get rid of the ones that don’t.

3. Be critical of the year so far

Now that you have reflected on your accomplishments and know exactly where you want to be in 6 months, it’s time to assess what has worked so far this year and what hasn’t. Evaluate why you haven’t stuck with some goals and if they are still relevant to your vision. If so come up with a different strategy and plan of attack.

One of my favorite books, Atomic Habits by James Clear, discusses how it is not our goals that fail us, but the process we use to achieve them that fails. If you have a plan that caused friction in your life, you are less likely to actually work towards the goal.

For example, let’s say you had a goal to write a rough draft of a book by the end of the year. You planned to get up an hour earlier every morning to write, but you found that you are not awake enough to really focus on the tasks.

So instead you need to find a time when your brain is at optimal creativity and a time that fits your schedule. Like maybe writing during 30 minutes of your hour-long lunch break. Or if you’re a night owl, writing for an hour after dinner.

Taking time to reflect and analyze what isn’t helping you is an important part of the mid-year review. By reviewing and reflecting on your systems set in place, you can increase your chance of reaching your goals.

4. Embrace changes

I like to think of the middle of the year, like a mini new year. Not only are you reflecting on your past goals and making plans to achieve them, but you can also set new exciting goals.

You don’t need it to be January to set New Year’s Resolutions. Set new goals today that align with your new self.

Remember that just setting goals won’t get you anywhere. You also need to make a plan of attack for each goal.

Take it a step further and plan some monthly check-ins. I like to have a monthly reflection session with myself at the end of each month. That helps me make sure I’m still on track with my plans for my goals.

You should be constantly upgrading your goals to make sure they are aligned with who you are and your long-term plans.

5. End with positive affirmations

It’s always a good idea to end these reflection periods in a positive state of mind. The best way to do this is by utilizing positive affirmations.

Saying some of the following affirmations aloud and with confidence:

I will never give up on my goals and dreams.
I have nothing to fear, because I cannot fail. I can only learn, grow, and become better than I ever have before.
I am building my dream life and growing every day.

Then take it a step further and find, or write, an affirmation that reflects each of your goals. Recite them every morning to start your day with a clear end goal in mind.

For some more guidance on writing affirmations like that, check out The Miracle Equation by Hal Elrod. In this book, he dives deep into his formula that combines Unwavering Faith + Extraordinary Effort to reach your goals. This formula uses an affirmation that can be used for every goal in your life. I highly recommend you check it out.

Want to stay focused on your goals for the rest of the year? You’ll have to keep them top of mind every month. Do that with the monthly review and reflection workbook. Check it out ⬇️

Final Thoughts

I hope these 5 tips helped you reflect on the past 6 months and plan for the final 6 months of 2022. I would love to hear about your goals and cheer you on through until the finish line.

Let me know in the comments, what you got out of this mid-year review and what your goals are for the rest of the year.

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Refresh Your Goals with a Mid Year Review

Posted on June 15, 2022September 12, 2022 by Alyssa — 6 Comments

How To Do A Weekly Review | 10 Weekly Reflection Questions

Every week goes by so fast, that we often forget to even acknowledge how hard we worked this past week, or how much we accomplished. That’s why I love doing a quick weekly review at the end of every week. It’s a time for me to celebrate what I got done that week and even plan a few things for the next week.

I highly recommend getting into the habit of doing a weekly review.

I can guarantee that it will not only boost your productivity for the week ahead but also gives you a chance to pause, reflect, and celebrate all the progress you made over the past week.

Today I’m gonna walk you through a quick and easy weekly review so you can celebrate your accomplishments and acknowledge any valuable lessons you learned this past week and jump into next week full of excitement.

Now let’s get started.

Want a PDF download of this post? Click Here!

What is a Weekly Review?

A weekly review is a practice of looking back on the past week to see how everything went.

Each person will choose to reflect on their week differently. Some will want to record memories, others may want to relive their accomplishments and celebrate, or even take some time to answer some self-reflection questions to learn more about themselves.

The weekly review is a great time to record your performance and goals achieved specifically on your personal growth journey.

Then right after you review the previous week, you can use what you’ve learned to plan the next week.

Just remember, an accurate end of the week reflection means you need to be totally honest with yourself. That is the best way to learn more about yourself, after all.

Why Do A Weekly Review?

There are many perks to doing a weekly review and taking time to pause and reflect on how the past 7 days went.

My favorite benefit of doing this every week is that it makes every week feel like a new year, full of new possibilities and newfound motivation.

So in other words, you get 52 opportunities to start fresh and put the past week behind you.

It feels so good to give your mind and life a quick reset.

This new habit will also help you stay on track with your goals because it’ll give you the time to check in and see if you are still on track, or if any changes need to be made.

