
6 things to do at the beginning of the month to be more productive and organized
Productivity and organization are two things I’m obsessed about, I constantly learn new methods and try new strategies to put myself in the best environment to stay productive and get things done when I need.
I like beginning and end of month because it allows me to review my accomplishments and start a new fresh page with new goals, full of determination and motivation.
Today, I want to share with you my personal organization and things I do at the beginning of each month to be organized and maximise my productivity.
1. Set your monthly goals and plan ahead
This’s the N°1 to do if you want to have a productive month, you have decide in advance what you want to achieve this month and how. Planning your month ahead is essential, set your goals and define your detailed action plan and stick to it!
To be more efficient, try to review your previous month (I do this at the end of the month) and understand what worked well for you, what did you enjoyed doing and what you need to improve. And then plan your month based on these insights to always do better than before.
Read how to set your goals and successfully achieve them in 7 steps.
2. Budget your month
At the beginning of each month, write down all your known expenses, and bills you have to pay this month for grocery, mortgage/rent, for activities, for shopping, taxes, car expenses, I also write all what I need to purchase for the house and other stuff.
And then decide about your saving amount, try to save money every month, even small amount this is always good to take.
Keep this into a budget planner, or an excel file, there’re multiple ways to budget and the purpose is the same: keep your expenses in track and know exactly where your money is going 😉
3. Clear out your house and declutter
Your productivity is also related to the environment you create for yourself and your family, I personally feel like renewed when my house is clean and everything is in place!
Clear your closet and declutter using Marie condo Method, so it’s easy to see which cloths you love to wear and then donate cloths you don’t ever wear to associations that help homeless, you can also sell them through multiple online platforms.
Plan your meal for the month or the coming weeks
Clear your fridge to check what do you need to purchase for your meal prep.
I personally clear and organize my fridge every Sunday, it takes only 15 minutes to do as we’re just 2 people at home, but if you are a big family or a busy personal, it’s ok to do it once a month
5. Schedule your appointments for the month
Make sure you schedule all your appointment for the month, if possible. Wether they are professional or personal like your hair appointment, beauty salon, bloc your doctor appointment – in Paris we have to take our appointment several months in advance if you want to go to a specialist doctor : gynecologue, dentist and co!
Put also every important date you want to remember for the month for instance birthdays, events, kids activities, dinners, family days,…
Then make sure you write them into your planner or phone calendar to be noticed when it comes
Do all of this at the beginning of your month to feel super organised and productive the rest of the month

5. Bloc time for yourself
Often as a woman we forget to take time for ourselves, we always take care of others, of children, of the house and we don’t find time for self-care and things that we love. This’s a wrong way of living!
Taking time for yourself helps a lot your productivity, as a woman you need to recharge and take care of your mental health. Plan some dinners with your friends, shopping sessions or other activities you enjoy, if you’re a mom, schedule time without your kids, go for a massage, a hair cut or a beauty care.
6. Choose your book list for the month
Final thing to do, if you’re a book lover like me is to create your book list for the month, 2 or 4 new books to read during the month.
Read 7 motivational books everyone should read
Reading a physical is one of my favorite activities for evening and weekends, I sometimes listen to digital books, but still loyal to the old paper book.
Wether you choose business books, personal growth or a novel, reading a book is very helpful for mental health and to reconnect from digital world and social media especially before going bed.
If you enjoyed this post, go read :
- 5 Productive Things I do Before Bed: My Evening Routine
- My Morning Routine: Healthy and Productive Habits
What about you? what’re your favorite things to do at the beginning of the month to stay organized and productive? Share with us in comment
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38 Comments
thebellelab
love this! i always find decluttering a great way to start of the month or lighten the mood!
Jaclyn - Jaclynistic Vibes
These are some excellent tips and definitely make life easier. I do most of them, but one thing I need to work on is decluttering more regularly. Making it a monthly task would help keep on top of it, so it never feels like a huge chore. Thank you for sharing
Aloha Melani
Great read for today, the first Monday of the New Year. ~Aloha
Jaclyn - Jaclynistic Vibes
These are some excellent tips and definitely make life easier. I do most of them, but one thing I need to work on is decluttering more regularly. Making it a monthly task would help keep on top of it, so it never feels like a huge chore. Thank you for sharing x
Magical Travels
Love your blog and these tips!!! I’m not good in scheduling things in advance but I’m tring to be more productive. Very helpful blog post!.
Baby Boomer Super Saver
Wonderful tips and ideas! I’ve been working on decluttering, but then we moved and I realized I have not completed that project. It would really help me to be more organized and productive, so I will work on it. My husband will be so happy, haha.
