Focus of the Month: Finance

Each New Years it is so tempting to make ambitious plans for the year. Lofty New Years resolutions haven’t worked well for me in the past. I can’t tell you what last year’s resolution was because I likely stopped doing it in February or March. There is so much noise about how to improve yourself and our newsfeeds are filled with life hacks and productivity tips. We are bombarded with resources on how to live better and at this time of year there is pressure to make big goals and to stick to them. 

This year I propose a new kind of resolution. For each month of 2016 I’m selecting a focus area. In this focus area I will set goals and actions around learning and improving myself in that area. For January I’m going to focus on finance. I spent a good deal of time in 2016 improving my financial literacy, creating budgets and long term planning. In looking over my post-holiday Mint.com trends I can tell that I still have some work to do. this month I will be learning more about managing my finances and sharing what I learn with you. Other potential focus areas could be: home improvement, organization, fitness, career, family. You will know what you need to prioritize. 

Here are some ideas for getting focused on a specific area, and some action steps you can take to make the most of each month.  

1) Learning: Reading books, listening to podcasts, taking a Udemy, Skillshare, or Coursera course
2) Measuring: Is there a number you can reach to create goals for yourself? For finance, that might be: Save x amount of money or make x amount of side income. 
3) Habits: Is there something you could do each day or week that would help you improve in your focus area? 
4) Accountability: Is there a friend or family member that you know is working on the same thing? Check in with one another along the way. 
5) Journal: Keep track of what you are working on by journaling about it or keeping up with data (If you are working on time management, track your time for two weeks. For finance, see where your $ is going) 

At the end of the month you will have learned something new and potentially created a new habit that will last throughout the year. You will stick to your resolutions without giving up on them because they will be manageable. 31 days is much easier than 365 days. I look forward to what we can learn together in 2016.