Sounds pretty awesome, right? Now let’s dive into how to do a weekly review.

How To Do A Weekly Review?

Now that you know what a weekly review is and why it’s important to do one, let me walk you through the process of actually doing one.

When to do a Weekly Review

First, you need to decide when you want to do your weekly review. Many people, myself included, do theirs at the end of the business day on Friday, as the last thing to do before logging off for the weekend. That way everything you did that week is still fresh in your mind.

Others do their weekly review on Sunday evenings as part of their Sunday routine.

Either way, set aside time to do it and make it a scheduled meeting with yourself on your calendar. That way you are less likely to miss it.

Aim to stay consistent and it’ll be easy to make it a habit every week.

I recommend setting aside an hour for the first review that you do. Over time, it won’t take you as long once you get into your own groove.

Now that you know when you are going to do your weekly review, grab a notebook and a pen, find a quiet place, and let’s get started.

Step 1: Journal

The first thing I do to start my weekly review is to just start journaling freely, with no prompts for about 10-15 minutes.

Write anything and everything that pops into your head about the past week.

Just brain dump anything that may be lurking in your brain and slowing you down.

Usually, by the end of the week, your mind is full of thoughts and next to-do list items. And you don’t want to go into next week with a full and overwhelmed brain.

Declutter your brain and end the week with a clear head.

Step 2: Ask Yourself Some Questions

I love using self-reflection questions to gain clarity about how the past week went and make a plan for making next week even better.

Here are 10 Weekly Reflection Questions:

1. What was my biggest accomplishment over the past week?

Taking time to reflect on your accomplishments is a great way to boost your self-confidence. It is also a great way to track your progress towards your goals.

2. What lessons did I learn from things that didn’t go quite right?

Anything that didn’t go as planned is a great opportunity to learn a valuable lesson.

3. What (quotes, affirmations, etc.) kept me inspired this week?

Maybe print them out and take them to the wall near your desk. Stay inspired into next week.

4. Did I complete any projects or tasks this week?

Be sure to acknowledge the work you did this week and celebrate.

5. Any pending tasks?

Make sure to note anything that didn’t get completed this week and make a plan to finish them early next week.

6. Did I stick to my plan and stay focused?

Note anything that distracted you this past week and figure out how to avoid those distractions next week.

7. What kind of progress did I make on my big monthly, quarterly, or yearly goals?

Remember that a weekly review is a great time to note your progress and make sure you are still on track.

8. What is the #1 thing I need to accomplish next week?

After you’ve gone through how last week went, decide on your number one priority for next week. Write it down and post it near your workstation so you are reminded of it on Monday morning.

9. What can I do right now to make next week less stressful?

Maybe you need to set some calendar reminders or organize your desktop folders. Write down a few quick things you can do in the last few minutes of the day to get yourself and your space ready for you to come back to Monday morning.

10. What am I most grateful for about this past week?

List at least 5 things that made you grateful or happy this past week.

Really make sure you take some time to answer these questions and reflect on your answers.

Your answers can act as a guide for when you go to plan your next week.

Step 3: Do a 5-10 minute clean up

It’s always a good idea to clean your workspace before leaving it for the weekend and having a happy, decluttered space to come back to Monday morning.

Set a timer for 5-10 minutes and just do a quick reorganization and clean-up of your space.

You can also do this with other areas of your house. It’s always a good feeling to end the week with a clean home and office.

It doesn’t have to be perfect, but every little bit helps.

Step 4: Review Your Calendar and Time Block Your Week

Check to make sure you know what appointments you have coming up next week and then go ahead and start time blocking your week.

You’ll save yourself a lot of time next week by planning ahead.

Final Thoughts

Implementing a weekly review will not only give you a chance to review and reflect on your past week, but it will also give you the motivation to keep moving forward into next week.

Remember, each new week is a new opportunity to start over.

Ready to make weekly self-reflection a habit? Grab the Weekly Reflection Workbook that will help you stay focused on your goals every week of the year. Check it out here.

Are you gonna start implementing a weekly review? Let me know in the comments below.

Posted on June 1, 2022September 12, 2022 by Alyssa — 4 Comments

How to Do a Monthly Reflection | 15 Questions to Ask Yourself

It’s almost the end of the month so it’s time for a monthly reflection. News flash, the beginning of a new year is not the only time you can set goals for yourself. In fact, you should be reviewing those big yearly goals every month.

By doing a monthly reflection each month, you can observe your personal growth and development on a smaller scale and adjust it to fit your lifestyle as you grow throughout the year.

I started doing a monthly reflection about 2 years ago and it has helped me tremendously to know myself better and make sure I’m always focusing on my goals.