Graham Crosby
Some really good advice offered up. I really need to plan things out a lot more. I’m shocking at almost everything you mention!
Sarah
These are excellent tips. I do most of these already, but the monthly budget isn’t something I had considered doing. We have a budget but going over it more specifically for each month is a great idea, especially since it can change month to month depending on what is going on. Picking out books to read is my favorite thing to do each month.
Johana
These are great tips! I’m definitely going to be making my goals list and budget before October 1.
Shola
having monthly goals is a must to stay productive!
Karalee Shotola
These are great tips! For my blog, I like planning out the posts I’ll write at the beginning of the month & for my master’s program, I make weekly schedules of what I need to do that week. I do like the book list suggestion!
Sarvarius
Decluttering is the hard one from me at the moment. Not much room to work with. Hopefully by next year have more living space.
L - Franglais27
Very handy tips! I especially like the idea of blocking out some time for yourself as it’s so easy to become distracted by everything and everyone else! Perhaps by booking some of those personal appointments a month in advance and time out with friends will help with that. Planning a book list each month sounds great too as I never seem to have enough time to do as much book reading as I would like!
Azubike Eze
I agree with you. Clearing and decluttering the environment often inspires an open mind that aids creativity.
Rachel Roy
I do so much better when I plan out my month in advance, but sometimes I get busy and don’t. Then maybe not the next month… thank you for the reminder to get back on track!
Della
All of these points are so important, especially the budgeting one and making time for yourself xx
http://www.dellalovesnutella.co.uk/
Lauren & Lottie
All great tips thanks for sharing 🙂
Kitsu
That was really interesting ! Love your site btw 😌
Kalin
I love your idea of planning out what books to read for that month! I feel like I am pretty good at organizing my time and tasks, but could benefit from “scheduling in” free time and leisure activities such as reading. Thanks for sharing!
Chocoviv
Great tips!
Johana
These are great tips. Planning and budgeting have helped me a lot. Budgeting is hard sometimes to stay on track but I’m still trying to get a good rhythm going.
Miragail
This is a great list. Although I admit I always fail on sticking up to my book list per month. It’s so hard to be a mood reader!
Fabiana
Brilliant suggestions, I am already putting into practice most of these for myself, and the results in terms of productivity and organization can be seen and how! thanks for sharing
Fiona
Love this. Simple but effective tips (that I defo need to start doing) 💜
Reads and Ramblings
September has already been so therapeutic for me. I’ve had to be really organised due to preparing for uni and its been great. I’ve gotten used to using a planner and made sure i booked in all my appointments and check up before i go. The packing process has helped me to declutter my room and throw away/donate things I dont use and sort my wardrobe. My goals are clear this month and i cant wait to see what I’ve achieved at the end!!! Xxx
Nic | Nic's Adventures & Bakes
Thanks for sharing your tips, I hope some of those will be come useful 🙂
Nic | Nic’s Adventures & Bakes
Tammy
This is very helpful. I’ve tried planning before and somewhere in the middle of it all, I tend to lose focus. These are some really good tips. Thank you for sharing!
Sue Berk Koch
I’ve got the first four covered but not the last two! Great ideas. I’m going to add them right now. Thanks.
Mari
Ooo I’ve never tried planning my book reading. I’m going to start doing that now 😀
Mari | http://www.dazedmari.com
Mini Bhati
I need to really work on the scheduling part😅
Amie
I’ve been working so hard on being more productive, I’ve even planned out everything I need to do the night before & it works wonders for me!
Love, Amie ❤
The Curvaceous Vegan
Aislinn Short
Great post! One thing I definitely need to improve on is time management and scheduling for the month (mainly blog posts). Hopefully September will be a better month!
Carolyn
These are some awesome tips! I’ll admit that I’m a planner, I used my google calendar for my schedule, and I have a weekly to-do list. I definitely want to adapt some of the things you mention here, especially a monthly to-do list (so I can keep track of more long-term goals), and actually scheduling time for myself. Great stuff!
Miche Anni
Fantastic list! You have things I wouldn’t have thought of to boost overall productivity. I certainly never considered setting all appointments for the month or all my personal time. And btw…I love paper too, even the actual newspapers.
Stuti Agarwal
Very helpful!⭐
Castlesandturrets
I love this! This is super useful and has so many great tips! I always try my best to be organized and stay productive, but I do have days where I struggle, so I’ll be referring back to this to help me stay productive every month! I totally agree with remembering to take time for yourself, that’s really important.
safiyyah
Its a great plan. I enjoyed it
Lisa | Mind and Body Intertwined
Love these tips! Especially planning everything financially has helped me so much since I’ve started!