Many people make goals or New Year’s resolutions in January, but by February they’ve lost motivation or completely forgotten what that goal was at all. By doing monthly reflections, you’ll have time to review those goals and plan for what your next steps are every month. Just imagine how many goals you could get done in a year if you stay focused every month.

Monthly reflections are not hard to do and don’t need to take a lot of time. I’m gonna walk you through what I do to review and reflect every month. Plus I have 15 monthly reflection questions for you at the end to help you dive deeper into your monthly check-in.

Want a PDF download of this post? Click Here!

Before we get started grab my monthly reflection workbook below and follow along with me.

What is a Monthly Reflection and Why Do One?

A monthly reflection is a time to review and reflect on your past month’s accomplishments, your goals, and where you are at with them. This is when you can take time to hit the pause button on life for a moment to decide how you want to keep moving forward.

Maybe you noticed you didn’t spend as much time on your goals as you would have liked. Or ate out too much and didn’t save as much money as you had hoped. Or you didn’t get to hang out with friends and family as much.

Each monthly reflection gives you a chance to start over, re-evaluate, and make a new plan.

You can set time to reflect every week, month, quarter, and year if you would like. But today we are just talking about a monthly reflection. This is the time for you to reflect on your routines, habits, and smaller goals.

Things To Reflect On Each Month

Monthly Wins

When sitting down to do a self-reflection, it is always a good idea to start with something positive about yourself. We often forget about our big accomplishments throughout the month cause we are always in a state of “go, go, go, go”. This reflection time is supposed to be a time to hit pause and acknowledge your hard work. Make sure to recognize your big and small wins.

On the flip side, if you didn’t have as many wins take that as a time to learn more about yourself and how you get things done.

Review Current Habits and Routines

Now it’s time to go into the details of your everyday habits and routines.

Did you make a plan to go to the gym 3 times a week and it didn’t end up working out at all? Are you finding yourself to be tired all the time cause you aren’t getting enough sleep?

Use this time to brain dump all the habits and routines in your life that may or may not be working for you. Then if something needs to change, make a plan.

Do you need to set out your gym bag the night before so you remember to go after work? Or do you need to buy a cute water bottle to encourage yourself to drink more throughout the day?

Make your habits and routines work for you.

How to Build New Habits with 8 Easy Steps

What is a Routines? Why are They Important?

Review Your Goals

It is a great idea to get in the habit of reviewing your goals every month. This will keep you on top of them and make you more likely to achieve them in a timely matter.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself when reviewing your goals:

Did I achieve my goal?
Did my approach work? Why or why not?
Is it something I still want to pursue?
How can I improve on actually getting it done?

One Positive Lesson

It is also good to end this reflection time on a positive note. Go back over your notes for the month and pick out one lesson you want to take away and learn from it.

Ask yourself how the lesson made you grow as a person and how you are going to apply it to your life this next month.

Your #1 Priority

Now that the reflection is basically done, go over your notes and decide on your #1 focus for next month.

You want to try and have just one main thing to focus on each month. Whether that’d be a project you’re working on or a certain area of your personal growth to work on, pick just one thing to prioritize next month.

15 Monthly Reflection Questions

After you go through the 5 things to reflect on above, grab a piece of paper and answer the rest of these questions. Each one will help you dive deeper into your monthly check-in.

Answer each question like a journal prompt. Take some time to really think about each question.

What went well this month? What did I accomplish? How does it make me feel?
What didn’t go so well? How can I improve for next month?
What lessons did I learn this month? How did I grow as a person?
What challenges did I face this month? How did I deal with them?
What am I spending too little or too much time on?
What didn’t go as planned? And how can I improve on it?
Review any goals you set for this month. Did you reach them? Why or why not?
Was there anything holding me back from reaching my goals?
What goals do I have for next month?
List 5 things that made you feel most grateful this month.
What habits did I focus on this month and how did I do?
Which habits should I continue working on next month? Why?
Are there any bad habits I want to work on next month? Make an action plan.
What new habits do I want to try and implement next month? Why?
Overall, am I satisfied with how the month went? Why or why not?

Final Thoughts about Monthly Reflection

Try doing a monthly reflection every month for the next few months in a row and see how much more productive and motivated you are. By keeping up with it you have a higher chance of actually completing the goals or resolutions you set for yourself at the beginning of the year.

Wouldn’t it be cool to look back at 2022 next January and see that you actually completed all the goals you set out to do? Or even better, completed more goals than you thought you would?

It’s time to get ahead of your goals!

What goals do you have for the next month? Let me know in the comments below.

Ready to dive deep into self-reflection and get focused on your dreams this month? Check out the ⬇️

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